Chapter 45: Meeting in a Narrow Path

In the early morning, on a sparsely populated road in the outskirts of the city, there were two figures walking slowly. One was a translucent purple soul, and the other was a black-clothed person with a red-hilted long knife around his waist. It was none other than Moxiu Fu and Feng Tianyao. They didn't know why they had come here.
At present, the two individuals have furrowed brows and a heavy cloud of worry hangs over them. It seems that the investigation into the mystery of the vanishing aura is not going well. Even though they are surrounded by the beautiful scenery of early summer, they are unable to dispel their inner frustration.
"A bunch of bastards from the Spirit Domain department won't give us the login information for a few players. They insist on making us search for it ourselves. With so many people in the outside world, it's like finding a needle in a haystack. Who knows how long it will take to find it." Mo Xiu Fu muttered angrily.
"At the beginning of the establishment of the Spirit Realm Department, its position was that of a neutral organization, not bound by laws or moral obligations, and certainly not to be subdued by powerful forces, solely for the sake of the transformation and normal operation of the Spirit Realm. Players' personal information is a symbol of the Spirit Realm's commitment to freedom and confidentiality, and it is strictly confidential, of course it cannot be easily given to an outsider." Feng Tianyao said, with a face that still resembled frost, perfectly matching the cold atmosphere of the early morning.
"Foreigner? Are we considered foreigners? We are just in different departments. The idiots in the law enforcement department would readily provide information when asked, but we are always ignored. Isn't this discrimination?" Mo Xiu fu continued to complain.
"The responsibility of the law enforcement department is to maintain stability in the Spirit Realm, so they have the right to access some information. However, the Spirit Realm department only provides them with a small portion. Similarly, players will not provide their actual addresses in the outside world, so the law enforcement department needs to investigate on their own," explained Feng Tianyao.
"Humph." Mo Xiu Fu coldly snorted, then stopped speaking, unsure whether or not they agreed with this statement.
Suddenly, they felt a very weak presence coming from around the corner ahead, seemingly a cultivator. The fluctuations of their spiritual energy seemed familiar, but they appeared to be hiding their presence with some crude spiritual techniques, making it difficult to perceive clearly.
Zhang Yang, at this moment, is still daydreaming about a future beautiful life. But when he reaches the intersection and sees two people approaching, especially when he spots the person wielding a knife, his heart suddenly feels like turbulent waves, surging and unrelenting.
Both of these individuals I have seen before, one being the mysterious floating spiritual body I saw on the rooftop of the dormitory building, and the other being the black-clothed person I encountered in the alley who chopped off his head.
As the saying goes, it's not until enemies meet that they have a chance to gather.
Zhang Yang realized that even though he had sealed the spiritual vein, he still had some perception. It was unbelievable that he didn't sense the presence of these two individuals who were so close. Could their strength be already sky-high!?
As soon as this thought came to mind, the confidence that had just been sky-high vanished into thin air.
He didn't dare to turn around and run away, as that would be too obvious a sign of escape. At this moment, he had no trace of spiritual power on him, just like an ordinary person. The expressions on the faces of the two opposite him also showed no change, perhaps they hadn't recognized him. So the best course of action now might be to just walk past as if nothing had happened.
However, right in front of Zhang Yang, there was exactly that violet soul body. If he didn't move aside, he would collide with it head-on. If he moved to the side instead, wouldn't that indicate that he could see it?
With this in mind, Zhang Yang took a bold step and decided to act all the way, pretending to be an ordinary person and walking straight towards them.
As a result, Zhang Yang's heart was pounding anxiously, but his face remained calm and composed as he walked towards the two individuals without showing any signs of hesitation.
Neither of the two on the other side showed any intention of giving way, and so, the three of them walked towards each other, face to face.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them were within arm's reach of each other.
Zhang Yang stared directly at the purple soul body with a confident look in his eyes, while the purple soul body stared straight back at Zhang Yang, both of them appearing indifferent, as if they were walking towards each other like air.
As Fang Yi made contact, the purple soul entity became ethereal, as if it had truly transformed into air, and Zhang Yang passed through it directly.
At the same time, the right hand of the purple soul entity subtly formed a gesture, as if it was using a detecting technique.
An unexpected danger narrowly passed by the two of them. Zhang Yang's heart was filled with excitement. When it passed through that soul just now, he was so frightened that he almost couldn't bear it, and his heart stopped beating.
This time, it was easy to deceive and pass through undetected, thanks to his excellent acting skills in extreme crisis. Even in such a dangerous situation, he could maintain a calm and composed expression on his face. He was impressed with himself and couldn't help but praise his own acting skills, thinking that if he were to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, he would definitely win over a dozen awards.
平复下激动的内心，张扬伸手揉着被吓的有些僵硬的脸庞，刚走出十几米远，忽然听到身后二人对话：
“刚才那小子身上气息很熟悉啊。”
"Yeah, I also feel familiar about it."
"Grab them and ask."
"You go ahead, I'll follow behind."
As soon as the word "follow" left Zhang Yang's mouth, he felt a pang of regret and immediately started running away at full speed.
As expected, I couldn't hide it from the two of them. I'm still too inexperienced.
Zhang Yang unleashed full force and in the blink of an eye, ran hundreds of meters. But suddenly, he felt a tightness around his neck and his feet left the ground, unable to exert any strength.
At this moment, the black-clothed figure appeared behind him like a ghost, tightly gripping Zhang Yang's neck with their arm, lifting him up.
Zhang Yang quickly reached out to grab the black-clothed figure's arm, trying to break free from the restraints, but before he could, his vision blurred and two purple figures appeared instantaneously, grabbing both of his arms and rendering him immobile.
Before the two of them could continue their actions, a flash of light suddenly came from Zhang Yang's body, followed by two muffled sounds.
The two of them sensed the changes in Zhang Yang's body and their eyes suddenly narrowed. They quickly backed away, but it was still too late at such a close distance.
Purple figures flickered, jumping to a spot several meters away from Zhang Yang. One of the figures had a crossbow arrow firmly pinned in its chest.
"I didn't expect you to possess such a spiritual art..." The purple figure examined the bow and crossbow that appeared on Zhang Yang's body and glanced at the arrow lodged in itself, expressing some surprise.
After speaking, he immediately reached out and pulled out the crossbow arrow, and a purple spiritual power flashed on his body, instantly healing the wound on his chest as good as new.
The person in black also leaped over ten meters away, but he looked somewhat grim with traces of blood seeping through his clothes.
"To actually be able to hurt me, impressive..." The man in black examined his injuries slightly and furrowed his eyebrows, coldly speaking.
Both of them thought that Zhang Yang was just a kid with a bit of spiritual power. They didn't take any precautions as they approached to grab him. They were so close that there was no way to dodge, and that's why they suffered a small loss.
"Oh? Wind Tianyao, who is known for his speed, was actually injured by a little kid. What a rare sight," the purple figure sneered, glancing at the injured area on the black-clothed man, and said. "
"Huh." The man in black snorted coldly, a flash of light on his body, and he disappeared in an instant.
Zhang Yang was originally standing there, contemplating how to escape. But when he saw the man in black disappear, his heart trembled. Before he could react, he suddenly felt something rapidly approaching from behind him. The speed was so fast, even faster than lightning.
There was no time to turn around, so I quickly mobilized my entire spiritual power to cover myself from behind. Just as I finished covering a portion, I felt a heavy punch hitting me from behind, and then my whole body was directly blown away by this immense force.
Zhang Yang only felt a sharp pain in his back, and a burning sensation in his chest. He felt as if the bones in the area where he was hit had shattered into countless pieces, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.
Enduring the intense pain, he flipped his body in the air and started shooting wildly at Feng Tianyao with his handgun.
Wind Tianyao was covered in a blue light, with gradually forming a layer of blue aura around him.
He didn't dodge or evade, but instead leaped into the air, facing the bullets head-on. He continued to attack Zhang Yang with his fists, and the bullets hit the blue aura, bouncing off as if hitting a steel plate, leaving no trace behind.
In the air, there was nowhere to hide. The wind was so fast that Zhang Yang couldn't react in time. He had no choice but to concentrate his spiritual power on his hands to protect his vital points.
Another punch hit his chest, causing Zhang Yang's vision to darken, and he almost lost consciousness.
Under his attack, my spiritual power felt as thin as a piece of paper and provided no protection whatsoever. As for the techniques I practiced for offense and defense, they were completely useless in this moment.
Immediately afterwards, fists rained down on Zhang Yang like a storm, repeatedly causing him to cough up blood. He had no ability to defend himself and could only firmly hold on to his consciousness, preventing himself from passing out from the pain.
From start to finish, Feng Tianyao never used the long knife he was holding, even though he only used one hand, Zhang Yang was the only one who got beaten.