Chapter 1960: Sneak Attack

Zu'an flew northwest. After roughly half the distance, a thought suddenly struck him, and he looked down at the ground. There were two figures, seemingly dressed in the standard uniforms of academy disciples.

He quickly landed in front of the two: "Who are you?"

As he spoke, he carefully scrutinized them. Their appearances were unremarkable, the kind you wouldn't recognize if thrown into a crowd. Their clothes were heavily damaged, with traces of blood still clinging to them, suggesting they had endured a fierce battle. Both looked pale, and their breathing was ragged, indicating they had sustained significant injuries.

"We are academy disciples here for training. And who are you?" they asked, watching him warily, secretly tightening their grip on their weapons.

Zu'an raised an eyebrow: "I am the academy's Libationer, and I've come to investigate the mutation of Copper Gong Mountain."

"So it's Libationer Lord!" The two sighed in relief and quickly bowed to him. "Please save us, Libationer. We thought we were going to die here."

"How did you get injured?" Zu'an asked in a deep voice. Copper Gong Mountain was currently too strange, and any information would be useful.

The two exchanged a glance: "We encountered a purple monster. It was terrifying, and we were no match for it. Fortunately, we had some protective items on us, which allowed us to escape by sheer luck."

"What did the monster look like?" Zu'an asked.

"It was entirely purple and looked like a ghost from a storybook."

"Its entire body seemed to be covered in purple flames. No matter how we attacked it, we couldn't seem to harm it."

The two described the monster as they remembered it, speaking one after the other.

Zu'an mused that the two must have encountered Purple Flame Phantoms. It seemed there was more than one Purple Flame Phantom in the mountain. It was impressive that these two disciples managed to escape with their lives from the Purple Flame Phantoms. They were indeed geniuses from academies across the country.

He had originally intended for the two to join Ji Xiaoxi and her group. However, he had a change of heart; he had flown a long distance, and this location was far from where Ji Xiaoxi and the others were. They might not find their way, and if they encountered a Purple Flame Phantom again and lost their lives, he wouldn't be able to rest easy.

"I need to investigate further ahead. Come with me, and I'll take you out of the mountain after I'm done investigating," Zu'an said.

The two exchanged a look and quickly bowed to Zu'an: "Thank you, Libationer Lord!" Staying by his side would ensure their safety.

Zu'an nodded, thinking that upon returning, he would need to tell the academy to suspend sending disciples for trials.

"By the way, what are your names?" he asked casually.

"Disciple Wang Shao."

"Disciple He Lu."

The two bowed and replied.

"What?" Zu'an's scalp tingled instantly. These were the companions of those academy disciples from earlier. Weren't they dead?

"What's wrong, Libationer?" Seeing Zu'an's reaction, the two were puzzled.

"Nothing." Zu'an remained outwardly calm, but secretly wondered: Was the situation so critical then that Yao Fang and her group had no time to thoroughly check on them, and perhaps they had some feigned death artifacts, allowing them to sneak away after the Purple Flame Phantoms left? Or were Yao Fang and her group lying? He was full of doubts, but he didn't show it.

Soon, he continued northwest with the two disciples. Since they clearly hadn't reached the cultivation level required for flight, he carried them by their shoulders, flying all the way.

A while later, sounds gradually emerged from ahead, and faint outlines of figures could be seen, suggesting they were searching for something. Zu'an, neither dodging nor avoiding, approached with the two.

"Who's there!" The others noticed their approach and quickly drew their weapons, surrounding them.

Seeing the situation, He Lu and Wang Shao both sighed in relief: "It's not monsters."

Zu'an carefully observed the group. They wore the uniforms of yamen runners and constables, and in their midst, protected by them, was an old woodcutter. The woodcutter was trembling all over and extremely pale, perhaps out of sheer terror. Zu'an recalled what the Embroidered Uniform Emissaries had said before he entered the town. It seemed this was the team of constables sent into the mountains to investigate the missing woodcutter case.

"Who are you?" The head constable looked at Zu'an and the others warily.

"We are academy disciples, and this is our academy's Libationer, who is incredibly powerful!" Wang Shao eagerly introduced.

"So it's Libationer Lord." The constable's expression changed slightly, and he quickly led his subordinates in a bow.

Zu'an's gaze fell upon their somewhat damaged clothes: "Were you just in a fight?"

The constable nodded: "That's right. Some extremely powerful monsters suddenly appeared here. Our brothers thought we were finished, but now that Libationer Lord has arrived, it seems we are saved."

Zu'an was puzzled: "I've also encountered those monsters; they are incredibly formidable. How is it that you only sustained minor injuries?"

It was important to note that while these academy disciples bowed to him with the respect due to a senior, each was, in fact, a genius youth from across the country. Any one of them, if placed in Brightmoon City, would be no less talented than exceptional disciples like Chu Chuyan or Pei Mianman were in their prime. A group of so many academy disciples, acting together, had encountered that monster and suffered heavy losses. Yet this group of yamen runners and constables, whose cultivation was far inferior to the disciples', how could they have only sustained minor injuries?

The constable paused, then explained: "Perhaps the monster was already injured, and Old Zhang the woodcutter is very familiar with the mountains here, so we were lucky to save our lives just now."

"You seemed to be searching for something just now?" Zu'an looked around, but unfortunately, saw nothing.

"Just a lone monster. It was severely injured. We originally thought of catching it and taking it back, hoping to earn a great merit and a reward. Unfortunately, we searched for a long time but couldn't find it. The monster must have escaped, so we should head back."

Zu'an nodded: "This place is indeed very dangerous; it's not somewhere you should venture."

Why was that monster injured? Could it have encountered Ji Dengtu? That old rogue hides very well. He unexpectedly managed to severely wound this monster.

"Have you found any other information since entering the mountain?" Zu'an observed his surroundings. The mist was growing thicker, tinged with purple, giving off an intense sense of oppression. They must be deep inside Copper Gong Mountain by now. He wondered how far they were from Shadow Moon Lake.

"No, just one monster appeared and almost wiped out our entire group," a group of constables said, still lingering with fear.

Zu'an nodded. He certainly couldn't blame them. "Which direction did that monster run off to just now?"

"Over there," the constable pointed in a direction. "Is Libationer going to catch that monster?"

Zu'an grunted in affirmation. Since he was already here, he might as well figure out what was going on; otherwise, he would feel uneasy. The mutation of Copper Gong Mountain was truly too strange.

"Let us lead the way for you," the constable said. "We've been in this area for a while now and are somewhat familiar with it. Of course, it will definitely be safer by your side."

Seeing their somewhat nervous demeanor, Zu'an chuckled softly: "Alright." If he let them leave like this, they might not make it out of the mountain alive. It would be better for them to stay with him, and he could lead them out together with Xiaoxi and her group later.

Zu'an took the lead, walking at the very front. Wang Shao and He Lu walked beside him, while the team of constables spread out around them, protecting Old Zhang the woodcutter in the center.

However, the mist grew denser and denser, making it impossible to see more than a few meters ahead. Even Zu'an's divine sense could only extend a few dozen meters. He couldn't help but secretly lament that his special cultivation method always lacked the divine abilities of true Earth Immortals like Zhao Hao and others. If Zhao Hao were here, he would likely be able to perceive much further. Of course, he possessed many special abilities provided by the keyboard, which, when truly considered, were even more cost-effective than those of Earth Immortals.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came. Zu'an moved in a flash, instantly appearing dozens of meters away. There was no monster there. Instead, a page hung from a tree branch, seemingly torn from a book, with a trace of blood still on it. Zu'an picked it up and saw the content: a highly salacious story fragment. His eyebrows couldn't help but rise slightly.

"Libationer, what did you find?" The others quickly ran over, asking nervously.

"Nothing, just the sound of the wind," Zu'an replied, turning his back to them and subtly slipping the page into his pocket.

"Libationer, why don't we leave first? This place is truly unsettling," He Lu and Wang Shao said, swallowing hard.

"Alright!" Zu'an nodded, this time not refusing. Just then, a scream suddenly came from behind them.

"Old Zhang the woodcutter!" The constable was startled and immediately ran back. They had rushed forward too quickly earlier, leaving Old Zhang behind.

Zu'an flashed, returning to their previous location ahead of them. He saw Old Zhang the woodcutter already lying in a pool of blood, his life status unknown. He scanned the surroundings. The assailant must have fled. He then walked over to Old Zhang, turning him over to check where he was injured and if he could still be saved.

Who knew that in the next second, a sudden anomaly would occur? A strange smile appeared on the flipped-over Old Zhang's face, and his mouth opened, releasing a shadow that lunged directly at Zu'an's face. Its speed even surpassed the swords of the Shadow Loft assassins. However, a golden light flashed. Without Zu'an seeming to make a move, the shadow was already split in two. Only then did he clearly see that the shadow was a creature similar to a face-hugging parasite, with several tentacles still twitching slightly on the ground.

"Old Zhang, what are you doing!" The constable, shocked and enraged, rushed over and slashed his knife at Old Zhang. However, just as his knife was halfway through the slash, its direction suddenly changed, sweeping toward Zu'an's throat with an unimaginably increased speed.

The constable himself flew back more than ten meters, like a tattered sandbag, collapsing onto the ground as if every bone in his body had shattered. Seeing this, the other constables also drew their knives and slashed at Zu'an. Zu'an flicked his sleeve, and an invisible surge of energy spread out. The waist knives in the hands of the constables were instantly twisted into pretzels. The immense force continued to travel up the blades, quickly tearing the constables' sleeves to shreds, and their bodies were contorted by the rotational force, spinning in the air many times before crashing heavily to the ground. Their arms were naturally broken, and they lay dazed and disoriented, instantly losing all combat ability.

"These constables are compromised!" He Lu and Wang Shao nervously rushed to Zu'an's side, staring at everything in horror.

Zu'an's gaze fell upon the "face-hugging creature" that had been cut in two: "I wonder what this thing is..."

Just then, Wang Shao and He Lu, who were standing beside him, each drew a small knife and plunged it into his lower back, one on the left and one on the right. A sinister look flashed across each of their faces.

Zu'an sighed: "So, you finally couldn't help but make your move?"

The two froze, stunned. How could this person act as if nothing had happened after being stabbed in vital areas? They hastily pulled out their daggers again, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, because they found that their daggers had shattered piece by piece, leaving only the hilts.

"How is this person's body so incredibly hard?"

No sooner had this thought arisen in their minds than they were sent flying by an immense force, crashing into trees. Their internal energy surged erratically, leaving them without an ounce of strength.

"You... when did you realize?" The two stared at Zu'an in disbelief.