Chapter Twenty-Six: Painted Skin

Lei Xiang was an exceptionally calm person, but this time he was truly stunned.

The Black Chancellor, from head to toe, peeled off a complete human skin, revealing a body covered in dense, bristling black fur and a gleaming, bald head.

The bald head still retained something of the human, but that thick, lustrous pelt belonged to no human being!

Shocking!

Yet the sniper’s particular calm allowed Lei Xiang to sense danger at once. “Something’s wrong. Why is he shedding his human skin at this moment? There’s something odd about all this.”

As Lei Xiang immediately tried to withdraw, the “Black Chancellor” suddenly spoke. “Have you seen enough? Don’t be in such a hurry to leave—there’s something far more interesting yet to come.” The voice was low and rasping, utterly unlike the Black Chancellor’s usual tone.

Even confronted with this bizarre transformation, Lei Xiang instantly steadied himself. He had not lifted the Binding Seal, so his cultivation still appeared to be at the fifth level of Qi Refinement—there was no room for the Black Chancellor’s suspicion.

Then Lei Xiang did something entirely unexpected, something even the Black Chancellor hadn’t foreseen: he put away the Concealment Talisman and stepped slowly forward, approaching the Black Chancellor.

If things had come to this, he would face it bravely. “Could you turn around and let me see you?” Lei Xiang asked the Black Chancellor’s back.

“I’m afraid I’ll frighten you.” A cold, rough chuckle.

Lei Xiang flashed a smile, revealing his small canine teeth. He could still smile at a time like this? “It’s all right. I have a strong heart. Let me see your true face—then even if I die, I’ll have no regrets.”

“Very well.” The Black Chancellor turned slowly. Lei Xiang, well prepared as he was, still froze for a split second—it was a face to remember.

A broad, melon-shaped face, two eyes like bronze bells, a gaping red mouth from which lolled a blood-red tongue bristling with barbs, and above all, a long, bearish snout.

A Black Bear Fiend!

That was the first term to arise in Lei Xiang’s mind. Could this be a black bear become spirit? Judging by appearances, it was likely only a fifth-level fiend beast, for it had not yet overcome the tribulation and achieved a human form—as only fiend beasts of the seventh or eighth level could attempt the tribulation.

Yet even a fifth-level fiend beast was not something Lei Xiang could resist, but he did not run—he knew the gap in cultivation was simply too great, and flight was impossible.

The best response was to do nothing.

The Black Chancellor habitually raised a furry paw, but this time, instead of wiping his mouth, he extended his barbed tongue and greedily licked his own palm.

Lei Xiang watched quietly, as if observing a circus act.

The Black Chancellor, however, was secretly astonished. “This young man is no ordinary person. Unfazed by my true form—does he not fear I’ll eat him alive? He is truly bold and composed. I must seize control over him.”

With that in mind, the Black Chancellor’s blood-red tongue flicked out and, with a “pop,” shot a black, date-sized orb into Lei Xiang’s mind. Lei Xiang did not move or resist—he knew resistance would be futile. This Black Bear Fiend’s cultivation was equivalent to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

The Black Bear Fiend stopped licking his paw and nodded, satisfied. “You’re impressive—your heart is indeed strong. Now that you know so much, I’ll tell you the truth. My clan is an allied society of the Blood Fiend Alliance. My main purpose here is the Xuantian Lihuo Grand Array; everything else can be ignored. You’re different from Lan Xi—she’s wanted by the Blood Fiend Alliance. Bringing her in will earn me great rewards.”

“The orb I just implanted is one of our alliance’s top-level gu arts—Frost and Flame Purgatory. It triggers every three months, alternating searing pain and unbearable cold. If you don’t get rid of it, in two years your flesh will rot from your bones. Other than our alliance’s unique antidote, there is no cure—not even a Nascent Soul cultivator can save you. One as clever as you should know what to do.”

Lei Xiang’s face showed no change; he spoke mildly, “So, to take the Xuantian Lihuo Grand Array, you may need the help of this false Crown Prince?”

The Black Chancellor sneered. “Dealing with a clever man saves much talk. If I succeed in taking the Xuantian Lihuo Array, I’ll remove the gu curse and the old seal as well. Then you are free to go, or you can remain Crown Prince of the Lihuo Kingdom if you wish. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to retrieve it.”

Lei Xiang said nothing further, and the Black Chancellor fell silent as well—a tacit understanding forming between them.

Suddenly, the Black Chancellor half turned, opened his massive jaws, and inhaled. Over a hundred white, date-pit shaped brains were drawn from the void, swept up by his barbed tongue and swallowed whole without a chew.

This was the true purpose behind their scheme—the Grand Array of Brain Examination. This high-level fiend beast needed a vast number of human brains to gain wisdom and higher thinking, preparing for the tribulation that would allow him to take true human form.

Daylight was just breaking. The Black Chancellor had just devoured brains for the ninth time, pausing only to snatch Lan Xi from the side chamber with a massive paw.

“Haha, Lan Xi, did you sleep well? Come greet your Crown Prince brother—he’s my prisoner now, just like you.”

Lan Xi’s azure eyes flickered but she did not move, only stared blankly at Lei Xiang, lost in thought.

The Black Chancellor watched, amused, as if at a play. “Go on, pay your respects! You haven’t forgotten him after only a few months, have you?”

Suddenly, Lan Xi stumbled forward and fell to her knees at Lei Xiang’s feet. Lei Xiang quickly reached out to help her up. “Sister, please rise.”

This sudden obeisance startled the Black Chancellor. “Can’t she tell this is a false Crown Prince? Has the girl gone mad?”

Lei Xiang, however, understood Lan Xi was anything but mad—she was sharp as ice and snow. In that brief fall, she seized the chance to send a message with her divine sense—just six words: “Follow my lead, watch my eyes.”

As Lei Xiang helped her up, he covertly slipped her a blank talisman paper on which he’d silently written: “Together, let’s kill this fiend.”

Gazing into those blue eyes, Lei Xiang wondered if they truly were so attuned—how had they both seized the moment to pass each other a message?

The Black Chancellor waved impatiently. “Enough mooning over each other! Go seize the Xuantian Lihuo Array. Once I set you free, you’ll have all the time you wish together.”

He licked his bear paw, then spat out a black cloud. With a wave, the cloud transformed into a dark wind that swept all three of them westward.

Lan Xi, her cultivation sealed down from the tenth to only the third level of Qi Refinement, was clearly unaccustomed to the speed. Lei Xiang, by contrast, felt nothing—this black wind was only half as fast as his own swiftest footwork.

Lei Xiang quietly oriented himself. His thoughts grew complicated—they were heading toward the Fire and Ice Volcano. Could the heart of the Xuantian Lihuo Array really be hidden there?

Several hours later, the black wind set them down near the volcano’s mouth. The Black Chancellor suddenly exclaimed, “Why is it so cold here? It used to be hundreds of degrees!”

Lei Xiang nearly laughed aloud. “I took the Weakwater Spirit Root and the Xuantian Lihuo. Of course the temperature dropped.” He deliberately lagged behind, but the Black Chancellor paid him no mind—two seals and the Frost and Flame Purgatory gu, what could the false Crown Prince do?

Seeing the Black Chancellor drop his guard, Lei Xiang kept his nerves taut, his face unchanged, every action measured—but his mind raced. The promise to set them free afterward was a lie he’d never believe. He began plotting how to escape the Black Chancellor’s mid-Foundation Establishment power.

No ordinary spell or treasure would work—he’d have to use desperate measures. The plan was set; all that remained was to await the right moment for a single, decisive strike.

The crater yawned before them. Lei Xiang made no move, and Lan Xi led the way as ordered. The Black Chancellor halted. “How much farther?”

Lan Xi answered meekly, “Just beneath this volcano.”

“Beneath the volcano? Won’t we burn to death?” The Black Chancellor hesitated, but the lure of the Xuantian Lihuo Array won out. With a shake of his black robes, a black whirlwind enveloped the trio and plunged them into the volcano.

Above, heat; below, cold.

Lei Xiang had felt this contrast before and was unfazed. Lan Xi seemed equally unaffected—had she been here as well?

With a crunch, the three landed on the solidified volcano floor. Each step on the crust sent cracks echoing through the air. Lei Xiang sensed that Lan Xi was guiding them toward the crystalline membrane discovered during the Gourmand’s escapade.

Indeed, a quarter hour later, they stood before the crystalline membrane. Lan Xi turned and smiled—a first for Lei Xiang. Her blue eyes shone with dazzling radiance.

Her glance at Lei Xiang told him her intent, and he quietly prepared himself. Only the word “attunement” could describe it.

Lan Xi touched the crystalline membrane, which burst into brilliant white light. “The heart of the Xuantian Lihuo Array lies within.”

As she spoke, the membrane’s light flared, revealing a round opening just wide enough for a person.

The Black Chancellor’s face lit with wild glee and he was about to enter, when Lan Xi looked into his eyes.

In that instant, a shaft of crystalline light flashed, refracted through Lan Xi’s blue eyes and shot into the Black Chancellor’s.

“Aaah!” The Black Chancellor howled. His vision was flooded with blue—what sorcery was this?

“Now!” Lan Xi’s shout came too late—Lei Xiang had already acted the moment the light flared, unleashing the Binding Seal, unlocking a purple light in his sea of consciousness, and hurling it with his full strength into the Black Chancellor’s mind.

The Black Chancellor’s scream was not only from Lan Xi’s blue light, but from Lei Xiang’s attack—a life-saving talisman left by Zhu Chi.

The Paralyzing Swan!

A supreme defensive skill, only achievable at the highest stage of Sea of Spirits cultivation. Zhu Chi had warned: it would kill anyone below the Core Formation stage.

But Zhu Chi’s spirit was weak, so the effect would last only ten heartbeats—during which the enemy would be paralyzed.

Lei Xiang knew the Black Chancellor’s fiend body was tough, so ten heartbeats would not destroy him. He had calculated the timing—once the blow landed, he would immediately throw out his Black Swift, power it with spirit stones, scoop Lan Xi by the waist, and leap onto the craft, ready to soar away.

Lan Xi’s icy voice stopped him. “Wait!” She leapt down from the Swift, raised her right hand skyward, and traced a strange sigil, then thrust both hands forward. The sigil shot into the crystalline wall.

With a crash, the circular wall split down the middle and retracted, revealing a gaping tunnel.

Lan Xi spoke quickly. “The passage is open—our only way out. I can hold it for just three heartbeats—one has already passed. Choose quickly: enter with me, or escape alone.”

It was a bitter choice—entering meant the unknown, while turning back meant certain pursuit by the Black Chancellor.

Two heartbeats passed. The crystalline wall was closing.

Time was almost up.

There will be another update tonight.