Chapter 986: Higher the Tao, loftier the demon

Chen Ling was somewhat speechless.

He had gone to great lengths to join this chaotic situation, intending to rescue the Rat Party to the best of his ability. But to his surprise, before he could even act, his identity was exposed.

Especially Fang Liangye, whose thought process was almost perfectly aligned with his own. Chen Ling hadn't encountered such a formidable opponent in a long time.

But alas, the forces against him were always one step ahead.

“I'm really not a Usurper!” 'Jia Chen's face was filled with anxiety. He glanced at the knife in Fang Liangye’s hand, then at his 'companions' around them, and gritted his teeth. “We're being hunted down now. If we keep wasting time like this, everyone will die...

“Alright, since you want proof, I'll go all out!”

'Jia Chen' snatched the knife from Fang Liangye’s hand, looked up nervously, and slowly cut his own cheek with the blade. Crimson blood trickled down his neck.

No one noticed an invisible Mind Serpent slithering off him, beginning to frantically devour and bite above everyone's heads.

“Jia Chen...”

For some reason, the Rat Party members' 'doubts' about Jia Chen vanished into thin air. They watched as crimson blood stained Chen Ling's clothes, and their hearts were shaken by the indignant yet resolute look in his eyes amidst their questioning.

Chen Ling's expression was distorted by the intense pain. Wu Duo could no longer bear to watch and stepped forward, grabbing Chen Ling's arm.

“He's right,” she said. “We could be surrounded by Usurpers at any moment; we can't waste time here... And if he really were a Usurper, he could just shout now, and the Usurpers around us would come and finish us off. Why would he go to all this trouble to lure us into a trap?”

“Exactly. Our priority now is to survive. If everyone has to prove their identity, none of us will escape.”

“We absolutely cannot turn on each other now... It’s precisely because we've stayed united that we've made it this far, isn't it?”

After the 'doubts' were stolen, the group now had an inherent trust in Chen Ling. Coupled with his superb acting and his willingness to disfigure himself for their sake, almost all the Rat Party members were now on Chen Ling's side.

Chen Ling, covering his bloody but not deeply cut cheek with his hand, hid behind the others.

He looked at Fang Liangye, a cunning smile hidden behind his seemingly bitter eyes...

The Mind Serpent coiled on Fang Liangye’s shoulder. He, too, had lost his suspicion of Chen Ling. After seeing the scene unfold, he hesitated briefly, then nodded: “Then let’s hurry and break through here first.”

“I still think going above ground is too risky,” Chen Ling said, seizing the moment when no one would suspect him. “Let’s go underground instead.”

As he spoke, Chen Ling’s Mind Serpent bit Fang Liangye a few more times.

After all, Fang Liangye was just an ordinary person. Even influenced by Chen Ling’s memories, a few bites had left his mind blank, nearly devoid of his own judgment. Although he was still inwardly reluctant to go underground, seeing that everyone else agreed, he deferred to the majority.

In any case, Fang Liangye was merely an ordinary person rescued by the Rat Party. With Chen Ling having stolen their doubts, the group would certainly prefer to trust the fallback plan left by their leader, Duran, rather than Fang Liangye's suddenly conceived impromptu plan.

Once their objective was set, the group quickened their pace. They followed the passage all the way to its lowest point and cautiously entered the 'door'...

It was called a 'door,' but it was actually a narrow tunnel. Its surface was completely smooth, without any signs of artificial joining, as if someone had used alchemy to directly bore through the earth and create this path.

“This place is indeed well-hidden,” Chen Ling himself couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

This path was certainly not man-made, nor was it part of any underground drainage system. Even if the Usurpers scoured their blueprints, they wouldn't find its existence. However, it was very close to where Red Sleeve was stationed. If so many people passed through here, Red Sleeve would definitely notice...

Against absolute power, there was no absolute concealment or safety.

He wondered how things were progressing with Red Sleeve...

Chen Ling was lost in thought.

“What’s going on with this place? It just keeps winding around...”

“This path isn't on any map either. Where are we going?”

“Who cares where we're going? As long as the general direction is right. With this many people here, those Rat Party members won't escape... Besides, aren't we just supposed to drive them underground?”

“No one is running towards us, which means they’ve all been driven underground as planned.”

“Right...”

In the dim passage, two Usurpers walked side by side.

Many Usurpers were involved in this encirclement. With a blockade of this scale, not everyone would encounter enemies. Since the operation began, these two had only heard distant roars and booming sounds; no one had run in their direction.

Just as they were growing bored, a phantom-like figure quietly appeared in the darkness behind them...

A pair of slender, pale hands gripped the back of each man’s collar from behind.

Before they could react, an immense force, as if lifting small chicks, slammed them into the ground, directly smashing through a thick stone wall, and then hurtled them away from the battlefield!

The excruciating pain and dizzying sensation almost made them lose consciousness on the spot. By the time they came to, they were lying in a pile of rubble...

A woman in a black enforcer's trench coat indifferently looked down at them in the dim light.

“Lady Red Sleeve... you...”

As one of the Usurpers was about to speak, Red Sleeve delivered a kick to each of them, shattering every bone in their bodies and completely eliminating any chance of escape. Two piercing screams erupted simultaneously.

But at this distance, no matter how terribly they screamed, their cries couldn't reach the ears of the other Usurpers.

Red Sleeve slowly lifted one of them, who was like a pile of mud, and spoke indifferently: “I ask, you answer.”

“Ugh... ugh...” A painful groan escaped the man’s throat, and his gaze was filled with terror as he looked at Red Sleeve.

“Where is the person who holds my memories?”

At this question, the two Usurpers’ pupils suddenly constricted. They knew the worst had happened: Red Sleeve, one of the Arbitration Enforcers, had somehow broken free from the Silver King’s brainwashing and developed independent thoughts...

But how could this be? Even if the Silver King wasn't in Wuji and couldn't regularly steal doubts, it was impossible for her to awaken to this extent in just a few days.

Red Sleeve waited for a long time, but no answer came. Her eyes narrowed slightly...

She casually raised her other hand, curled her index finger slightly, and flicked the Usurper's forehead. His head exploded with a thunderous sound, like a watermelon crushed by a locomotive, splattering crimson and milky-white matter across the walls!