Chapter 1004: Deceiving One's Master and Betraying One's Ancestors

"Senior..." Seeing him stop, Hu Yunsheng looked puzzled.

"You go to the private room first and do as we discussed. Observe who wants to buy and note it all down. I have something to take care of; I'll be right back!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

"Yes!" Not daring to say more, Hu Yunsheng nodded and continued walking forward.

As Hu Yunsheng walked away, Zhang Xuan's furrowed brow did not relax; instead, it tightened. He swayed, then darted forward.

He soon arrived in a large hall.

The room was crowded with people, presumably attendees of the auction. Zhang Xuan glanced around, his eyes falling on an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.

The man appeared to be only at the early stage of Saint 1-dan, unremarkable in every way. A water-attribute true qi circulated within him, posing no significant threat. Yet, for some reason, Zhang Xuan felt a peculiar unease.

It was the same feeling he had experienced in the underground cavern.

"It's... an Otherworldly Demon!" His pupils constricted.

Having slain hundreds of Otherworldly Demons in the cavern, he understood how terrifying these beings could be. The man nearby, despite not emitting any murderous aura, exerted an equally dreadful pressure on him.

What was more, his Headmaster Token pulsed incessantly, as if ready to burst forth at any moment.

"Eye of Insight!" A faint pattern slowly appeared on his dark pupils. He looked, and sure enough, a tall Otherworldly Demon materialized before his eyes, its dense murderous aura confined beneath a layer of water ripples.

The Otherworldly Demon had somehow managed to completely conceal its murderous aura, making it undetectable to other Saint-level cultivators nearby.

If he hadn't recently slain numerous Otherworldly Demons, gaining extensive knowledge of them, and also possessed the Eye of Insight, he would never have detected it.

"I can't quite see through this guy's strength..." He clenched his fists subtly.

The Otherworldly Demon had used some special disguise method to obscure detection. While the Eye of Insight could discern its true form, it couldn't penetrate its specific cultivation level.

Of course, it was also possible that the Otherworldly Demon's strength far surpassed his own.

But... regardless of its strength, why would an Otherworldly Demon disguise itself as a human and come here? Was it also here for the auction?

Did the Earth Bodhisattva Flower hold any appeal for Otherworldly Demons?

"I can't let him go inside..." Zhang Xuan pondered, stroking his chin.

If this guy bought the Earth Bodhisattva Flower, how would he find the poison master? Moreover, a Saint-level Otherworldly Demon appearing in a densely populated area almost certainly implied a sinister plot; no one would believe otherwise.

He had to find a way to drive it away.

"But... how can I do it without alarming anyone else?" Zhang Xuan worried.

This was an auction house. Whether he acted himself or sent a puppet, it would inevitably cause a huge disturbance, potentially tearing the place apart!

Particularly, if the Otherworldly Demon realized its identity had been exposed and revealed its true form, the entire Jingyuan City would be in an uproar. At that point, attracting master teachers, finding the poison master, and entering the Poison Hall would become almost impossible.

As he pondered, he saw the disguised Otherworldly Demon following the crowd towards the inner area of the auction hall. If he didn't stop it now, he might not get another chance.

"No time to think..." His brows furrowed. Knowing there wasn't time for further deliberation, Zhang Xuan took two steps forward, swayed, and blocked the Otherworldly Demon's path.

"What do you want?" Seeing Zhang Xuan suddenly appear and block his way, the disguised Otherworldly Demon frowned.

*Clang!* Immediately, two guards by its side stepped forward, their long sabers simultaneously drawn from their sheaths, each radiating a murderous aura.

These two were actually peak Silkworm Seal realm experts, but they were normal cultivators, not Otherworldly Demons.

"Friend, why have you stopped me?" Seeing the surrounding crowd focus their attention, the Otherworldly Demon waved a hand, signaling its guards to stand down, then looked at Zhang Xuan.

It knew that causing a scene here could expose its identity, which would be counterproductive.

Since it had managed to infiltrate here disguised as a human, it certainly had its own objective.

"Heaven truly has eyes! I've finally found you..." Ignoring the Otherworldly Demon's demeanor and its two guards, Zhang Xuan's face suddenly contorted with extreme excitement, and he lunged as if to embrace it.

The Otherworldly Demon's brows furrowed, and a surge of power erupted from within its body, blocking Zhang Xuan's movement.

"It's Sun Qiang! Don't you recognize me?" Pushed away by the Otherworldly Demon, Zhang Xuan quickly looked over, meticulously introducing himself as if to a long-lost friend.

"Sun... Qiang?" The Otherworldly Demon frowned. "I apologize, but you must have mistaken me for someone else!"

It was disguised as a human and knew no one here. Where did this person suddenly come from?

"How could I be mistaken!" Ignoring its reaction, Zhang Xuan grabbed its arm. "We grew up together! When you were young, you were incredibly arrogant. You gained power rapidly and even beat up your own teacher! To seek revenge, you specially concocted poison to kill a Saint-level expert! Most importantly, you learned some Witchcraft Soul cultivation technique from somewhere, greatly increasing your soul power! I remember all this clearly; how could I forget?"

"He beat up his teacher? Isn't that disrespecting and betraying one's master?" "Concocted poison to kill a Saint-level expert? Isn't that a poison master?" "And learned witchcraft souls? Could he be a Witchcraft Soul Master?" Upon hearing his words, the surrounding crowd all cast hostile glances.

On the Master Teacher Continent, inheritance was valued, and teachers were highly respected. Disrespecting and betraying one's master would incur universal scorn.

More importantly, professions like poison masters and witchcraft soul masters were banned by the Master Teacher Pavilion. For someone to suddenly bring this up, it was already fortunate that the crowd didn't immediately rush forward to attack.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Seeing this stranger talking gibberish, the Otherworldly Demon's eyebrow twitched; it nearly exploded on the spot. "I don't know you at all..."

If it were to be surrounded and attacked by the crowd, its identity would be exposed, and its mission would be ruined.

It forcefully shook its arm, and a burst of power knocked away the hand gripping it.

"Don't recognize me? Fine then!" Ignoring the Otherworldly Demon's action, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow and said, "You say you don't know me, but three years ago, when you were being hunted down, your left shoulder was pierced through, and you were at death's door. Who saved you then? Do you dare expose your shoulder now? If I'm not mistaken, that wound should still have a scar, right?"

"You..." The Otherworldly Demon froze, clenching its fist.

It was true that it had been injured three years ago; its left shoulder was pierced by a special weapon, and it hadn't fully healed to this day, leaving a scar that wouldn't disappear even with its human disguise...

However, the wound was always covered by its clothes and had never been shown to anyone. Even its closest friends wouldn't know about it. How did this person know?

"Why don't you dare? That scar of yours was caused by a fire-attribute spear, yet you cultivate a water-attribute cultivation method. Not only is the scar indelible, but you also have a hidden injury within your body: a surge of fire true qi that fiercely assails your Soul Concealment Acupoint every full moon, causing you excruciating pain. Am I wrong about that?" Zhang Xuan continued.

"You, you..." At first, it was merely surprised, but this time its eyes bulged as if they might pop out. The Otherworldly Demon was nearly driven mad with fright.

What Zhang Xuan said was completely accurate.

The injury on its body had indeed been inflicted by a fire-attribute spear, and it truly cultivated a water-attribute method. Furthermore, there was indeed a surge of fire true qi tormenting it monthly within its body... Every single detail was correct!

It was certain it didn't know this person, and it had never revealed its physical ailments to anyone...

How did this guy know?

"What, still haven't remembered me? Are you hiding something, something that makes it inconvenient for you to meet people? Is that why you're afraid to acknowledge me...?" Zhang Xuan pressed on.

"Cough, cough! I remember now, it's Brother Sun Qiang after all..." Seeing the man in front of it disclose more and more, and the surrounding gazes growing increasingly strange, the Otherworldly Demon feared its identity would be compromised if Zhang Xuan continued speaking. It could only respond with an embarrassed expression.

"That's more like it! It's good that you remember me. Here, this is your favorite fine wine. As brothers, have a sip!" Seeing that it had acknowledged him, Zhang Xuan finally relaxed. With a beaming smile, he flipped his wrist, produced a gourd, and offered it.

"Drink? Here?" The Otherworldly Demon was stunned.

Even good friends consider the occasion when drinking!

They were inside the auction house, with so many people watching. What did he mean by asking it to drink here?

Not only was the Otherworldly Demon confused, but the surrounding crowd also looked puzzled.

"Yes, why don't you trust me? Do you think there's something wrong with my wine? You're still so suspicious. Here, I'll take a sip first!" With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan raised the wine gourd, opened the stopper, and immediately a rich aroma of wine filled the air. He tilted his head back and took a mouthful.

"Here!" After drinking, he handed it over.

"Let's drink another day. The auction is about to begin, and I have matters to attend to..." Frowning, the Otherworldly Demon finally shook its head.

It didn't know this person at all, and for him to suddenly appear and offer wine, it was impossible not to be suspicious.

"You still have such a suspicious nature, so much like an Otherworldly Demon, especially like that Waterleaf King of Qing Tian or whatever..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

*Creak!* It was fine until it heard those words. Upon hearing them, the Otherworldly Demon's pupils constricted, and its entire body stiffened instantly. A murderous intent flashed in its eyes.

Zhang Xuan seemed to be spouting nonsense, but he had almost completely revealed its identity!

In other words, his previous remarks weren't nonsense at all; the other party... already knew who it was.

Yet... it racked its brain but couldn't recall ever knowing anyone named Sun Qiang.

"You're right, good friends should indeed drink together. However, this isn't the place. Could we go outside together? Let's find an inn and drink until we're completely drunk..." Suppressing the murderous intent in its heart, the Otherworldly Demon let out a laugh.

Since the other party had recognized its identity, there was only one option: find an opportunity to kill him!

Otherwise, if its identity were exposed here, its mission would certainly fail.

"Go to an inn? Of course, we can, but you have to take a sip first before I go with you. If you won't even drink the wine I offer, who knows if you'll be drinking or attacking me later? You've even done things like disrespecting and betraying your master; killing a good friend wouldn't be much, would it?" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"You..." The Otherworldly Demon's face flushed with anger.