Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world.

Chapter 718 Play hard to get
The night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind whipped sand and gravel against the dilapidated earthen walls of Duange Town.

At this moment, the town is completely under control.

The blazing torches were held high by strong arms, and the leaping flames tore through the darkness, illuminating the faces that were filled with fear, despair, or numbness.

The metal armor plates clanged coldly and rhythmically as the soldiers moved, mingling with the crackling of the burning torches.

The gleaming longswords were already drawn, their gleaming blades gleaming coldly in the firelight, silently hovering above everyone's heads.

Everyone who had appeared in the black market, whether they were arrogant and domineering desperados, shrewd merchants, or spies with ulterior motives, were now like lambs being herded, roughly pushed and scolded by the soldiers, and gathered in the relatively open space in the center of the town.

The sounds of knees hitting the cold, hard ground echoed repeatedly; no one dared to resist, and no one even dared to breathe loudly.

In the blink of an eye, a dark mass of people knelt in a circle, huddled up, burying their heads deep in the ground, wishing they could disappear into the earth to escape the omnipresent gaze that symbolized absolute power and the power of life and death.

The soldiers stood behind them like cast-iron statues, their faces expressionless. The torchlight flickered on their cold armor and sharp blades, and the silent killing intent was more oppressive than any roar.

Qi Zijun, accompanied by several trusted men, was moving through the kneeling crowd as if combing wool.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority as he interrogated everyone about their names and origins, while simultaneously conducting an extremely thorough search of their entire bodies, leaving no item unchecked.

Those who occasionally try to conceal or resist are only met with even more brutal treatment, or even a bloody warning on the spot.

At this moment, no one dared to boast about the powerful background behind this black market, and no one dared to mention those legendary figures with extraordinary influence.

All pride and reliance seem so pale, laughable, and utterly vulnerable in the face of the title "Marquis of Zhenxi".

In this Western Desert, Marquis Liang Jin is Heaven, is the Law, is Yama, who rules over all life and death!

No matter how powerful his background is, can it be stronger than the sword in his hand, or stronger than the ferocious iron cavalry under his command?
Bao Rui knelt down at Liang Jin's feet in fear, almost pressing his entire body to the ground.

His clothes were completely soaked with cold sweat, clinging tightly to his skin, chilling him to the bone.

In stark contrast to Bao Rui's terror was Hua Nongying, who stood slightly stiffly to the side of Liang Jin.

The moment Liang Jin called out her real name, her heart almost stopped beating.

But it was only a momentary lapse in concentration. She quickly forced herself to calm down, suppressing all the overwhelming shock and panic deep within her heart.

She raised her head, her face straining to maintain an expression that was a mixture of grievance, confusion, and resentment, staring at Liang Jin, her voice even trembling slightly as if she had been wronged:
"My lord! What...what are you saying? I don't understand!"

She shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake off the unfounded accusation:

"What flowery shadow? My name is Su Yumo, as you know, my lord! If you don't trust me, find me an eyesore, or want to use me to gain some merit, you can simply hand me over to the Six Doors!"

Her tone gradually became agitated, tinged with the pain of betrayal:
“Since I joined the Marquis's service, I have been diligent and conscientious, and have never been disloyal in the slightest! Why, why, must the Marquis fabricate such a baseless title and force me to take the blame for that nonsensical ‘Hua Nongying’?! This is... this is too disheartening for me!”

On the surface, Hua Nongying's words were sincere and her acting was realistic, but in her heart, a raging storm had already begun.

This name is her biggest secret, the last barrier she uses to navigate between countless identities and conspiracies.

There are very few people in the world who know her real name.

She had only experienced this kind of shock and loss of control once in her life, when someone had laid bare her fundamental truth!
That was several months ago in the capital, in front of the Meridian Gate of the Imperial Palace!

Liang Jin, the Imperial Guard commander who rose like a comet and fell mysteriously!
He did the same thing back then, exposing her shocking conspiracy of impersonating the empress in front of countless people without any mercy, and even revealing her real name "Hua Nongying" in one sentence!
That time, she almost lost her composure and nearly failed!
To this day, she still can't understand how that lowly flag commander could see through her exquisite disguise and know her deepest secrets.

Fortunately, the man was dead, and the mystery seemed to have been buried forever with his death.

But she never expected this!

Several months later, in this remote western border town, far from the capital, amidst the endless yellow sands of Duange, the powerful Marquis of Zhenxi once again called out his real name!
Liang Jin watched Hua Nongying's almost flawless performance without the slightest ripple in his eyes, as if he were watching a clumsy drama that had nothing to do with him.

He was too lazy to engage in any more pointless verbal entanglement with her, and directly instructed Leng You, who stood beside him like a shadow:

"The Star Demon Sea lineage is most skilled in bewitching and seducing people, and in uncovering their secrets. I summoned you here specifically to have you pry open her mouth."

His gaze swept indifferently over the dark mass of people kneeling on the ground around him, his tone chilling:

"I suspect that among this rabble, there may be remnants of her accomplices."

He finally turned his gaze back to Hua Nongying, as if looking at an object about to be dismantled:
"Leng You, this vixen is now in your hands. I need to know everything about her, and all the schemes of those behind her."

The Star Demon Sea's many secret techniques are unpredictable and specifically target the mind.

Liang Jin himself had used a similar method to pry out many secrets from Mu Congshuang, who was then the empress.

However, these spells are quite complicated to perform, taking a lot of time and effort, and Liang Jin naturally did not want to waste his precious time on such trivial matters.

Leng You, not only was born in the Star Demon Sea and had mastered its secret techniques to an unparalleled degree, far surpassing Liang Jin in the past, but was also his absolutely trusted confidant.

She was the perfect person to deal with a femme fatale like Hua Nongying, who was skilled in disguise and had a strong will.

Upon hearing this, Leng You immediately bowed and accepted the order, her voice clear and firm, without the slightest hesitation:
"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will ensure that she tells me everything she knows!"

After saying that, Leng You slowly straightened up, her clear and cold eyes instantly locking onto Hua Nongying.

She strode towards Hua Nongying, her steps steady yet imposing, as if each step struck at the other's heartstrings.

Upon seeing this, Hua Nongying's pupils contracted sharply, knowing that she could not sit idly by and wait for death!

All warnings about "eight sounds piercing the heart" and "eight steps to be crushed to pieces" had been thrown to the back of her mind at this moment!
If we don't leave now, and fall into the hands of that demoness Xingmohai, then we will truly be doomed and face a life-or-death dilemma!
"Trying to catch me? Not so easy!"

A fierce glint flashed in Hua Nongying's eyes, and her pure internal energy instantly surged wildly within her body, attempting to forcefully shake off the approaching Leng You and buy herself a chance to escape!
However, the moment she raised her inner strength and her qi stirred slightly, Leng You had already noticed it!
A cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of Leng You's lips, and she let out a disdainful snort.

The next moment, she moved with lightning speed, suddenly raising her arm and using the wide black sleeve to completely cover her face.

In an instant, her long black hair fell down, and her face was swallowed by darkness, with only her eyes showing above the black sleeves.

The surrounding darkness made these eyes stand out prominently, as if they were the only eyes in the world that contained endless eeriness!
"Illusionary Eye Soul-stealing Technique!"

Her eyes, which were originally as clear as autumn water, underwent a strange change in an instant!

Deep within her pupils, a point of purple light suddenly shone, then spread rapidly like ink dropped into clear water, eventually transforming into two blazing purple flames that leaped and spun wildly in her eyes!
The whites of his eyes were shrouded in a hazy, silvery halo, like a thin mist under the moon, which added to the mystery and eeriness of his burning purple pupils.

The moment Hua Nongying's gaze met those strange pupils, it was as if she were firmly attracted by an invisible magnet!
She felt her consciousness screaming and struggling, commanding herself to immediately look away and not look any longer!

That was fear and a warning sign that stemmed from conscious instinct!

However, her brain seemed to betray her in an instant!
The brain took matters into its own hands, constantly issuing commands to the body to keep its eyes fixed on Leng You's eyes.

This intense conflict between her consciousness and her brain plunged her into immense chaos.

The internal energy was thus violently disordered, rampaging through the meridians and causing waves of tearing pain.

Her body became incredibly stiff, as if bound by invisible shackles. Even lifting a finger became extremely difficult, let alone using her internal energy to escape!
"Oh no! This demoness's eye technique... is terrifying!"

Hua Nongying was terrified and her soul seemed to leap out of her skin.

Despite possessing remarkable cultivation and numerous ingenious techniques, she was unable to utilize even a fraction of them at this moment.

He could only stand frozen in place, his eyes wide open, like a lamb to the slaughter, watching helplessly as Leng You, with that icy smile, approached him step by step.

Liang Jin took in the whole scene and nodded slightly in satisfaction.

He had personally experienced the power of Leng You's unparalleled "Illusory Eye Soul-Seizing Technique".

With this technique, Leng You is practically invincible among those of the same realm.

When he fought Leng You, if he hadn't possessed the rare item [Si Mian], he probably would have suffered a great loss under this Illusionary Eye Technique.

He even remembered that when Leng You was still at the fourth rank, he used this technique and was able to briefly affect the mind of Tu Xie Wang, who was at the second rank.

Although Leng You ultimately suffered some internal injuries due to the overwhelming and fierce fighting spirit and killing intent of the Demon Slayer King, and was unable to control it for long, such a feat was still enough to shock the world.

Now that Leng You's cultivation has reached the third rank, the same level as Hua Nongying, using this secret technique to deal with her is naturally a sure thing, a piece of cake.

However, at this critical moment when the outcome was decided and Hua Nongying was about to be completely subdued—

Mutations reborn!

A suppressed growl suddenly came from the kneeling crowd!

A dark shadow, like a venomous snake that had been lying in wait for a long time, suddenly sprang into action!
This person was clearly prepared, possessing extremely high lightness skills. With a leap, he soared into the sky like a falcon, instantly rising several meters high. His agile figure cast a long shadow under the firelight, enveloping the crowd below.

Liang Jin seemed to have expected this; there was no surprise in his eyes, only a cold mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth as he calmly said:

"Finally, you can't hide anymore and are willing to come out?" The figure in mid-air did not hesitate and slammed a palm down on Leng You, who was concentrating on using his pupil technique below!

The palm strike whistled through the air, unleashing a burst of energy that caused a muffled sonic boom in the air!
Even before the powerful palm strike landed, it had already stirred up the sand and dust on the ground, creating a murky, dusty area!

Although Leng You devoted most of his mind to maintaining the Illusionary Eye Soul-Seizing Technique, his expert instincts remained, and he instantly sensed the deadly threat coming from above!

Startled, she had to force herself to look away and instinctively turned her head to deal with the sudden attack.

As she turned her head, her gaze naturally broke away from Hua Nongying!

In addition, the pervasive sand and dust interfered with the effectiveness of the eye technique to some extent, and the powerful and eerie "Illusory Eye Soul-Seizing Technique" immediately lost its effectiveness and became ineffective almost instantly!
With her body suddenly loosened, how could Hua Nongying miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape?

"good chance!"

Overjoyed, she let out a sharp cry almost simultaneously, flipped her jade palm, and unleashed a fierce palm wind towards Leng You!

However, this palm strike, though seemingly fierce, was actually weak and ineffective, a mere feint.

As she unleashed her palm strike, she shot off like an arrow, using the sand and dust as cover, her figure flashing mysteriously several times before disappearing into the deep darkness not far away.

Clearly, her only goal was to escape!
Faced with attacks from both above and below, Leng You remained calm despite the shock, immediately becoming fully alert and circulating her inner energy to prepare to withstand the two palm strikes.

However, the expected earth-shattering collision did not occur.

Whether it was the palm strike from the man in black above her head or the palm wind from Hua Nongying's side, they were like rootless duckweed, seemingly powerful but actually lacking any staying force. She easily neutralized and dispelled them with a flick of her sleeve by circulating her internal energy.

"Oh no! They're trying to escape!"

Leng You immediately realized what was happening.

These two weren't really trying to attack her; their goal was exactly the same—to create chaos and escape!

Hua Nongying's attack was a feint; the man in black in the sky was probably just trying to distract her from rescuing her comrades!

When Leng You suddenly waved his sleeve and used his inner force to sweep away the swirling dust, there was no trace of the man in black in the night sky.

They have long since vanished into the void!

And at this time.

Liang Jin's calm voice rang out at the opportune moment, carrying an air of complete control:

"I will personally deal with that rat in the sky."

Before he finished speaking, and without Liang Jin making any move, his figure blurred and disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, as if blending into the night wind, it silently rose into the air and chased after the direction where the man in black had disappeared, vanishing into the depths of the vast night in an instant.

Leng You abruptly turned her head, looking in the direction Hua Nongying had fled. Her once clear and cold eyes were now filled with a chilling frost and intense killing intent.
"Witch! You can't escape!"

They actually let those two thieves escape right under their noses!
This is an absolute disgrace to her career!
Especially in front of the Marquis, this is an unforgivable mistake!
Now that she is trusted and favored by the Marquis, and even entrusted with the power to manage the daily affairs of the Western Desert, how could she allow herself to make such a mistake?
We must make amends!

We must capture that vixen ourselves to wash away this shame!

Immediately, Leng You suppressed his anger and sternly ordered the soldiers who were standing guard around him:
"You are to guard this place strictly and keep a close watch on these prisoners. If they make any unusual movements, kill them without mercy!"

"I will personally go and capture that demoness!"

The soldiers responded in unison:
"As ordered!"

The sound shook the world.

Without further hesitation, Leng You's figure blurred, and he seemed to transform into a wisp of intangible black smoke, merging into the darkness. With astonishing speed, he chased after Hua Nongying in the direction she had fled!

……

The night wind whistled past my ears.

Liang Jin flew high in the night sky, his figure almost blending into the thick darkness. Unless one had extremely keen senses, it would be difficult to detect his presence.

He wasn't flying fast; in fact, he was quite leisurely, just hovering at a distance behind the figure frantically fleeing across the Gobi Desert.

Liang Jin had already realized that the figure was only at the third rank and was not worth worrying about.

Killing such a martial artist would be a piece of cake for Liang Jin.

But Liang Jin deliberately let him go.

For Liang Jin now, figuring out these people's motives is more important than killing them.

After all, someone who dares to scheme against the Marquis of Zhenxi must have an astonishing power behind them.

"Is he the emperor?"

Liang Jin couldn't help but secretly speculate.

Hua Nongying must have been pardoned by Emperor Zhao Yu, and Liang Jin himself had only recently disobeyed the imperial edict.

It's not impossible that the emperor orchestrated all of this from behind the scenes.

However, Liang Jin believes that the possibility is slim.

Zhao Yu must be extremely busy with the domestic situation right now. Stabilizing the situation in the Western Desert is the most advantageous thing for him, rather than letting the Western Desert descend into chaos.

"Let me see just who you people are!"

Liang Jin decided to follow the figure for a while to see where it would run off to.

As for whether Hua Nongying would be captured by Leng You, Liang Jin was not worried.

Once he knows Hua Nongying's name, relying on the [Thousand-Mile Tracking] feature, Hua Nongying will have no chance of escaping!
However, Liang Jin did not know the name of this figure, which is why it was necessary for him to personally come to arrest him.

He had already clearly seen that it was a middle-aged man with a strong build, dressed like an ordinary merchant, but with a thick beard, wearing a straw hat to shield his head from the wind, and carrying a long knife wrapped in cloth on his back.

This person not only possesses exceptional lightness skills, but is also extremely meticulous and cautious in thought.

Even while fleeing for his life, he would occasionally turn around suddenly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the night sky and the earth behind him like a hawk, trying to confirm whether there were any pursuers following him.

He would even use the jagged rocks and undulating sand dunes of the Gobi Desert as cover, sometimes sneaking behind boulders to observe for a long time, sometimes deliberately taking a long detour, and sometimes setting up simple traps and gadgets on some must-pass roads or in open areas, in an attempt to shake off any potential pursuers.

However, despite his best efforts and cunning, all his efforts seemed futile and laughable in the face of such an absolute disparity in strength.

Liang Jin was high in the air and far away, far beyond the limits of the man's vision.

However, Liang Jin was able to use the [Si Mian]'s sharp vision, comparable to a precision telescope, to keep a firm grip on his every move.

This situation is like an eagle circling in the sky, coldly looking down at a wild rabbit in the Gobi Desert below, which thinks it is clever and keeps changing its route in an attempt to escape.

No matter how the hare tries to escape and hide, it can never escape the eagle's sharp gaze that overlooks everything and its thunderous strike.

really.

The bearded man wandered around the Gobi Desert, employing various counter-tracking techniques. After nearly half an hour of this, and repeatedly confirming that there seemed to be no one behind him, his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Without further hesitation, he adjusted his direction, exerted all his strength, and sped off in a completely opposite direction from Duange Town!

This time, he escaped to a great distance and increased his speed to the extreme.

His figure rose and fell swiftly across the vast, moonlit Gobi Desert, like a dancing black dot.

After traveling for nearly two hours and traversing more than two hundred miles of desolate land, he finally arrived deep in the Gobi Desert.

Here, behind a huge, sheltered sand dune, several inconspicuous gray-brown tents suddenly appeared.

Several camels lay quietly on the sand, ruminating. A campfire burned in front of the tent, and around the flickering flames sat seven or eight figures, seemingly talking in hushed tones.

Upon seeing the campfire and tents, the bearded man sped up even more, landing precisely on the open ground beside the campfire with a few leaps and bounds without hesitation.

Liang Jin, who had been hidden high in the night sky, saw this scene, and a cold, expected look of satisfaction finally appeared in his deep, star-like eyes.

"It seems the rats' nest... is right here!"

(End of this chapter)