Translator: Kazeyuki_, Henyee Editor: Henyee
Among the four people, Hu Qiulan was the closest to Wu Dingyuan’s location. Through the Observant Jade Finger Plate, Qin Wushuang could easily verify this.
Now, Wu Dingyuan had completely become Qin Wushuang’s puppet. Of course, he was able to see, hear and would obey all of his commands and send his spiritual perception to Hu Qiulan. He told Hu Qiulan that he had locked on to Qin Wushuang’s tracks and asked him to come to support him as soon as possible.
Hu Qiulan immediately responded, “Brother Wu, do not get too close and scare him off. Did you tell the other two?”
Wu Dingyuan said, “Not yet, I will contact them soon.”
Hu Qiulan had another consideration in mind, “Brother Wu, don’t be in a rush. Let’s wait to contact them, we will discuss the details when I get there.”
This made Qin Wushuang somewhat surprised. Did Hu Qiulan think he had already won the battle?
Initially, Hu Qiulan knew that Qin Wushuang possessed a Supreme Dao weapon and yearned to take it. These weapons were incredibly rare at the Xuan Yuan Mound. Even a major powerhouse such as the Venerable Hu Qiu family did not possess any Supreme Dao weapons.
Only the great first-rate sects who possessed the immemorial legacy had Supreme Dao weapons. Among the second-rate powerhouses, not many had Supreme Dao weapons. If they had them, they could possess more power when voicing their opinion.
Initially, the Heavenly Luo Daoist Sect was put into such a passive situation because they did not possess a single Supreme Dao weapon. They had no choice but to seek help from the Heavenly Punishing Villa and the Sound of Thunder Sect.
This Hu Qiulan was extremely clever. He knew that in order to get a hold of a Supreme Dao weapon, he had a good opportunity before him. If he were not to grasp this opportunity, then it could be said that he would not have any better opportunity than now.
Although Qin Wushuang, who possessed the Supreme Dao weapon, was incredibly troublesome and caused a great downfall to the Heavenly Luo Daoist Sect, many people had done their research thoroughly. The reason for the Heavenly Luo Daoist Sect’s fall was not because they were incapable of fighting Qin Wushuang, but because they were plotted against.
For a hand-to-hand battle in such circumstance, Hu Qiulan was confident that he would have a chance.
Yet if Yan Zhuiyang and Lei Jiao were to participate, Hu Qiulan would be left to the side.
There is an old-saying of how one can seek riches and honor through risks. To seize the Supreme Dao weapon, you must take risks. Or else, when one had taken the risk to offend the Heavenly Emperor Qin Clan to come to this dangerous Black Water, could it be they were to be the subordinates to those powerhouses and simply expendable?
Although they were indeed participating as their errand boys, deep inside Hu Qiulan’s heart, he was still dissatisfied by the situation.
Therefore, he told Wu Dingyuan not to inform Yan Zhuiyang and Lei Jiao at this moment because of his selfish calculations. He was full of ambition and drive to get ahold of Qin Wushuang’s Supreme Dao weapon.
What he did not know was that Qin Wushuang, was conspiring and setting up a death trap, waiting for him to enter it.
After two hours, Hu Qiulan arrived close to the promised location and had made contact with Wu Dingyuan. Wu Dingyuan did not reveal a single flaw and told him the exact location.
Overjoyed, Hu Qiulan swum quickly towards Wu Dingyuan. When he saw Wu Dingyuan was waiting for him behind a submerged reef, he approached him quickly.
“Brother Wu, how did it go?”
Wu Dingyuan said, “I have been following him in secret. He should not be too far from this place, no more than a mile. Brother Hu Qiu, why should we not inform Yan Zhuiyang?”
Hu Qiulan observed and formed a judgment of the surrounding environment as if he was afraid of Yan Zhuiyang and Lei Jiao appearing suddenly.
“Brother Wu, to tell you the truth, do you think that with all the hard work we have exerted that we should be out-staged by them? Do they hold a grudge with the Heavenly Emperor Qin Clan? We do not. We have been invited by them without a cause. Not to mention it’s an arduous and fruitless job and without any benefits, we could lose our lives at any moment. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”
Wu Dingyuan could not understand Hu Qiulan’s intentions. Staying in silence, he only looked at Hu Qiulan.
Upon seeing a strange look in Wu Dingyuan’s facial expression, he knew that most likely Wu Dingyuan was persuaded. Yet, since he was afraid of the other two powerhouses, he did not dare to utter his opinion.
“Brother Wu, let’s make a non-pleasant example. If you and me lost our lives here, at most the other two powerhouses would voice their regret. Our death will be in vain. If we kill Qin Wushuang, it would be Yan Zhuiyang and Lei Jiao who get all the fame. At most, we will gain an artificial name of being an accomplice. What good is there?”
“Brother Hu Qiu, what do you propose?” Wu Dingyuan asked with a smile.
“I was thinking along the way that this could be an opportunity. When you and I join hands to deal with Qin Wushuang, we could be victorious. We would at least we have a fifty percent chance. Doesn’t Qin Wushuang just have a powerful bow and set of arrows? If we can set an ambush and fight him in close-quarter combat to make him unable to use his bow and arrow, it’s entirely possible to kill Qin Wushuang!”
“Brother Hu Qiu, even if killed Qin Wushuang, would the outside world recognize our efforts?” Wu Dingyuan asked with a light smile.
Hu Qiulan said with a cold sneer, “We do not need the acknowledgment from the outside world. Actually, we do not need approval from anyone. The best way is to not let others know about this matter. Brother Wu, do you not admire Qin Wushuang’s innumerable treasures and divine skills? Certainly Qin Wushuang possesses many treasures. If we can kill him, we will be able to take as we please. Are you not moved by the Supreme Dao weapon?”
Wu Dingyuan laughed. “Moved? Brother Hu Qiu, if we could truly kill Qin Wushuang, how would we divide the Supreme Dao weapon? It’s impossible for him to possess two.”
Regarding how we split the Supreme Dao weapon, this is a matter between us. We can discuss this once we have succeeded. However if we pass up this opportunity, once we lose it, we will never have it again.”
Wu Dingyuan laughed. “That’s right. This is an opportunity that will not come up again if we lose it.” When they finished speaking about the matter at hand, Wu Dingyuan revealed a thoughtful smile from the corner of his mouth.
When Hu Qiulan saw this strange smile, his heart thumped. Vividly, he felt that something was wrong as his scalp had become numb.
“Brother Wu, you…”
Wu Dingyuan said indifferently, “Hu Qiulan, thank you for your collaboration.”
“You… You are not Wu Dingyuan!” Hu Qiulan hissed loudly as all the hairs on his entire body turned upside down. With this realization, he turned to run away as quickly as possible.
At that moment, a flash of golden light had suddenly pushed down from above Wu Dingyuan. When this golden light shot out, it’s mighty power had made it seem as if the heavens had lashed out, making the earth crack. It pushed down viciously.
Like a collapsing mounting, Hu Qiulan was pushed down by this golden light, making his entire body unable to move even an inch. It seemed as though he was suddenly pinned to the ground.
All of a sudden, his eyes protruded from his head like the eyes of a dead fish. The “Wu Dingyuan” before him opened his hands like a blooming orchid and shot forward three times with the tips of his fingers. He jabbed three waves of ferocious “Coagulated Sword,” penetrating Hu Qiulan’s center of forehead.
Hu Qiulan had never expected that he would die in such a stupid and cowardly state.
“Wu Dingyuan” rubbed his face and appeared differently. Indeed, Qin Wushuang’s face was revealed. Qin Wushuang had disguised himself.
Qin Wushuang had inherited six treasures from Lu Xianlou, one of which was the Heart Illusive Mask. This mask could allow one to transform their appearance into anything. Therefore, it was an easy party trick to transform into Wu Dingyuan.
Although Hu Qiulan was full of ambition, it could be said that he possessed a sophisticated mind. Yet in the end, he had no idea Qin Wushuang was using such a tactic to transform into Wu Dingyuan and even using his identity to send him spiritual perception. This had completely overturned his common sense.
He died with a remaining grievance!
Indeed, it could be said that Hu Qiulan had truly died with remaining grief in his heart. In the previous moment, he was ambitiously planning to deal with Qin Wushuang. In the next moment, he was rendered a lifeless corpse.
Up to his death, he could not figure out that Wu Dingyuan had not died at all. He was only being controlled by Qin Wushuang through the divine venomous poison and had become a puppet.
After he took care of Hu Qiulan’s body, Qin Wushuang took off all of Hu Qiulan’s clothes. With a single shake, he transformed into Hu Qiulan.
Now, it was as if Qin Wushuang had disappeared in the Black Water.
When Wu Dingyuan saw Qin Wushuang transform into Hu Qiulan, he was astonished. “Master, your transformation skill are truly unimaginable. Even though I am so familiar with Hu Qiulan, I can not see any flaws!”
Qin Wushuang said with a faint smile, “It’s impossible for those not in the Supreme Dao stage to see through it. Only eyes of the Supreme Dao stage would be able to see that there is something fishy about the appearance.”
Wu Dingyuan gasped with admiration. However, deeply worried and sick at heart, he asked, “Master, I have heard about your methods and divine skills. After leaving this Black Water, are you going to kill me to keep your secrets?”
“You want to live?” Qin Wushuang asked with a cold sneer.
With a pale face, Wu Dingyuan nodded. “I am willing to work like an ox or horse and I’ll be your loyal dog for my entire life.”
Qin Wushuang smiled lightly. “Good. To tell you the truth, I had not planned to kill you. However, even though you shared no grudge or resentment for my Qin Clan, you had created your own sins for getting involved. For this, you would have had to die for sure. Although since you want a way to live, I will give you a way to live!”
Qin Wushuang said coldly, “However, have you considered that if all three of the other warriors are dead and you are the sole survivor, wouldn’t that raise suspicion with the Heavenly Punishing Villa and the Sound of Thunder Sect?”
Wu Dingyuan mumbled, “I’ve already thought about it. Worst comes to worse, I will resign beforehand. This way, they will only think that I am cowardly clinging on to my life. Certainly they will not be suspicious of me.”
This was a rather feasible plan; however, the Supreme Dao warriors were old and full of wisdom.
Whether or not he could convince them would depend on his acting skills. However, Qin Wushuang knew clearly that it would not work to his favor at all if he were to kill Wu Dingyuan.
By keeping Wu Dingyuan alive, he could prove to be a good spy.
After taking care of Hu Qiulan, half of the four enemies had been taken out. Next, Qin Wushuang’s goal was either Lei Jiao or Yan Zhuiyang.
“Master, in terms of strength alone, Lei Jiao is almost on par with Yan Zhuiyang. However, Lei Jiao has a piece of Supreme Dao weapon that possesses supreme defense power. To make a move, you must do it to him first or else after taking out Yan Zhuiyang, Lei Jiao would surely be alerted. If he is alerted, it would be difficult to chase and kill him. It would be best if you kill Lei Jiao in a situation where he has let down his guard!”
Wu Dingyuan’s words had given Qin Wushuang some hints. If the other party’s Supreme Dao weapon possesses powerful defense, indeed it would be difficult to be victorious.
It would in fact be an intelligent choice to make a sneak attack on Lei Jiao when he was least expecting it.
