The Two Maps Are Exactly Alike in Their Falseness

The spiritual energy within Su Ji’s dantian poured forth in an instant.

A blinding white light erupted in the dim underground cavern with a deafening explosion.

"Ah—!"

The Joyful Union Sect Junior Sister barely had time to let out a short scream before instinctively raising her hands to shield her eyes.

The Joyful Union Sect Senior Sister reacted half a beat faster.

A pink talisman on her wrist shattered, transforming into a thin barrier of light that enveloped her body.

Yet even so, her vision was plunged into chaos.

And that momentary blindness was more than enough.

Su Ji’s spear never wavered in its trajectory, whistling through the air with deadly precision as it continued forward.

Thud!

The sound of piercing flesh was faint, yet chilling to the core.

The spear tip tore effortlessly through the fragile protective aura of the Joyful Union Sect Junior Sister, impaling her clean through.

Her wide eyes brimmed with agony.

She glanced down at the spear protruding from her chest—

Then her body crumpled limply to the ground.

Only one thought remained in her fading consciousness: If only I had never sought immortality…

I endured being trampled by countless men for the sake of longevity… yet I never even lived to see thirty…

Was the path of cultivation nothing but a lie…?

As the blinding radiance faded, the Senior Sister’s vision cleared just in time to see her Junior Sister slide lifelessly off the spear and collapse onto the damp cavern floor, a pool of blood rapidly spreading beneath her.

"Junior Sister!"

A scream laced with fury tore from her throat.

Her delicate, alluring façade shattered completely, her face twisting with unbridled rage.

"You’re dead!"

A billowing cloud of pink, cloyingly sweet poison mist surged from her sleeve—the Joyful Union Sect’s signature Soul-Dazing Incense.

Su Ji immediately held his breath, but the mist seemed alive, seeping into his pores. A wave of scorching heat instantly spread through his limbs.

At the same time, the Senior Sister yanked a hairpin from her bun.

Infused with spiritual energy, it elongated into a slender, flexible sword that sliced through the air with a shrill shriek, aimed straight for Su Ji’s throat.

A cold smirk curled on Su Ji’s lips.

The tyrannical spiritual energy of the [Fallen Dragon Desolation Art] surged within him, instantly purging the invasive haze of dizziness from his system.

"You’re not at Qi Refining stage!" she shrieked, her confidence wavering.

Instead of retreating from the oncoming sword, Su Ji advanced.

This Senior Sister’s cultivation was at least at the mid Foundation Establishment stage.

His grin turned mocking.

"You’re just too weak."

Before the words even faded—

His right hand thrust the spear forward while his left flicked out, sending a wisp of violet-black flame dancing toward her.

The [Drifting Ember Art].

The Senior Sister’s focus was entirely on Su Ji’s spear. Her hands formed seals, summoning dozens of razor-sharp peach blossom petals that filled the air, descending upon him like a deadly storm.

Yet the tiny ember slipped effortlessly through the gaps between the petals.

A searing pain flared on her wrist.

She looked down—the flame had already latched onto her skin. In the next instant, it detonated, clinging like a parasite as it voraciously devoured her spiritual energy and flesh.

"AAAAAH!"

Unbearable agony wrenched a bloodcurdling shriek from her. She frantically slapped at it, trying to smother it with spiritual energy, but the fire only burned fiercer.

Su Ji never gave his enemies a chance to recover.

A single step carried him meters forward, his spear lunging like a dragon’s fang, aimed straight for her dantian.

Maddened by pain, the Senior Sister abandoned all defense, throwing herself at Su Ji with clawed hands, determined to drag him down with her.

But just as she closed in—

Her enraged snarl twisted into a sly smirk.

An inch longer, an inch stronger.

Within seven paces, the spear was swift and precise.

But within three paces—

Spear techniques were often broad and sweeping, difficult to wield in close quarters.

Against a sword cultivator in melee combat, most spear users would meet their end.

Just as she predicted.

Unwilling to trade injuries, Su Ji chose to retreat.

His spear grazed her waist, leaving a deep gash.

But to trade a wound for a life—

Worth it!

Except…

Why was there not a flicker of emotion on Su Ji’s face?

Because—

She was fast.

Su Ji was faster.

As the glint of her sword flashed toward him, Su Ji didn’t dodge.

Instead, the sword at his waist—a weapon once wielded by a Golden Core expert—unsheathed with a resonant shing!

Clang!

A piercing metallic screech echoed through the cavern.

The Senior Sister felt an unstoppable edge slice through the air—

Her flexible sword was cleanly severed in half.

Impossible!

Her shock lasted less than a heartbeat.

Because Su Ji’s blade, after cleaving her weapon, continued its arc—

Slicing straight through her waist.

"Gh—"

Her movements froze mid-action.

Her final sight was fixed on…

A headless lower torso.

Why does this look familiar?

Agony and the fading embers of her life drew a soundless scream from her. The last glimmer in her eyes dimmed.

Then, with a heavy thud, her bisected body hit the ground.

Silence reclaimed the cavern, broken only by the rushing underground river and the thickening stench of blood.

Su Ji flicked the blood off his sword, eyeing the torn slit in his robe from her sword qi with mild irritation.

With practiced efficiency, he rifled through the Senior Sister’s robes, retrieving a high-quality storage pouch from her chest.

Next, he checked the Junior Sister’s.

Hers was noticeably inferior.

As expected.

Smaller ones don’t hide much.

He dumped the contents of both pouches onto the ground.

A cascade of clinks and clatters—

Over a dozen mid-grade spirit stones, thirty-odd low-grade ones, several unlabeled pill bottles, a handful of low-quality talismans, and a solitary jade slip.

Su Ji picked up the jade slip, testing it with a thread of spiritual energy to confirm no hidden traps or seals.

Then he probed it with his divine sense.

Instantly, an intricately detailed map of the underground caverns unfolded in his mind.

Every passage was meticulously marked, with hazardous zones clearly outlined in red.

His expression turned odd.

He pulled out another map from his robes—one he’d purchased from the Love-Longing Sect’s Contribution Hall.

Laying both side by side for comparison—

Well, well.

The two fakes are identical.

Su Ji fell silent.

After a few breaths, a low chuckle escaped him.

"Heh."

"Truly worthy of the Joyful Union Sect."

"Even in death, they try to drag me down with them."

His eyes turned icy.

He snatched up the jade slip and clenched his fist.

Crack.

It shattered into dust.

Then, with deliberate care, he tucked his own map away.

After a brief hesitation, he dismissed the idea of cross-dressing as a Joyful Union Sect female disciple.

Instead, he dragged all three corpses to the riverbank and kicked them in one by one.

The swift current swallowed them without a trace.

Now, it was time to follow the river downstream—

To see just how that blood sacrifice was coming along.