331 A Being Made of Smoke And Shadows

Bai Qingyue gracefully and silently stepped out of the arena, still maintaining his disguise as he masked his immortal aura once more. It was simple to impersonate Li Meirong; it was as easy as breathing for the Fox Lord, for not only was he a Sovereign Lord of the Heavenly Realm, but also a Celestial Huli Jing.

Though the Celestial Huli Jing belonged to the Heavenly pantheon, and therefore were not at all like common animals or demons, most fox spirit deities retained many of their kind's ancestral traits – such as being prolific shapeshifters.

With such a skill, not even a single cultivator in the swarming crowd held the ability to discover Bai Qingyue's true identity.

Hushed, awed whispers and cheerful applause echoed from the passersby and drifte to Bai Qingyue's sensitive ears. His brows furrowed in thought, assessing the situation. 

A sly, mischievous smile spread across his face, dimpling his cheeks and giving the impression of complete innocence – as though he had not just torn off part of a woman's face with a single slap.

The crowd parted to let him through. 

He strolled through the stalls surrounding the arena, varied and numerous. As he distanced himself from the stage, the crowd thinned until it was more like the sect's bustling marketplace.

Bai Qingyue stiffened suddenly, attention drawn by an individual hiding behind one of the nearby stalls, their form cloaked in shadows. 

He stopped in his tracks, eyeing the being critically.

The individual was quite short, head looking almost too wide for his narrow shoulders to carry. The slick skin, peeking out from inside the cloak, shone in a way that was unquestionably inhuman, resembling the slimy skin usually possessed by creatures of the deep. Walking appeared to be difficult, as he clumsily skipped from side to side, pretending to be mortal as he mingled with the masses. 

This show of clumsiness, however, did not make Bai Qingyue drop his guard. The unmistakable aura of an immortal surrounded the stranger, and that only made the Fox Lord more cautious.Bai Qingyue was well aware of how looks could be deceiving. He was certain, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that this immortal was a powerful and ancient one. 

Bai Qingyue's fingernails slowly elongated into ivory claws as he stepped towards the being. His gaze turned sharp, his eyes holding a chaos that just barely hid the ocean of wickedness beneath. 

The strange immortal, however, did not appear at all perturbed at having his presence discovered. Despite his inability to accurately discern the immortal's identity, Bai Qingyue's heightened senses allowed him to perceive the stranger's gaze fixing right back on him in turn.

The immortal sized up Bai Qingyue with a great deal of concentration. A knowing smile stretched his broad face from ear to ear. 

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Bai Qingyue's gaze shifted from side to side, observing the resident cultivators' obliviousness. They appeared to be entirely unaware of the immortal's presence in their midst.

He must be concealing himself from everyone, as none but Bai Qingyue took any notice of him. It was as though he did not exist at all.

The immortal disappeared, reappearing an inch from Bai Qingyue's feet just as the Sovereign Lord refocused on him. Bai Qingyue just barely refrained from wrinkling his nose. A strong fishy odor was exuding from the immortal as he levitated up to eye-level and peered deliberately into Bai Qingyue's eyes.

"What a stoic face you have. A statue would show more expression," the immortal said. 

Bai Qingyue merely stared at him, unperturbed, back remaining ramrod straight. In one precise movement, he unsheathed the blade he had conjured in the arena and aimed it at the immortal's chest.

The nearby cultivators parted in fright and confusion.

The cloaked immortal leaned forward, showing no sign of fear at the unspoken threat. His small, pebble-like eyes stuck out from his broad head as he stared back in fascination, completely lacking any appearance of anger or fear. He seemed strangely calm, almost all-knowing.

Without a trace of hesitation, Bai Qingyue drove the blade home. It sunk into the immortal's heart as easily as slicing through a chunk of tofu.

Yet, despite the deadly strike, the immortal floated unaffected in the air.

"I am a being of smoke and shadows, and cannot be cut with a sword," the immortal explained in a croaky, elderly voice.