The man in black panicked, shouting, "Stop! Stop at once!"

He dodged as he shouted, but the Sound Wave Divine Skill wasn’t something an ordinary person could simply evade.

Wherever the Sound Waves went, the Demon Intent manifested!

The black qi flickered in and out of existence, clinging to him like maggots on bone. No matter how the man in black dodged, he couldn’t shake it off.

"I’m on your side! I’m on your side!"

The man in black spun around and, with a wave of his hand, unleashed several streams of black qi identical to Zhao Rui’s.

With several loud POPS, the True Qi collided, and the black streams of qi dissipated into smoke.

"Oh? You know the Illusionary Sound Technique, too?"

Zhao Rui’s eyes narrowed. In a flash, he was standing right in front of the man.

The man in black clasped his hands and bowed. "I am the eldest disciple taken in by the Illusionary Sound Divine Envoy in this realm! Divine Envoy, we’re on the same side!"

"Divine Envoy?"

Zhao Rui paused. ’So this guy thinks I’m one of those Demons.’

’Then again, it makes sense. An expert with such overwhelming Demon Flame... if he isn’t a Demon, what else could he be?’

Zhao Rui’s eyes turned cold. He executed the Charming Shadow Technique, creating six illusory figures that took up positions around the man. Simultaneously activating the Heavenly Demon Illusionary Sound Technique, he said in a frigid voice, "You knew I was a Divine Envoy, yet you dared to show me disrespect!"

"Please, calm your anger, Upper Envoy! This is all a misunderstanding. Upper Envoy, I’ve already retrieved the Shady Grass for you. I have twelve pieces here. With the piece you have, it’s just enough to make a whole one."

The man in black immediately and respectfully produced twelve brocade boxes from within his robes.

Apparently, he had returned last night to collect all the boxes.

With a Demon Skill like his, he could have easily bewildered the minds of ordinary people, making it a simple task to retrieve the boxes.

"I told you, I don’t have it! Are you deaf?"

Zhao Rui said coldly.

"Ah? Please, Upper Envoy, calm your anger! I was confused. It must have been that Nie Sheng who tricked me. That damnable old scoundrel!"

The man in black hastily knelt on the ground, his voice filled with indignation.

"Oh? Tell me about this. And your background."

"This..."

"Hm?"

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk right now."

The man in black quickly explained his background and everything about the Shady Grass.

As it turned out, this man was Nie Bin’s senior martial brother. Years ago, the Demon Sect Leader, in concert with Emei, Shaolin, and other sects, had ambushed and killed the Illusionary Sound Old Demon. They had then planned to return to the Demon’s headquarters to eliminate his two disciples.

However, the senior disciple was a highly skilled Martial Artist. He not only discovered the plot in time but also managed to escape with his junior brother.

Nie Bin, whose Power was weaker, was eventually discovered in Dongqi Province.

Meanwhile, he had fled to the Northwest, where he joined a mysterious organization to heal and lie low.

Later, members of the Thirteen Alliances happened upon the secret of a certain treasure and traveled far into the Northwest on a treasure hunt.

He happened to discover them, but unfortunately, his Demon Skill had not yet recovered. To make matters worse, the Martial Artists of the Thirteen Alliances possessed a powerful Combined Attack Skill.

They not only severely injured him but also made off with the treasure.

Although his Power had partially recovered by now, he was still far from a full recovery and desperately needed the Shady Grass to restore his Cultivation.

That was why he had taken the risk to come and snatch it.

As for the details of that encounter, the man in black glossed over them without much comment.

The Shady Grass itself was a mysterious Spirit Grass from a secret realm on a Northwest Extremely Cold Mountain Peak.

He wasn’t clear on its specific effects or properties, only knowing what Nie Sheng had told him: it could repair physical damage, enhance one’s Power, and increase the probability of achieving a Breakthrough Realm.

In any case, it was powerful stuff.

Zhao Rui frowned as he listened to the man’s story.

’The Illusionary Sound Old Demon sure had rotten luck,’ he thought. ’I’ve ended up running into both of his disciples.’

’As for this Shady Grass, it’s nothing that special.’

His eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to raise his hand, a blast of Powerful Qi suddenly shot up from below.

Its speed and power were so immense that even Zhao Rui was stunned.

He hastily channeled all his Power, executing the Dipper Step to dodge at top speed.

With a loud BOOM, a large crater appeared a short distance away.

At the same time, the man in black’s figure blurred as he shot off into the distance.

Zhao Rui snorted coldly. He used his Lightweight Skill and was in pursuit in an instant.

’I almost capsized in a ditch just now,’ he mused. ’It’s true what they say. Whether you’re from a Righteous Sect or an Evil Sect, talking too much gets you killed.’

’If it weren’t for the Dipper Step Elder Ge taught me, that palm strike would’ve taken off a layer of my skin had it landed.’

The man in black seemed to have used some kind of Secret Technique, his speed far surpassing what it was before.

Zhao Rui’s gaze turned icy.

He instantly allocated the eleven Advancement Points he had just acquired to his Acupoints.

His forty-nine Acupoints began to frantically absorb True Qi, and an overwhelming Demon Flame, so dense it seemed tangible, erupted from his body.

A single step now covered dozens of yards. In the blink of an eye, he was right behind the man in black.

The man in black was scared out of his wits. Biting his tongue, he desperately pushed his Secret Technique to its limits.

But Zhao Rui was simply too fast.

Within the space of a single breath, he launched a palm strike from a distance, aimed at the man’s back.

The man in black scrambled into a forward roll to evade it.

The force of his high-speed roll smashed a crater into the farmland where he landed.

"Spare my life, Divine Envoy!"

The man in black pleaded as he scrambled backward.

There was no way Zhao Rui was going to listen to any more of his nonsense.

He closed the distance and rained several palm strikes down on the man’s body.

Seeing this, the man in black had no choice but to fight back with all his might.

Their exchange of blows was so intense that boulders shattered and the farmland buckled.

Who knew whose fields and crops they were, but they were utterly ruined in the process.

"Who... are you... really...?"

Dozens of moves later, the man in black’s Secret Technique wore off. Zhao Rui landed a palm strike on him, sending him crashing to the ground.

He managed to utter those few words before his last breath escaped him.

’So it’s true,’ Zhao Rui thought. ’You can never underestimate anyone.’

Zhao Rui broke out in a cold sweat. The close call shattered the arrogance he had developed recently.

’I thought that with my current strength, almost no one could hurt me.’

’And yet, this man in black almost succeeded with his sneak attack.’

"Hey, brother-in-law, time to work." "What time is it?" "Does the time matter? Your big break is here!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Zhao Rui hung up and couldn’t help but marvel. ’Cell phones in this world are really built to last. All made by companies with integrity.’

Using the light from his phone’s flashlight, Zhao Rui opened one of the brocade boxes.

Inside lay a fragment of a leaf that looked as if it were carved from green jade.

’So this is the Shady Grass?’