Chapter 135 – Li Qinghe: It's Too Late to Leave Now!

Time flowed like water, soon reaching the midnight hour.

Under the cover of darkness with howling winds, within Fuhai District, teams of Acquired Realm late-stage security guards passed by, patrolling along the villa pathways.

They meticulously inspected the security situation throughout the entire district.

Meanwhile.

Three dark shadows clung to the eaves, ghost-like, overlooking the squad below before turning their gaze toward the Li residence.

“The core villa area is Li Daoming’s home!”

One of the shadows tilted his head and whispered, “Did you bring all the poison?”

“Brought it! As long as the Li family member touches the poisonous mist, his strength will surely be greatly diminished!”

Another black-clad man responded, playing with the flower-patterned snake coiled around his arm, “Speaking of which, after nurturing these spirit snakes’ venom for so many years, using it all on just one Li Daoming—isn’t that a bit too wasteful?”

“No, not wasteful… This night raid must succeed, failure is not an option!”

The third black-clad man crossed his arms and said coldly, “For the Venerable One’s great cause, when we strike simultaneously, we will surely take his life!”

As the words fell.

The three black-clad men exchanged glances, nodded to each other, then transformed into dark shadows, swiftly darting along the walls close to the ground.

Swish, swish.

The cool night breeze gently brushed past, moonlight falling upon the treetops, casting dancing shadows.

The dark shadows moved side by side along the path, silent as ghosts. Moments later, they arrived outside Li Daoming’s room, reforming into human shapes.

“This is the place.”

The black-clad man with the serpent arm crouched down, pressed his finger against the wall, poked a small hole, and peered inside.

Inside the room.

Elegantly decorated, the quilt on the bed was arched, faint signs of living breath emanating from within, accompanied by subtle ripples of Star Power fluctuations.

“Li Daoming is inside!”

“Pay attention, after I release the poison, five seconds of evaporation time will be enough to weaken his Star Power!”

The black-clad man with the serpent arm instructed in a low voice: “Once the evaporation time passes, the air inside will be safe. We’ll enter and carry out the assassination as we practiced.”

“Understood.”

The other two companions nodded, moving to the door, pressing against the wooden panels as they waited.

Hiss~

The poison-releasing black-clad man uncoiled his venomous snake, its crimson tongue flickering, as he guided its head through the wall hole, squeezing the poison glands in its cheeks.

The next moment.

Colorless, odorless corrosive poison was released.

Instantly, it transformed into a highly toxic mist, spraying toward the sleeping Li Daoming.

Five seconds passed.

In the center of the room.

The aura from the bed suddenly weakened, like the labored breathing of an elderly person on their deathbed.

“Success!”

The man with the serpent arm exclaimed in pleasant surprise, quickly gesturing to his companions, “Enter!”

Bang!

The other two black-clad men, hearing the signal, acted decisively, shattering the door lock and bursting into the room.

In an instant,

Star Power attacks erupted, several streams of light interweaving, all converging on the silk bedding, precisely targeting Li Daoming’s vital points.

Thud! Thud!

Dull sounds of flesh tearing and skull cracking overlapped.

Thick, crimson blood flowed out.

“Success?”

The three black-clad men looked at each other, feeling somewhat uneasy.

This was too easy.

They had expected Li Daoming to put up some resistance, but everything had gone so smoothly…

So smoothly it felt unsettling…

“Old Seven, go check. If there’s any breath left, finish him off.”

“Yes.”

The black-clad man with the serpent arm obeyed, walking to the bedside. He carefully lifted the quilt, glanced down at the bed, and instantly froze.On the bed,

there was no trace of Li Daoming at all.

It was empty!

Only three Starstones remained, emitting fluctuations that formed a human-shaped outline, simulating flesh and blood—clearly a small-scale Illusionary Array!

“Something’s wrong! Boss, this is a decoy!”

The Black-Clad Man with the Serpent Arm was dumbfounded and hurriedly turned to shout, “Li Daoming isn’t here! We’ve fallen into a trap!”

As soon as he spoke,

the other two companions paled, their hearts sinking as they turned to retreat.

The situation was wrong.

They had been tricked!

But at that moment,

when they suddenly looked back, they found two unfamiliar figures standing at the door, blocking their escape route in advance.

It was none other than

Li Daoming and Li Qinghe!

“Hmph, thinking of leaving now? It’s too late!”

Li Qinghe tossed her short hair, glanced at the torn bedding, and raised her fair, delicate hand to activate the nested Array Eye. Li Daoming stood beside her, channeling Star Power.

In the next moment,

Buzz!

The Star Power grew restless!

In the corners of the room, the Starstone Array Inscriptions glowed brightly, emitting a radiance as dazzling as the sun, illuminating the three Black-Clad Men.

Nowhere to hide, nowhere to flee!

The fifth-level Illusionary Array was activated!

The Black-Clad Men instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes while simultaneously driving their Star Power, charging toward the door.

“Old Seven, Old Five, don’t be afraid! Charge straight out!”

“They only have one Innate Realm cultivator, and there are three of us! No need to fear!”

“Let’s start with his daughter!”

As the words fell,

the three Black-Clad Men struck simultaneously, streaks of light flashing as they lunged toward Li Qinghe with palm strikes.

Boom!

A fierce wind swept through the room.

Three black shadows dashed forward, arriving before Li Qinghe in an instant, striking down with lightning speed.

Crack!

In that split second, the skull shattered, red and white brain matter splattering everywhere. Li Qinghe died on the spot!

“Hahaha, this Array Formation is nothing special!”

The lead Black-Clad Man, seeing Li Qinghe’s headless corpse, felt a surge of triumph. Looking at the sticky blood on his palm, he grew even more exhilarated.

“Li Daoming, your daughter is gone! Why not stop now?”

As he spoke,

Li Daoming watched his expression indifferently, a trace of pity in his eyes, and shook his head:

“Why don’t you take another look… at who you actually killed?”

“What?”

Hearing this, the Black-Clad Man froze, then looked down at the corpse by his feet. The nightgown dissolved into an illusion, revealing the form of his Serpent Arm companion.

“Big Brother, what did you do?!”

The other follower was also stunned, rooted to the spot in shock.

Just moments ago, when they had agreed to attack, the lead Black-Clad Man had suddenly changed his strike, targeting the Serpent Arm companion instead—completely unexpected.

It happened so suddenly that he hadn’t even had time to react.

Old Seven’s head had been blown apart!

“It’s the Illusionary Array… since when?”

The lead Black-Clad Man was bewildered, but he quickly grew wary of his companion.

If Li Qinghe had been an illusion just now…

was this companion necessarily real either?

Or perhaps, even the speaking Li Daoming was an illusion?

Wait…

The lead Black-Clad Man felt a surge of panic.

Damn it!

He couldn’t tell!

He truly couldn’t distinguish reality anymore!

In that instant, the companion beside him suddenly changed expression and lunged at him again.

The two of them, trapped within the array, turned on each other, locked in mutual slaughter!

…

At the door, Li Daoming stood with his hands behind his back, calmly observing the scene without a word. He took a slow step back and quietly withdrew from the Illusionary Array.At that moment, Li Qinghe arrived leisurely at the doorway holding an apple, witnessing the scene of two black-clad men killing each other in the room.

“How about it, Father? Is this all settled now?”

“It’s settled.”

Li Daoming looked down at the dead black-clad man with the serpent arm at the doorway, his heart still trembling with fear. “These people really think highly of me, actually sending three Celestial Realm experts to kill me!”

“They were actually at the Celestial Realm?”

Li Qinghe’s eyes widened in shock, while simultaneously feeling relieved.

Thank goodness!

If not for her grandmaster’s timely warning, her father would surely have met his end tonight.

“Qinghe, when you next see your master and Senior Brother, remember to properly thank them on my behalf.”

Li Daoming said gratefully, “See if they need anything – our Li Family will surely fulfill their requests!”

“Yes, Father, rest assured. I understand.”

(End of Chapter)