79: Chapter 79 The Plan Against the Embroidered Uniform Guard

The Black-Robed Man changed the subject, his tone carrying a hint of seductive, corrupting temptation. "Cooperate with me, and the benefits will be far greater than you can imagine.

This seat has plenty of 'burning blood demonic pills' in hand, enough to make you Breakthrough again in the short term, and even... within half a year, making you a Rank 3 Martial Artist is not difficult.

In the future, it might not even be impossible to strike for the Fourth Grade Realm, which no one in Heishan City has ever reached.

At that time, you will be the number one expert of Heishan City,

and the Liehuo Martial Arts Hall will also reach the very peak because of you.

Isn't this exactly what you want?"

Constable Lie Ming's expression shifted constantly, like an overturned paint palette. Fear, despair, greed, ambition—all kinds of emotions clashed fiercely within his chest.

The words of the demonic cult member were like the whispers of a devil, constantly eroding his faltering sanity.

The promise of "Rank 3 in half a year" and "striking for the Fourth Grade" was like the sweetest poison,

to this young Martial Artist, who had just experienced the thrill of a sudden surge in power and harbored deep, bitter hatred, it held a fatal attraction.

"I... I need to go back and think about it." Constable Lie Ming's throat felt dry, his voice strained.

He needed time, he needed to weigh his options, and more importantly, he needed to confirm whether the threat of "cultivation dropping and backlash turning him into a useless person" was actually true.

"As you wish." The Black-Robed Man waved his hand indifferently and sat back down on the broken stone, resuming his cold posture,

"However, time waits for no one. The backlash of the 'burning blood demonic pill' will begin to show its first signs in five days.

Whether you choose to cooperate with me and reach the absolute peak, or choose to have your cultivation completely ruined and live a life worse than death... weigh it yourself."

Constable Lie Ming fled back to the Liehuo Martial Arts Hall, looking almost as if he had lost his soul.

He did not go to practice, nor did he go to see anyone; he simply locked himself in his room, his mind in complete disarray.

"Should I tell Revered Master? Or... report directly to the County Magistrate?" This thought flashed repeatedly in his mind.

But it was quickly suppressed by a deeper fear.

What if he told them? Even if he could prove he was innocently deceived, what about the backlash of the "burning blood demonic pill"?

That demonic cultist said his aura had already been tainted; would the government believe him?

Would the Liehuo Martial Arts Hall hand him over just to clear their own name?

Even if he luckily escaped trouble, could he bear the consequences of his cultivation dropping and becoming a useless person?

By then, he, Constable Lie Ming, would become an absolute joke,

a fool who ruined his own future out of greed and stupidity!

Let alone seeking revenge on Lin Tian, he would probably find it hard to even maintain a foothold in the martial arts hall!

"Wait... just wait! Let's see if what that evil cultist said is true!" Constable Lie Ming gritted his teeth, deciding to take a gamble.

He began to carefully look inward, sensing the changes in his Qi and blood.

On the first day, his Qi and blood remained vigorous and surging, and because of his recent Breakthrough, there was even a faint trend of it rising slightly more. Constable Lie Ming's heart settled slightly.

The second day was the same.

On the third day, he vaguely felt that the Qi and blood rushing like a river inside his body seemed... to flow a fraction slower?

It was no longer so full of vitality, carrying an imperceptible sluggishness. Unease began to stir in his heart.

On the fourth day, the change became obvious!

His originally full and swelling Qi and blood, like a punctured balloon, began to decline and weaken at a clearly perceptible rate!

The sluggishness during its circulation grew heavier, and there was even occasional sharp pain. That powerful sense of strength brought by his Breakthrough was rapidly leaving him!

He could feel that his cultivation Realm was tottering, and he could fall back to the Second Grade Early Stage at any moment!

"It's true... what he said is true!" Constable Lie Ming's face turned deathly pale, his eyes filled with despair.

That demonic cultist had not lied to him! This damned "burning blood demonic pill" really had a time limit, and the backlash was so violent!

At this rate, his Realm would probably drop by tomorrow—no, perhaps even tonight!

And according to the other party, this was just the beginning; it would continue to drop afterward until he became a useless person!

No! He could not accept this!

He had only just achieved a Breakthrough, just seen the hope of revenge and power!

He did not want to become a useless person!

"Cooperation... I can only cooperate!" The struggle in Constable Lie Ming's eyes was gradually replaced by a twisted madness.

Under the double assault of the fear of losing all his cultivation and the temptation of future power, the last remnants of sanity and reverence for good and evil in his heart finally snapped completely.

He endured another agonizing night.

On the fifth day, Constable Lie Ming clearly felt that his Qi and blood had declined by a large margin,

and his Realm was already unstable, as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to plunge into the abyss at any moment. He could no longer sit still.

That night, he once again hurried to the black market, arriving at that secluded corner.

However, while the broken stone remained and the rubble lay scattered, the figure of The Black-Robed Man was nowhere to be seen!

"Where is he?! How can he not be here?!" Constable Lie Ming felt a chill rush straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head,

and his entire body felt as if hit by lightning; his vision swam with darkness, and he almost fainted.

It was over! The other party had left! His last hope was gone!

What awaited him would be a complete loss of cultivation and an end worse than death! A massive wave of despair swallowed him in an instant.

Just as he was utterly lost, almost collapsing to the ground, a hoarse and cold voice rang out from extremely close behind him like a specter:

"You've come."

Constable Lie Ming shuddered violently and turned around abruptly.

He saw that The Black-Robed Man had, at some unknown point, stood silently a few feet behind him, as if he had been standing there all along, blending into the darkness.

"You... you..." Constable Lie Ming stammered, his voice trembling as he tried to recover his composure.

"Follow me." The Black-Robed Man spoke no further, turning to walk toward the deeper, more desolate and dilapidated areas of the black market.

That place was almost completely abandoned, a corner that even regular visitors of the black market rarely set foot in, containing only broken walls, ruins, and wildly growing weeds.

Constable Lie Ming did not dare to hesitate and hurriedly followed.

At this moment, the other party was his only saving grace.

Arriving at an open space enclosed by a half-collapsed wall, The Black-Robed Man stopped in his tracks.

The surroundings were dead silent, save for the whimpering of the night wind passing through the gaps in the ruins.

"Will you cooperate?" The Black-Robed Man turned around, his blood-red eyes quietly watching him from behind his mask.

The muscles on Constable Lie Ming's face twitched, and finally, he nodded dejectedly, his voice dry: "Co... cooperate."

"Very good." The Black-Robed Man laughed hoarsely, a sense of all-controlling satisfaction in his laughter.

With a flick of his wrist, a palm-sized black porcelain bottle appeared in his hand, which he tossed to Constable Lie Ming.

Constable Lie Ming hurriedly caught it and pulled out the stopper. A familiar, burning medicinal fragrance immediately assailed his nostrils.

Inside were over a dozen blood-red, longan-sized pills—precisely the "burning blood demonic pills."

"Take one every five days. It will ensure your Qi and blood do not decline and your Realm remains stable," The Black-Robed Man said calmly.

Constable Lie Ming tightly clutched the porcelain bottle as if grabbing a lifeline, and quickly poured out a pill to swallow.

As the Medicinal Pill entered his stomach, that familiar burning torrent surged once more, rapidly nourishing and stabilizing his about-to-disperse Qi and blood. The feeling of decline instantly stopped,

and even faintly began to rise again.

He let out a long sigh of relief, the anxiety in his heart finally settling for the most part.

"Senior, then... can I still continue to Breakthrough?" Constable Lie Ming could not help but ask, his eyes filled with longing.

Merely maintaining his Realm was not enough!

The Black-Robed Man shook his head, an inexplicable light flashing in his blood-red eyes: "Not for now. The medicinal power of these 'burning blood pills' is gentle; they can only maintain your state and cannot help you Breakthrough again.

Besides, think about it. If you were to Breakthrough continuously in a short period, rushing straight from the Second Grade Early Stage to the Middle Stage, or even the Late Stage, how many eyes would that draw?

That West City County Magistrate Zhou Wenhai would be the first to suspect whether you privately pocketed the 'red blood vermilion fruit'!

At that time, let alone the Imperial Guard, even the constables of the county yamen would be enough to give you a hard time.

Therefore, endure for now and first stabilize this Second Grade Middle Stage cultivation.

Once the heat blows over and the timing is ripe, there will naturally be a time for you to make rapid progress."

Constable Lie Ming felt a chill in his heart, followed by a sudden realization.

Indeed, if he were to Breakthrough continuously, it would be too eye-catching and would definitely arouse suspicion.

That old fox, Magistrate Zhou Wenhai, was currently worrying over not being able to find the whereabouts of the red blood vermilion fruit; he would probably be the first to target him.

It seemed that temporarily maintaining the status quo was indeed the wise move.

"Senior's considerations are thorough. This Junior understands," Constable Lie Ming nodded.

"Mm." The Black-Robed Man stood with his hands behind his back, looking in the direction of the Heishan City Jinyiwei Company Office, killing intent faintly appearing in his blood-red eyes. "Next, do as I say.

It is no longer possible for you to join the Imperial Guard, but with your status as the Liehuo Martial Arts Hall Revered Master's Personal Disciple and a Second Grade Martial Artist, it shouldn't be difficult to find a way to enter the West City County Yamen and secure a position as a constable."

Constable Lie Ming nodded; this was indeed not difficult to arrange.

"After entering, there is no need to be eager to show off. First familiarize yourself with the affairs and gain trust. Then..."

The black-clothed man began to explain his plan.

Constable Lie Ming's heart leaped violently.

Although he had anticipated it, hearing with his own ears that the other party wanted to assassinate the Jinyiwei Centurion still brought him a suffocating pressure.

Constable Lie Ming's eyes flickered as his brain rapidly went over the entire plan again and again.

...This plan was closely linked link by link; though seemingly simple, it was extremely vicious!

He scrutinized it repeatedly, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

It seemed he... really had a chance to not only preserve his cultivation but also use the hands of the demonic cult to eliminate that high-and-mighty, awe-inspiring Jinyiwei Centurion?

Perhaps he could even obtain more "burning blood demonic pills" in the future to quickly increase his strength?

A complex mix of fear, excitement, and twisted pleasure rose within his chest.

He lifted his head to look at The Black-Robed Man, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes completely vanishing, replaced by a desperate ferocity and decisiveness:

"Alright! I know what to do!"