Dong ZhenKang watched as the three figures, covered in cloaks that made them hard to see, walked out of the town. No hurry in their steps. Casually strolling past the barrier and into the darkness of the forest and night.

Using the strange fog as a final shroud against his senses.

He could barely make any of them out even while using his cultivation and Qi.

Then there was the issue of his Dao. The wind screamed in his mind as it attempted to fight off the clinging darkness. Struggle to change anything. The shadows moved lethargically around him like thick molasses, refusing to move when his Dao commanded it.

It made him feel strangely weak. Almost naked in a way he had not felt since he was a child. His previous experiences with the ancient Hu ancestor had been on a different scale. One he couldn't begin to understand or put into perspective in his mind. How was he supposed to know if that old monster was a few tiers above him or a hundred tiers above him when it was all the same. The results too would be the same.

But this was quantifiable.

He could measure it against his own strength and domain. Having just touched upon it when he entered the Immortal Peak Realm. The domain of his Dao. A blazing wind of sharpness and death. Made by the tainted core he had learned to take advantage of without the resources and sect backing to cleanse it so long ago.

"This shouldn't even be possible," he whispered to himself. "Is it almost in the physical realm? I can't tell."

"You really do find yourself facing insurmountable odds often, Dong Dong." Wu Xui was sitting on the throne seat. Lounging sideways, legs dangling over the armrest, finding comfort in her awkward sitting position. The longer Dong ZhenKang knew her, the more he found her to be cat-like in her mannerisms and actions.

With a similar grace as well.

Dong ZhenKang matched her smirk with his own wide smile. Hiding his nerves. "Yet, here I stand before you. Whole and vigorous."

Wu Xui smirked. "Indeed you are—"

Her voice made him shiver slightly. Enchanting. Maybe even to the point of bewitching him, twisting him around her finger. The way she said it. The tone. He wasn't sure what exactly about how she spoke that itched a primal part of his mind. No Qi was necessary. Nor was there anything connected to her strange Dao of Blood.

"—But a Dark Gate Palace and an ancient monster strong enough to cover the entire town and surroundings with a domain is beyond your level. That would be my haphazard guess."

"Your guess would be correct, Xu Xu."

Wu Xui giggled at his endearing nickname. She swung her legs down and stood up, sauntering towards him. She only wore her long robes and veil when she was in the public eye. With him, her clothes were far more comfortable. She reached out to him, trailing a finger over his chest. Eyes locked with his.

"Then what do you suggest, oh Wise Sage. We can't just wait for death, now can we?"

"No. We cannot," he breathed out. He gulped. "If we plan to leave this town, we would need to manipulate a few things to give the Dark Gate Palace someone to relieve his frustrations with. Buy us some time. Perhaps even distract them for longer. Preferably one that would satisfy Shao Yating's strange and gruesome hobbies."

"You have that person in mind?"

Dong ZhenKang smiled, pulling Wu Xui closer. He rarely liked a lady so much that he could see a future with her. "Yes, a perfect scapegoat. Easily manipulated and easier to hate than anyone else I've ever met."

"Oh?" Wu Xui leaned into him.

"You'll have to play the part of an angry cultivator. Demanding I fight you. Maybe to the death to make it spicy. Lang Tu will fall for it. Especially if we release some of our Dao and Liquid Qi, barely missing each other. Come in a rage attack while I speak to him and then demand the fight. The only one available to put into a position of leadership being him."

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Wu Xui nodded. Separating from him and stepping out of the window. She, along with all her possessions disappearing into the night. She would be watching as he lured Lang Tu into the gathering hall.

Dong ZhenKang called for one of his scouts. Demanding Lang Tu's presence immediately on the threat of death. Channeling his anger and annoyance. Leaking a bit of Dao infused Qi into his surroundings as he gave his orders. The scout quaked in his boots and left eagerly to escape Dong ZhenKang's ire, even if it were directed at someone else. The memory of the massacre he committed not long ago remained fresh in the minds of his subordinates.

Lang Tu showed up a few moments later. Stumbling on his feet.

Dong ZhenKang smiled, happy that his little show of power against the refugees had been so effective. It had reached Lang Tu's eyes and ears. This eased the whole process and made setting him up to be the interim leader a simple task.

"Lang Tu," Dong ZhenKang rumbled from atop his throne. "When are Shao Yating and the Elder arriving?! You said they would be here in a day or so! None of my scouts have seen hide nor hair of them!"

"W-Wait! Just wait. They'll be here soon enough. Y-You can't harm me or there will be retribution! Retribution, I say!"

Dong ZhenKang stood up. His wind slamming things within the gathering hall. Throwing tables onto the walls. A few vases nearly struck Lang Tu. His heavy throne slid backward very slowly, screeching loudly as it moved, adding even more tension to the atmosphere of his ploy.

"You best hope they get here in time," Dong ZhenKang stepped up to Lang Tu. Towering over him. Eyes burning with Qi as he stared the shorter man down. "Or they won't find enough pieces of you to put together. I promise you that. You'll be nothing more than paste on my walls. A red stain my servants will struggle to remove. A final inconvenience for the lower ranked members of my Silver Mountain Gang."

Lang Tu squealed like a pig. Falling onto his back side and crawling away.

The man lost all the confidence he carried ever since Dong ZhenKang had gone on his rampage after the Hu ancestor left for a month's time.

Dong ZhenKang snapped his head around. He jumped back as a bolt of pure red Qi exploded into the gathering hall. It decimated the entire outer wall. Shrapnel flew at him and Lang Tu. His beautiful mansion, ruined. Not that he would live here any longer.

Wu Xui arrived a second later like the storm he told her to be.

Lang Tu screamed. Running to the corner to get as far away from them as possible. Hoping to survive.

Dong ZhenKang roared as he sent a dozen wind blades at his lover. Barely missing her every time. Wu Xui did the same, making sure to damage the areas closest to Lang Tu. Making a show of their fake battle. They used up precious Qi to make it work out perfectly.

"Dong ZhenKang!" Wu Xui's voice sounded demonic and deep, yet still feminine. "You lied to me! Where is this righteous cultivator!? Why do I not find him!?"

"Blame your poor eyes! Do not come to me to solve your own failures!"

Wu Xui roared like a crazed beast. "Fight me! Or die the death of a squealing pig! I care not for which you choose."

"Lang Tu," Dong ZhenKang rose into the air, matching Wu Xui. "I despise you. But you are the only other person here. Make sure my Silver Mountain Gang does not burn down while I am away. Dealing with brazen insects! I'll be back quickly. Rest assured."

The fat, slimy, filth of a man nodded his head urgently.

Dong ZhenKang didn't look back. He followed Wu Xui, through the air, out of the town and landing outside of the barrier near the edge of the forest. They would walk the rest of the way lest the user of the inky fog domain decided to take offense at their flight. It would not be wise to fight someone so powerful.

They did not speak for some time. Only after some distance did they finally look back at each other, matching smiles.

"You looked like a descending dragon of destruction, Xu Xu."

"Dealing with brazen insects. I'll be back quickly. Rest assured." She giggled at copying his deep voice.

He matched her laugh as they made their escape.

"Let us loop around towards the east," Dong ZhenKang looked to his left. They would need to make a difficult trek to escape the Dark Gate Palace Elder. "We may need to make the trek through the Bleak Forest."

"Wait, what?"

Dong ZhenKang nodded at her. "Cai Xuefang is not a fool. If anything, he may be better at plotting and scheming than even I am. He most assuredly came with an army to prevent my escape. But no one would expect me to head through the Bleak Forests. No one."

"Yeah, cause that's a death sentence. There are still storms from the last war against a foreign creature that forced its way into our reality."

"We will have to take the risk. It's the only way." Dong ZhenKang said, hoping she was not about to have this argument with him. Neither one of them could afford wasting time here yelling at each other or figuring out a better plan. Things like this took time to figure out. Time they did not have.

Wu Xui cursed under her breath. "Okay. I get it. Let's do it your way and hope we don't die."

"It is a percentage. One far larger than facing Cai Xuefang or any elder of the Dark Gate Palace. At least we can still run from anything stronger than us in the forest. Hide. Survive through ingenuity. Not against Cai Xuefang though. That is an impossibility."

That demented old man loved torturing things more than even Shao Yating. Enjoying the process of ruining the strong.

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