Chapter 33: Kill With a Borrowed Knife
Chapter 33: Kill With a Borrowed Knife
“No! Yun Yi, that little beast, has tricked me!!”
Que Yunzi felt the changes happening to his entire body. His face was full of terror as he let out a miserable, resentful roar. Death energy rapidly spread across him. His remaining lifespan instantly began counting down.
It was only at this moment that Que Yunzi vaguely remembered he might have fallen into Yun Yi’s scheme!
“Hurry, quickly, bring that exotic beast for your master!”
Above the Ritual Altar, Que Yunzi practically shrieked the order at the two young acolytes.
The two young acolytes were already panicked and scared out of their wits. Hearing this, they instinctively ran into one of the rooms. Each picked up a command token and used them to order two gigantic, earthen-yellow puppets to lift a massive iron cage out of the room.
Those two huge earthen-yellow puppets were the Five Elements Warriors, painstakingly cultivated by Que Yunzi!
These Five Elements Warriors could travel through the earth and possessed immense strength. It was precisely by relying on them that they had stolen hundreds of thousands of taels of the Lin Manor’s treasury silver so effortlessly.
“Master, you…?”
As soon as the two young acolytes appeared, they were horrified to discover Que Yunzi’s hair had turned stark white. His face was now covered in wrinkled, bark-like skin, and his eyes held a fatal gleam!
A flicker of madness crossed Que Yunzi’s fading yellow eyes.
He was suffering the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, utterly sapped of strength. He couldn’t even force his yin soul to leave his body for a possession.
“Hurry, split open my skull!”
Hearing this, the two young acolytes panicked, grabbed longswords from nearby, and instantly their expressions changed.
A trace of bloody red light suddenly spread across both acolytes’ foreheads.
“My disciples!”
Que Yunzi’s eyes nearly burst with fury!
The scent of blood filled the air as the two young acolytes fell silently to the ground, already dead!
A figure clad in white drifted into view near the Ritual Altar.
“It’s you!” Sparrow Cloud’s eyes struggled to focus, glaring hatred at the newcomer.
“Splitting open skulls? Let me help with that!” The youth in white, looking utterly composed, leisurely pulled two magic talismans from his hand. The talismans flew out, turning into two balls of flame that instantly engulfed the acolytes’ bodies, burning them to ashes.
He stepped forward a few paces, lightly picking up a longsword from the ground.
Que Yunzi knew he likely wouldn’t escape alive today. He fixed a vicious gaze on the young man. “If you kill me, Luojia Mountain will surely…!”
“They’ll surely seek vengeance on Lin Yuan. Allow me to say it for you!”
“Kill with a borrowed knife! Clever scheme indeed, one stone killing many birds!” Despair flashed in Que Yunzi’s eyes!
In the midst of the cold laugh, a chilling sword light flashed. Que Yunzi’s head toppled from his body. Immediately, a sinister cold wind swept out, trying to flee.
The faint, twisted, smoky form of Que Yunzi’s face could barely be made out!
It was Que Yunzi’s yin soul, painstakingly cultivated over centuries.
“Still think of running? Do you really think you can escape? Perfect, I can borrow your yin soul to forge a treasure!”
His hand grabbed. A peculiar, pocket-like magical tool flew out. It swept up the yin wind trying to escape into the sky and sucked it inside the pocket. Holding the pocket, the youth in white glanced at the treasury beside him, a cold smile flickering in his eyes.
In the end, Lin Yuan and Que Yunzi were both losers. He was the true victor!
Just as he was about to cast a spell to gather everything in the courtyard, his expression instantly changed. From another pocket at his waist, a small, furry creature poked its head out, tugging anxiously at his sleeve.
“He really got here quickly!” Muttering to himself, the youth in white cast a regretful look at the treasury, then his eyes shifted to the nearby iron cage. Malice flashed in his gaze as a black thunder pearl shot like a streak of light into the black-cloth covered cage.
A muffled BOOM echoed, mixed with a low, anguished cry. A cold smirk curled on the youth’s lips before he vanished on the spot without a trace.
“Lin Yuan, hmph, we’ll be seeing each other very soon!”
…
Lin Family Manor’s Old Residence.
After slaying that yin soul sword cultivator and casually taking the blackish-grey Flying Sword, Lin Yuan called out to Lin Chengzong. He immediately used the earth escape technique, speeding rapidly towards the southern part of the city.
A flash of pale golden light, and Lin Yuan materialized inside a courtyard. He took in the disarray before him at a glance.
“Did I get here too late?”
Lin Yuan sighed inwardly as he casually flipped open the iron cage nearby.
Inside was a huge exotic beast—an Iron Swamp Python.
It had been blasted into a pulp of flesh by a terrifying Primordial Taiyi Divine Thunder Pearl. Only its tail remained intact.
It seemed the person casting the spell, after succumbing to the Five Decays, had intended to possess the beast, but ultimately failed and was instead killed by a third party who arrived later.
Lin Yuan’s gaze swept the surrounding courtyard, a cold smile in his eyes. That third party’s aura was extremely well-hidden, likely using some method to suppress it. But unfortunately for them, Lin Yuan possessed the essence of a spiritual root. Not even the tiniest trace of aura left at the scene could escape his keen spiritual sense.
Based on deducing the residual auras at the scene, Lin Yuan guessed someone had likely seized the opportunity to loot.
Or maybe it was all orchestrated by that person from the start—simply eliminating witnesses.
Lin Yuan pondered silently. He smelled a hint of conspiracy.
His eyelids lowered slightly. Whichever it was, as soon as that person appeared before him again, Lin Yuan would certainly find them.
A moment later, Lin Yuan looked towards the nearby side chambers. He walked over and opened them. The stolen Lin Manor treasury silver was all there, piled in chests that filled the rooms.
Less than half an hour later, Lin Manor received word. Lin Chengzong hurried over with many family guards and servants carrying torches.
Seeing the recovered treasury silver in the chambers, Lin Chengzong and all the other senior elders collectively sighed in deep relief. The disaster that threatened to break the family had finally been averted.
Though the great calamity was gone, the night remained restless.
The events at Lin Manor, and the impending birth of a supreme treasure, sent waves of chilling unease through many cultivators.
In the Lin Family Old Residence, lights stayed on all night. Many servants, under the direction of numerous stewards, bustled about everywhere.
Not long after returning to Lin Manor himself, Lin Yuan received word that Daoist Yu requested to see him. Lin Yuan waved his hand, instructing the steward to bring Daoist Yu in directly.
“Junior Brother Lin, how many layers of the ‘Supreme Subtle Primal Origin Art’ have you mastered?” Daoist Yu blurted out almost the moment he saw Lin Yuan.
As expected, this straightforward senior brother couldn’t resist coming to ask, Lin Yuan thought to himself.
Lin Yuan hesitated to state it outright, fearing it might alarm the man.
“I don’t quite know which layer. I only felt a surge of magic power rise within me, vast as the river reflecting the moon, truly astonishing!”
“Could it be the fourth layer?” Hearing Lin Yuan’s description, Daoist Yu looked surprised. He then recalled the peculiar golden lamp Lin Yuan possessed.
That terrifying Golden Lamp, in his view, was no ordinary magical implement. At the very least, it was comparable to a Heavenly Mansion Rare Treasure.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this ancient Golden Lamp that Lin Yuan had displayed such terrifying power.
Daoist Yu muttered inwardly, suspicion still lingering.
However, mastering even the fourth layer of the ‘Supreme Subtle Primal Origin Art’ within a single day was still astounding. This likely meant he possessed not merely one Dao Bone, but possibly even an Immortal Root!
“To achieve the fourth layer in such a short time, it seems Junior Brother has put in some serious exertion!”
Daoist Yu felt his own words tasted a bit sour.
It was impossible not to be envious. Such cultivation speed rivaled the most exceptionally talented disciples within the various sects of the Mystic Gate Dharma Lineage.
Comparing people is simply infuriating!
Lin Yuan glanced at Daoist Yu, slightly taken aback, and blinked.
Fourth layer?
He soon realized his senior brother had likely misunderstood something. Since that was the case, Lin Yuan didn’t bother to explain.
Daoist Yu spoke again.
“You’re quite lucky. The personnel from the Dao Academy arrived early this evening. Prepare yourself tonight. Tomorrow, join the other candidates newly accepted this year. You’ll start with testing your Spiritual Root and Dao Bone qualifications, then get ready for formal enrollment!”
Lin Yuan paused. “Wasn’t it supposed to be in half a month?”
Daoist Yu shook his head. “You wouldn’t know. Wenchang County has another significant event coming soon. Call it fateful timing. The Headmaster and numerous senior masters have personally come!”