Chapter 24 | Sequence: Sacrifice

The situation had reversed once again.

If things had been looking grim for the minister's daughter earlier because of Xiao Yi's condition, the tide had now turned against the Shadow Lotus Church.

The reason was simple: an incident of this magnitude could not be kept hidden forever.

With a minister's daughter in danger, experts from the surrounding cities were bound to rush to the scene.

The longer the conflict dragged on, the more dangerous it became for the Shadow Lotus Church.

Now, the minister's daughter's goal was clear: win Yin Yang over and buy more time!

What she didn't know, however, was that Yin Yang had already stolen the fruits of the Shadow Lotus Church's labor.

For Yin Yang, his benefits would only be maximized if the Shadow Lotus Church emerged victorious.

This was exactly why, when he shot the one-armed elder earlier, he had aimed for the leg instead of the head.

He wanted to keep both sides as evenly matched as possible, and everything was proceeding exactly according to his plan.

Before the minister's daughter could even speak, Yin Yang aimed his crossbow at her head.

"Are you against it?"

This action sent a jolt through Xiao Yun's nerves. She quickly moved to shield the minister's daughter, her eyes darting warily between Yin Yang and the gray-robed elder.

The gray-robed elder, looking as if he had just seen a ray of hope, said excitedly,

"That's the spirit! If she has a problem, just take her out!"

Neither the Shadow Lotus Church nor the minister's daughter mattered to Yin Yang.

The only reason he was here was because his friend was here.

Otherwise, even if Jiuqing Mountain turned into a sea of corpses and blood, it wouldn't have cost Yin Yang a single second of sleep tonight.

In his eyes, they were all the same kind of people. The only difference was that if the Shadow Lotus Church won, they would most likely silence him.

If the minister's daughter won, she would record his name and eventually send over an honorary banner and a cash reward at some point in the future.

Was his life only worth that much?

Of course, the current situation was entirely different.

After Yin Yang helped make them 'evenly matched,' he was now the only key capable of breaking the deadlock in the short term!

Consequently, his value was rising.

"I'm not against it, but why don't you hear my terms first?"

"You should know who I am. Regardless of what Sequence you are, I can provide every single potion you'll need all the way up to Sequence 7. You should understand what that means..."

She trailed off because she saw the look in Yin Yang's eyes.

It was clear that she wouldn't be able to sway him with just a few words.

Xiao Yun added fiercely,

"Don't worry, Young Lady. Even if the two of them attack together, I can keep you safe!"

"The message has already been sent. Reinforcements will be here any moment."

Yin Yang kept his crossbow leveled. Xiao Zhe also groggily scrambled to his feet, looking dazed and clearly not yet fully aware of the situation.

"Yin... Yin Yang?"

"Get behind me and back away."

Without questioning why, Xiao Zhe immediately stood behind Yin Yang.

However, given his large frame, Yin Yang couldn't fully shield him.

The minister's daughter narrowed her eyes. In this life-or-death moment, she absolutely did not want to lose Yin Yang as an 'outside aid'!

Even if the other party was only a Sequence 7 or even a Sequence 8!

For instance, a bottle of the cheapest mineral water normally cost only one yuan. At a tourist attraction, that price might jump to ten yuan, yet people would still pay for it.

Had the water changed?

No. What had changed was the environment and the people's need for that water.

And when that same bottle of water was placed in a desert before a traveler about to die of thirst...

That bottle of water would be worth its weight in gold.

Right now, Yin Yang was that bottle of water.

And the minister's daughter was that traveler dying of thirst.

With that thought, she pulled off a ring and threw it toward Yin Yang.

"A transcendent item, the 【Liar-Eater Ring】. It allows the wearer to determine if someone is lying."

"The side effect is that you lose the ability to lie while wearing it."

"This is my sincerity. And my previous promise still stands!"

Whoosh.

The 【Liar-Eater Ring】 vanished into thin air before it even hit the ground, making both sides even more wary.

Only Yin Yang knew that the ring was now sitting inside the lantern-carrying ghost's book box.

Based on the faint aura it emitted, he could confirm it was indeed a transcendent item.

A piece of transcendent equipment could sell for at least a hundred thousand yuan on the black market.

That was enough for Yin Yang to buy the primary materials for his promotion to Sequence 7.

Take the money, solve the problem.

Yin Yang turned his crossbow toward the gray-robed elder, who was so livid he nearly burst into a string of curses.

The power of wealth was a transcendent ability in its own right, and more often than not, it proved far more useful than any Sequence ability.

Thwack!

The bolt flew.

However, it was just an ordinary bolt, far from the power of the earlier revolver shots.

Even so, it caused the gray-robed elder to be momentarily distracted. Xiao Yun took the opportunity to launch a ranged attack.

In the absence of her other companions, Xiao Yun refused to move a single step away from the minister's daughter!

What if she charged out and Yin Yang suddenly shot the young lady?

The gray-robed elder realized something was wrong the moment he blocked the bolt. He had braced himself for an 'iron fist,' only to be met with 'cotton'!

But it was already too late to adjust his strength.

Boom!

A short blade shot toward the elder's neck.

The elder frantically adjusted his position, catching sight of the kid drawing his crossbow once more out of the corner of his eye!

Seeing that it was still an ordinary bolt, the elder breathed a small sigh of relief.

Whoosh!

The bolt was fired, but unlike the previous one, a wisp of fire from the lantern-carrying ghost's lantern clung to it.

Puff!

The bolt pierced straight through the elder's other leg. Wisps of flame began to burn along the wound, as if his flesh and blood were nothing more than fuel.

The elder let out a blood-curdling scream and began trying to extinguish the fire.

Now that both of his legs were injured, he was almost unable to move, essentially becoming a sitting duck.

And although Xiao Yun had to protect the minister's daughter and couldn't move easily...

The frontal combat capability of a 【Thousand-Slayer】 was not something a 【Nightmare】 could compare to. The scales of victory had tipped completely.

Yin Yang slowly retreated with Xiao Zhe.

The transcendent item was worth exactly this much!

He had no intention of foolishly getting more involved. Who knew what kind of life-saving measures a Sequence 6 【Nightmare】 might have up his sleeve?

...

Whoosh—

A breeze blew across the mountain peak. Uncle Mo remained as motionless as a statue.

Black Feather, whose body he had sliced halfway through, stood up in an extremely eerie manner.

Tentacles of flesh and blood sprouted from her wound, looking like a mass of earthworms as they forcibly pulled the gash back together!

Blood flowed backward into the wound. The skin that had been charred by the light blade began to peel away, and in the blink of an eye, she was restored to her original state.