Chapter Eleven: Indistinguishable Between Male and Female

Gao Qiu suddenly turned around and saw a pair of beguiling eyes and a swaying waist.

Kou'er?

Recognizing the speaker, Lei Xiang's heart trembled. "This mysterious woman—could she also be from the Heaven-Scar Gate? No wonder she cared so much about the Spirit Fruit back then. It seems she's been undercover at Lei Fortress for years, and her strange disappearance recently makes sense now."

But Gao Qiu's face lit up with delight. "Master Tianque, you've finally arrived."

Master Tianque? Kou'er? These names were worlds apart—could they be the same person? Even someone as astute as Lei Xiang was baffled.

Master Tianque moved with delicate steps, but her figure suddenly elongated, her waist thickening from slender to barrel-like. Yet she still addressed Lei Zhennan in gentle tones: "Actually, Lei Zhong had no choice. It's your fault for forbidding Foundation Establishment. In a hundred years, you'll all be bones. Now, Heaven-Scar Gate has given him new life—he broke through in just three months. Lei Zhennan, you should join us. With Master Gao Tiancan's help, you could establish your foundation, and though you may not reach the Great Dao, you could at least live another hundred years."

A burly man spoke with the voice of a woman.

Lei Xiang shuddered, goosebumps rising all over, while Lei Zhennan snorted fiercely, saying nothing.

Master Tianque smiled flirtatiously and strode up to Lei Xiang. Now he had morphed into a middle-aged man, fully unleashing the aura of the fourteenth level. "Lei Xiang, you advanced so quickly—clearly the Spirit Fruit worked wonders. But you won't be able to absorb it all. When I'm done here, I'll bleed you dry. Don't waste the fruit's spiritual energy."

Then he turned and ordered, "Keep an eye on this one—he'll be useful." Several black-clad figures returned to report, still having found nothing.

Gao Qiu grew impatient. "Master, hurry up—where is that thing?"

Master Tianque replied calmly, "I don't know the old man's exact location, but his grandson Lei Xiaowu told me: the old man loves his dogs, especially that Tibetan Mastiff. If we kill—" He moved his lips, transmitting words silently.

Gao Qiu hesitated. "He's killed so many people from Lei Fortress, and the old man hasn't shown up. Will he really care if we kill a dog?"

Master Tianque swept his sleeve. "Bring Lei Zhennan—we're going to the kennel." And so, Master Tianque and Gao Qiu, with the two remaining members of the Four Remnants of Meishan, headed straight for the dog pens.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang felt a gentle surge of spiritual power flow into him, instantly breaking the seal within his body.

Then he witnessed an incredible scene: an old man with grizzled hair suddenly stood up from the ground, his withered right hand waving casually. The dozen black-clad men and eight female horses nearby all collapsed silently like felled trees.

Old Zhang!

Lei Xiang recognized this white-haired elder as Old Zhang, the dog keeper of Lei Fortress—a man usually filthy and shabby. How had he become a peerless master? Judging by his aura, he was no weaker than Master Tianque.

At that moment, Lei Xiang received a voice in his mind: "I will go with Old Master Lei to protect the kennel. Follow me."

Lei Xiang was stunned, immediately recalling the powerful spiritual sense during the Lei Fortress tournament—it must have been Old Zhang.

So Old Zhang was a hidden master? What was his true identity? What treasures did the kennel hold? Questions swirled in Lei Xiang's mind, but he quickly decided to follow—if danger arose, he'd awaken Zhu Chi from his sea of consciousness.

Old Zhang had already rescued the other Lei Fortress people, instructing them to hide—after all, in a battle between masters, low-level disciples could offer no help.

Seeing everyone scatter, he spoke, "Remember the tournament? I started paying attention to you then. Today you fought fiercely against the Four Remnants of Meishan, confirming my belief. Among all at Lei Fortress, your overall strength is unmatched. You have a Stealth Talisman—use it to hide and strike at the critical moment."

The kennel was vast.

Lei Fortress kept over a hundred dogs, but only one Tibetan Mastiff. Lei Xiang used the Stealth Talisman, following Old Zhang to the mastiff's den.

Here, a fierce battle was already underway: a white-haired elder fought both Master Tianque and Gao Qiu. The old man, at the fourteenth level of Qi Refining, was outnumbered and at a disadvantage.

Old Master Lei had indeed been lured out.

Old Zhang shouted, "Old friend, take out that sickly one—I'll handle this androgynous master!"

Old Master Lei whistled, sidestepping Master Tianque, and conjured ten fireballs, launching them at Gao Qiu. Gao Qiu sneered and flicked his sleeve, sending out a jet-black ray like a bolt of dark lightning, cleaving the fireballs in midair. But Old Master Lei split and guided the scattered fireballs to converge, forming a foot-long firebird that charged straight at Gao Qiu.

Gao Qiu coughed lightly, spewing foul blood that transformed into a thick black mist. The firebird plunged into the blood fog, which rolled and crackled ominously.

Old Master Lei frowned, pulled out a dozen talismans, and flung them at Gao Qiu. The talismans exploded, turning into dozens of fire snakes and a hundred ice ducks, surging forward mightily. Gao Qiu summoned a black shield that expanded to tabletop size, blocking the assault.

The Four Remnants' bamboo pole was startled—he hadn't expected this century-old elder to be so formidable. Exchanging glances with the fat one, they raised their protective barrier and launched a flanking attack from a side door.

Compared to the chaos there, Old Zhang's side was eerily calm. He produced a small green box, placed it on his leg, and began a ritual. Lei Xiang saw clearly—it was Lei Fortress's only treasured talisman, the Red Luan Blade. If activated successfully, victory would be assured.

Master Tianque noticed the threat, summoned a Scarlet Banner, and unfurled it. On the black banner was embroidered a blood-red mouth, identical to the one on the gate.

Master Tianque began chanting a complex incantation, and the Scarlet Banner was enveloped in black mist.

Both masters were using their trump cards. Their next moves would shake the heavens—whoever succeeded first would win.

Hidden and watching, Lei Xiang calculated rapidly. He dared not move—any action at such close range might expose him to Master Tianque. He could only wait.

Wait for an opening—a flaw in Master Tianque's defense—to strike decisively.

Now Master Tianque seemed faster. His Scarlet Banner began to transform; through the black mist, the blood-red mouth could be seen opening, lips gleaming wetly, slowly devouring the surrounding blackness. Old Zhang's side showed little change.

"Devour!"

Suddenly, Master Tianque shouted. The blood mouth on the Scarlet Banner sucked in all the remaining black mist.

"Fog!" The gaping mouth spewed out boundless black fog, forming a cloud a yard across that surged toward Old Zhang.

Even from a distance, Lei Xiang smelled the stench. Old Zhang, enveloped in the black cloud, watched as the fog began to erode his protective barrier.

"No more waiting." Old Zhang poured spiritual power recklessly into the green box, which began to glow with emerald light. But the excessive output left his face pale and gaunt. Ignoring his own state, he pointed.

"Kill!"

Suddenly, the green box blazed, and a red light shot out, blasting the black fog into swirling chaos before annihilating it completely.

Lei Xiang, hidden, stuck out his tongue in awe. Compared to Lei Xiaowu's childish play with the Red Luan Blade talisman, this was worlds apart.

The Red Luan Blade in Old Zhang's hands was superior in force, aura, speed, and accuracy—its power was ten times greater.

The talisman's strength depended on the user's cultivation.

With Old Zhang's display, even if he wasn't at Foundation Establishment, he was close enough. With such a master holding the line, Lei Xiang's heart eased.

Master Tianque's heart leapt to his throat. "What kind of being is this? Fourteenth-level perfection? Even the top-tier Scarlet Banner can't guarantee victory."

He gritted his teeth, about to use a secret technique, when suddenly a red light flashed before him. His protective barrier was useless; he hurriedly raised his hand to block the red blade.

A sickening sound—the blade pierced his hand, then his chest.

The red light shot through Master Tianque's body, circled back to Old Zhang's hand, revealing its true form—a rustic talisman inscribed with a three-inch-seven red blade.

Master Tianque's corpse fell. Lei Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, about to put away his Stealth Talisman and approach, when he noticed something astonishing.

Master Tianque, dead beyond doubt, moved. His fingers twitched, then his arm, then his head, finally his torso.

Lei Xiang immediately abandoned his plan, holding his breath, watching intently.

Master Tianque sat up, blood still pouring from the gaping hole in his chest.

But he seemed unconcerned, smiling at Old Zhang. "Who are you? How do you have the Red Luan Blade?" he asked, blood trickling down his lips, apparently unaware of his wounds.

Old Zhang continued to pour spiritual power into the Red Luan Blade talisman. "You're not Tianque—I killed him. Who are you, and why are you possessing Tianque?"

"Tianque" burst out laughing and stood. His aura changed completely.

Foundation Establishment, early stage!

This man was a Foundation Establishment cultivator! Old Zhang's heart sank, pouring spiritual power feverishly into the Red Luan Blade.

"Tianque" sneered, "I am Gao Tiancan of Heaven-Scar Gate. I came only for that treasure. If you hand it over, I'll leave, and won't hold your killing of Tianque against you."

"In your dreams!" The speaker, who had just slain the Four Remnants of Meishan, was Old Master Lei—but he managed only those two words before he could say no more.

A pitch-black handprint landed squarely on his chest, and Old Master Lei toppled over.

One move,

Just one move—and Lei Fortress's top expert was gone. How terrifying was that?

Gao Tiancan said, "Don't try any tricks—the Red Luan Blade talisman is useless against me. No one in Lei Fortress can stop me."

He made a dazzling series of gestures, pointing at the Scarlet Banner. The enormous mouth flew out, expanding in the wind to over twenty feet, lunging at Old Zhang.

"Greedy Mouth, go!"

Old Zhang was startled, about to activate the Red Luan Blade, but the Greedy Mouth changed course.

It suddenly turned and darted toward Lei Xiang's hiding place, its blood-red maw wide open, revealing rows of cucumber-like green teeth.

Second update