Chapter 29: The Righteous Alliance

"Ah! Ah! Ah..."

Successive shrieks began to ring out.

The group, fleeing in a panicked frenzy, withered away one by one in an instant. The scene was horrifying and chilling to the bone. The cyan infant moved with supernatural speed, appearing as nothing more than a blurred shadow. With every flicker, another person fell dead, a display of terror that defied reason.

Wang Shutian’s eyes widened in terror. Struggling to support his injured body, he scrambled toward a nearby alley.

*Damn it, what on earth is that thing?*

It was completely beyond his comprehension! Sword techniques, palm strikes, blade arts—it was entirely immune to them all. A single flash of its form was enough to drain a man into a desiccated corpse. Was this some kind of demon? And these rabble, fleeing in such chaotic panic—weren't they just handing that monster an opportunity on a silver platter?

"Damn it!" Wang Shutian cursed under his breath.

*Cackle, cackle, cackle...*

Suddenly, a bizarre, chilling laughter drifted from behind him. Wang Shutian’s face turned deathly pale. Filled with dread, he glanced back. At the entrance of the alley, the cyan infant stood waiting. Its ghastly pale cheeks were twisted into a grotesque smile as it stared directly at him, its mouth dripping with blood, radiating an indescribable, sinister aura. Under the dim moonlight, its appearance was all the more terrifying.

*In such a short time, has everyone else already been killed?*

Wang Shutian felt his scalp tingle and, ignoring everything else, broke into a desperate sprint. Suddenly, the cyan infant let out a strange laugh, left a trail of afterimages, and lunged forward.

Just as the creature was about to strike Wang Shutian, a figure dropped from the sky. With a single sword strike, the newcomer slammed into the cyan infant, sending it flying backward with a heavy thud.

Wang Shutian felt a surge of joy and hurriedly looked at his savior. It was a rugged, broad-shouldered stranger with a thick beard and medicinal plasters covering his forehead and cheeks. After knocking the infant away, the burly man grabbed Wang Shutian, leaped onto a nearby wall, and fled toward the distance.

"Many thanks to the hero for saving my life! May I ask for your name?" Wang Shutian gasped while running.

"I am 'Sword-Heaven-Support' Jian Feiwu. Now is not the time for pleasantries, keep moving!" Chen Xuan shouted.

"Understood, thank you, Hero Jian!" Wang Shutian replied hurriedly.

The cyan infant, having been struck away by Chen Xuan, scrambled back to its feet. The eerie smile on its face froze, replaced by a look of sinister, venomous malice as its eyes locked onto Chen Xuan.

"Cackle, cackle..."

It emitted a series of vengeful, chilling sounds from its throat before launching itself into the air, pursuing Chen Xuan and his companion with blinding speed.

Chen Xuan had not chosen to save Wang Shutian out of true altruism, but rather to use him as a gateway into the Righteous Alliance, hoping to spread the word about the cyan infant. After all, it was clear that Wang Shutian’s background was far from ordinary; his testimony would carry far more weight than Chen Xuan’s own. Moreover, even if he hadn't saved him, the infant would not have let him go. Rather than waiting for the monster to hunt him down, Chen Xuan decided to take Wang Shutian with him; if it came to a point where he could no longer run, he would simply toss Wang Shutian to the creature as a distraction.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The two moved with great speed, fleeing into the distance. The cackling sound behind them grew rapidly closer, sounding like the croaking of a frog—piercing, ear-splitting, and chilling. Wang Shutian’s hair stood on end, his face filled with terror.

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, Chen Xuan heard the terrifying rush of wind behind them. His expression shifted. He pulled out his final vial of highly concentrated Five-Poison Liquid and hurled it backward, then threw his longsword, which pierced through the glass bottle with a sharp crack. The poison within sprayed out instantly, spreading like a sinister green mist.

"Keep going!" Chen Xuan covered his nose and mouth, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.

Wang Shutian glanced back, shocked. "Five-Poison Liquid? How do you have that?"

"I killed a member of the Five-Poison Cult earlier and luckily managed to seize a bottle. Keep running, Young Master Wang!" Chen Xuan replied.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss!*

The toxic substance spread rapidly behind them like a tide.

"Cackle, cackle..."

The cyan infant let out a shrill, vengeful cry as it broke through the mist. Its indigo skin now looked pitted and scarred, with small wounds sizzling and melting away. It stared fixedly at Chen Xuan’s retreating figure, its small, thin body radiating a terrifyingly grim aura under the moonlight, and let out a series of piercing shrieks.

Suddenly, it leaped and vanished from the spot.

Chen Xuan had never counted on a single bottle of poison to stop the creature. Utilizing his beginner-level *Eight-Step Cicada Chase* to its fullest, he continued to run alongside Wang Shutian. They ran for several hours straight, only stopping in the dead of night. Looking back, the cyan infant was nowhere to be seen.

Wang Shutian gasped for air, his deathly pale face faintly tinged with a bluish-purple hue. He trembled uncontrollably, and a foul, rotting stench radiated from his palms. He looked at his hands, his face filled with horror. "I... I’ve been poisoned. That cyan monster is poisonous!"

Chen Xuan’s eyelids twitched as he glanced over, feeling a sense of wonder. *How?* He had been bitten by the infant before and hadn't been poisoned. Yet, Wang Shutian had only clashed with it once and was already suffering from a lethal toxin! Could it be that the item he had pried from the infant's mouth back then had saved him?

"Young Master Wang, let us return to the Righteous Alliance first. We must inform your family head, the elders, and the other fellow practitioners to seek their counsel," Chen Xuan said.

"Very well. However, I am suffering from the poison and cannot travel further on my own. Please, Hero Jian, carry me for a stretch, and I shall lead the way," Wang Shutian requested.

"No problem!" Chen Xuan promised.

He hoisted Wang Shutian onto his back and resumed their journey through the woods. With Wang Shutian providing directions, they finally arrived in front of a mountain villa at the first light of dawn: Wuyai Villa.

The area outside the villa was crowded with tents belonging to martial arts heroes who had flocked from all over Yun Province, hoping to ride the wave of the campaign to eradicate the Five-Poison Cult and make a name for themselves. At the entrance stood several servants receiving guests. Those with high cultivation levels were invited into the villa, while those of lesser standing were left to camp outside.

Chen Xuan, carrying Wang Shutian, approached the gates and was immediately blocked by two servants.

"Stop! Who goes there?" one of the servants demanded.

Wang Shutian, suffering from the poison, felt an unbearable, bone-chilling cold. He shivered, his entire complexion turned a deathly shade of cyan, and he had drifted in and out of consciousness along the way. Now, barely managing to stay awake, he groaned, "I... I am Wang Shutian of the Wang clan. Quickly... bring my uncle here."

The two servants paled in alarm. "It is Young Master Wang! Quickly, let them in! I will go report this!"

...

Inside a quiet, elegant drawing hall, Chen Xuan sipped tea calmly while waiting to be received by the leaders of the Wang clan. Upon their arrival, Wang Shutian had been whisked away by his uncles, while Chen Xuan had been led to this hall to rest.

As he felt the tranquil atmosphere, Chen Xuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. *The righteous path surely knows how to enjoy life.* Unlike his own unorthodox circles, where gatherings were always done in secret, tucked away in dilapidated temples or ruined shrines, and where the food consisted of nothing but flavorless rations and dried meat.

After a moment, a servant approached respectfully. "Hero Jian, my master requests your presence!"

Chen Xuan set his teacup down, rose to his full height, stroked his beard, and smoothed his robes. "Lead the way."

The servant guided him respectfully. Before long, they arrived at a grand hall. The atmosphere inside was austere and imposing. It was filled with masters of the righteous path, each breathing with a steady, long rhythm, their eyes sharp as lightning as they converged upon Chen Xuan.

Even before officially entering, Chen Xuan felt an indescribable pressure that made his heart skip a beat. After all, he was an impostor; his foundation was shaky, and if his disguise were exposed, he would have nowhere to hide.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Xuan forced himself to compose his emotions, continued forward, and raised his head. At the front of the hall sat three chairs occupied by three middle-aged men with imposing, majestic features—one in white, one in purple, and one in black. Behind them stood banners that revealed their identities: the Wang, Li, and Cui clans—the heads of the three great righteous families!

Beside them, in the first seat on the left, sat an elderly monk in a red cassock and yellow robes. He had white hair, a long beard, and a kindly expression, his fingers gently rolling a string of sandalwood prayer beads. Next to him was an elderly Taoist with a gentle face, wrinkled with age, appearing to be in his sixties or seventies, with thinning white hair and a faint smile.

*The experts of Shaolin and Wudang!*

Chen Xuan felt a chill of awe, then noticed the person in the first seat on the right: a middle-aged man in the uniform of a government catcher, a silver badge hanging from his waist. His face was cold, his chin slightly pointed, and he wore a thin mustache, his lips curled in a slight sneer.

*The Six Fan School!* Chen Xuan noted to himself.

"This one, Jian Feiwu, greets the seniors and fellow practitioners!" Chen Xuan said, cupping his hands in a salute.

"Hero Jian is too polite," replied Wang Jingqian, the head of the Wang clan. His tone was calm as he asked, "I do not know where you hail from, Hero Jian. My nephew mentioned that you have slain a master of the Five-Poison Cult and obtained a bottle of Five-Poison Liquid. Might you elaborate on that?"

Chen Xuan’s heart tightened. *As expected, these righteous experts are not easily fooled!* This was a deliberate test. Fortunately, he had prepared a flawless story before coming, having rehearsed it multiple times to ensure there were no loopholes. Without hesitation, Chen Xuan began to recount his fabricated tale.