Chapter 189 – Li Jing: Don't Come Over Here!

In this world, there are numerous methods for both reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.

For instance, among Spirit Arts, there exists the 【Lifting Restraint Flow】 technique, which can detect life reactions around the caster, leaving no living being hidden.

To counter reconnaissance methods like 【Lifting Restraint Flow】, various counter-reconnaissance alchemical potions, alchemical tools, and other Extraordinary Items were developed to meet the demand.

For example, the Concealing Dive Potion that Su Ming once used to evade the detection of 【Lifting Restraint Flow】 is one such counter-reconnaissance method.

Throughout history, countless such reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance methods have emerged after extensive development.

As an underground organization operating in the shadows, 『Sin』 undoubtedly possesses numerous such methods—far more and far more meticulous than ordinary factions.

Even an obscure figure like Yi Junchuan, a low-ranking Underground Professional who was fortunate enough to obtain a Fiend Potion, brought along two Sorcerers capable of using 【Lifting Restraint Flow】. They managed to evade pursuit by forces in Longyao City, including Xu Qianqian, while accurately tracking Little Hai’er’s location, relentlessly chasing her everywhere. Now, this powerful force, capable of massacring even a top-tier faction like the Wang Family, must possess even more potent and comprehensive methods.

Ignoring these methods and infiltrating the territory guarded by 『Sin』 is extremely difficult.

Even as elites from various top noble families, the many Upper-Rank Professionals present were helpless in this situation, which speaks volumes.

However, as someone with a Golden Finger, Su Ming could always retrieve some unscientific, all-purpose cheat items from his package to handle such tricky situations.

Now, Su Ming had taken one out.

Unfortunately, as the chosen one, a certain elderly man surnamed Li seemed unwilling to cooperate in using this cheat item.

There was no other way.

“Who wants to turn into a mouse ah ah ah ah ah!”?”

Li Jing flew into a rage and prepared to smash a bottle of alchemical potion onto the ground.

Sadly, before he could act, the burly men around him pounced on him, calmly restraining him.

“Don’t be impulsive, don’t be impulsive.”

Duan Xiaofei grinned cheekily as he grabbed one of Li Jing’s arms, holding him down.

“After finally finding a method, do you want to render all our efforts futile?”

Gao Xu coldly seized Li Jing’s other arm, joining Duan Xiaofei in restraining him.

“Let me go!”

But Li Jing refused to compromise, still raging and roaring repeatedly.

“I’d rather die than do this!”

With such roars, Li Jing immediately began struggling.

The scene was truly intimidating in its ferocity.

After all, he was an Upper-Rank Hunter—a being with physical prowess so formidable it could be deemed superhuman. Once he started struggling in earnest, the commotion and spectacle were utterly astonishing.

Fortunately, the two responsible for restraining him were also Upper-Rank Hunters, and neither was any weaker than Li Jing. Thus, after considerable effort, they managed to firmly hold Li Jing in place.

“……”

Nearby, Lu Yang and Xu Yanyan watched this scene, at a loss for words.

“How boring.”

Bai Xuefei coldly tossed out this remark, seemingly impatient with the commotion.Only Su Ming stepped forward with a calm expression, retrieving the alchemical potion he had recently shoved into Li Jing’s hands.

This alchemical potion was precisely the cheating tool Su Ming had produced.

“You need to be reasonable, old man,” Su Ming said leisurely. “This is an extremely precious item that others would beg for but couldn’t obtain. Having the fortune to use it once is a blessing from three lifetimes, understand?”

“Bullshit!” Li Jing abandoned all decorum, cursing loudly in front of all the juniors. “If it’s such a great thing, why don’t you use it yourself? You just want to make me look foolish, don’t you? Let me tell you! Absolutely impossible!”

It wasn’t without reason that Li Jing resisted so strongly.

As he had said, the effect of the alchemical potion in Su Ming’s hand was to transform a person into a rat.

Of course, not an ordinary rat.

To be more precise, it was a rodent-type Phantom Demon.

“In the Spirit Demon Abyss, there exists a famously timid Phantom Demon,” Su Ming explained. “Though extremely weak in power and difficult to capture as Prey.”

“It’s called the Mossfur Demon, a Phantom Demon resembling a rat in both appearance and cowardly nature. Not only can it burrow, but it can also move freely underground…”

Before Su Ming could finish, Li Jing roared in anger.

“Isn’t that just a Marmot!?”

It was unclear whether this was sarcastic commentary or furious condemnation.

Unfortunately, Su Ming paid no attention to Li Jing and continued his explanation unabated.

“Although the Mossfur Demon is extremely weak, possessing almost no ability to resist other Phantom Demons’ hunts, and is despised as Prey by all Phantom Demons, its escape capabilities are truly remarkable. Not only can it burrow at incredible speeds, but its fur is covered with a layer of moss.”

“This moss layer helps it conceal any hostile intent. No matter what methods are used, it’s nearly impossible to detect a Mossfur Demon possessing this moss layer.”

“Even if the Mossfur Demon appears in public, its moss can function like a chameleon, allowing it to blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment, making it extremely difficult to notice.”

This was the marvelous characteristic of the Phantom Demon known as the Mossfur Demon.

And the potion in Su Ming’s hand was named precisely the Mossfur Potion.

As the name suggests, this was an alchemical potion that could grant the drinker escape abilities as powerful as those of the Mossfur Demon.

How specifically?

As Li Jing had already stated, it relied on the potion’s effects to transform oneself into a Mossfur Demon.

In other words, the method Su Ming provided for everyone was to have one person transform into a Mossfur Demon and approach the Ruins through burrowing.

This way, no matter what actions the people at the Ruins took, they could be detected.

And Li Jing had been honorably selected as the chosen one.

Or rather, he was the… sacrificial lamb chosen by Su Ming.

“You’re targeting me, aren’t you?”

Li Jing accused with extreme fury.

“I’m an upper-class Hunter, an elite of the Li Family, one of the Six Great Families! How could I possibly transform into a Marmot to burrow underground…!?”

Li Jing seriously suspected Su Ming was taking this opportunity for revenge.

To make matters worse, Su Ming frankly admitted it.

“Correct, I am targeting you,” Su Ming openly acknowledged. “But who told you to oppose me? If not you, then who should I choose?”

As he spoke, Su Ming’s gaze swept over the others present.

“……!?”Everyone present was immediately startled by Su Ming’s seemingly malicious gaze, especially Bai Xuefei and Xu Yanyan, who both paled and took a step back.

Clearly, forcing these two stunning beauties to transform into a marmot for underground reconnaissance would be more cruel than killing them.

No one wanted to become the sacrificial lamb, so they unanimously helped Su Ming suppress Li Jing.

Particularly Gao Xu, the usually aloof Blade Art master, who was most afraid of being singled out by Su Ming.

If Su Ming chose him as the sacrifice, making him transform into a marmot to burrow underground…

The mental image was so absurd that Gao Xu nearly lost his composure.

Thus, Gao Xu tacitly cooperated with the gleefully chaotic Duan Xiaofei to restrain Li Jing.

But Li Jing was clearly unwilling to comply.

“Even if someone must do this, it doesn’t have to be one of us!”

Seeing the situation worsening with no one willing to support him, Li Jing grew anxious and began defending himself.

“After all, each of our families brought plenty of people. Why not just pick a clever one to handle this?”

Li Jing’s suggestion was immediately rejected.

“No,” Lu Yang stated bluntly. “That would increase the risk of exposure.”

“Exactly,” Bai Xuefei nodded in agreement. “No matter what, we’re infiltrating a heavily guarded area. Who knows if transforming into a fur-moss demon will truly evade all their detection and counter-detection measures to approach the Ruins safely?”

What if the transformed person lacked sufficient strength to conceal their movements and was discovered?

If that happened, their only reconnaissance method would be exposed, alerting the enemy.

To prevent any mishaps, everyone naturally felt more at ease selecting an Upper-Rank Professional for the task.

Under these circumstances, with everyone adhering to the principle of “better you than me,” it was impossible for Li Jing to avoid being chosen.

“Accept your fate.”

Duan Xiaofei patted Li Jing’s shoulder with a sympathetic expression.

“You can’t escape.”

Gao Xu added coolly.

“You… all of you…!?”

Li Jing trembled with rage.

Did these despicable people have no sense of respecting elders and cherishing the young?

They were all scoundrels!

“Here, drink this.”

Su Ming had already uncorked the potion vial and was slowly approaching Li Jing.

“No! Let me go!”

Li Jing began to panic.

If this really happened—if he turned into a fur-moss demon, a marmot—it would be a lifelong disgrace, tarnishing his reputation forever.

Li Jing had every reason to believe these wretched scoundrels would never keep it a secret.

As the saying goes, “fellow traders are enemies.” Being the top Hunter Families in Longyao City, the Six Great Families had relationships as complicated as seven-generation feuds.

When facing major events, the Six Great Families would unite against external threats, but naturally, in ordinary times, they didn’t mind tripping each other up.

Otherwise, if one family’s power surpassed the others, the balance of power in Longyao City could shift dramatically.Thus, the Six Great Families were both rivals and allies, none willing to clash to the death with the others, yet none willing to let the others thrive.

If not for this, even after Li Wei’s incident, the Xu Family and the Li Family remained locked in a stalemate, with neither side taking drastic action.

Even the victimized Li Family only dared to let two spoiled heirs provoke and taunt Xu Qianqian in front of her, trying to irritate the Xu Family. Meanwhile, the Xu Family completely avoided exposing the matter openly, fearing it would give the Li Family a justified reason to act, which would inevitably lead to compensation.

As for the two families becoming mortal enemies over a single Li Wei—such a thing was impossible.

Unless a Family Head was killed, the pinnacle of a family destroyed, the Six Great Families would never become mortal enemies and clash to the death, as it would only lead to mutual loss.

Having lived to this age, Li Jing had a profound understanding of the complex relationships among the Six Great Families.

Therefore, he firmly believed that if something could embarrass the Li Family, the other families would either stand by indifferently or even take advantage of the situation, let alone in circumstances like these.

Once he became a laughingstock of the Li Family, these damned scoundrels would not hesitate to spread the news far and wide.

This thought drove Li Jing to struggle desperately, his body even swelling in the process.

He had resorted to Demonization just to break free.

“Hurry!”

“Do it!”

Seeing this, Duan Xiaofei and Gao Xu were startled and quickly pressed down on Li Jing with all their strength, shouting at Su Ming.

Su Ming did not hesitate in the slightest; he had already been poised to act. In a flash, he stepped forward and shoved the potion in his hand into Li Jing’s mouth.

“Stay away from me, ahhh—!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Su Ming mercilessly forced the potion bottle into Li Jing’s mouth, pouring its contents into his stomach.

Thump!

A dull sound echoed the next moment.

It was the impact of Su Ming punching Li Jing.

To prevent Li Jing from spitting out the potion, Su Ming delivered a heavy blow to his abdomen, showing no trace of sympathy for the elderly or the young.

“Guh…!?”

Overwhelmed by the sudden, intense pain, Li Jing swallowed the entire potion.

“It’s over…”

Realizing this, Li Jing felt his heart turn ice-cold. His gaze at everyone present was filled with sorrow, like that of an abandoned, lonely old man…

Then, the very next second, something miraculous happened.

Li Jing’s body began to change.

It was a transformation akin to Demonization.

Fur sprouted, claws grew, and his entire body shifted into a non-human form, his face contorting into a ferocious beast’s head.

However, this time, Li Jing’s body was no longer swelling and enlarging but gradually shrinking.

In the end, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Jing completely transformed into a strangely furred… marmot.

“Chirp, chirp!”

A somewhat indignant cry came from the mouth of this peculiarly furred marmot.

Witnessing this scene, the crowd was astounded.

“He actually turned into a Phantom Demon?”

Many cast peculiar glances at Su Ming, as if seeing him in a new light.

Such a miraculous alchemical potion was something they had never even heard of.

Could something like this really be handled by the ‘Cloudflow Commerce’?If so, then the Extraordinary Items handled by Cloudflow Commerce might be more numerous and special than outsiders imagine.

As the main family among the twelve high-ranking families of Cloudflow Commerce, does the Yun Family Estate have even more miraculous Extraordinary Items in their collection?

Everyone couldn’t help but ponder this.

“Alright.”

Su Ming acted as if he hadn’t noticed everyone’s expressions, casually lifting the despondent Marmot while speaking with complete composure.

“The Moss-Rot Potion has a time limit. Time is pressing, we should move quickly.”

Hearing this, everyone could only temporarily set aside their various thoughts and nodded in agreement.

Marmot remained limp in Su Ming’s grasp, hanging there dazedly as he gave up struggling.

(End of Chapter)