Chapter 51: Hoist with His Own Petard
Chapter 51: Hoist with His Own Petard
Upon hearing this, many disciples of the Mystic Gate in the hall chuckled lightly, maintaining great composure, with many showing pride on their faces.
The venerable Yun Bufan at the head of the table had a stern appearance but shook his head, hastily offering consolation.
“Nephew, do not be impulsive. I heard that Lin Yuan possesses Virtue Merit and is not easy to deal with?”
The more Yun Bufan spoke like this, the more arrogant the young Daoist became. His gaze swept over the many accompanying socialites, gentry, officials, and cultivators in the great hall. He cupped his hands towards the center and smiled.
“Uncle, rest assured. I knew about this long ago. Possessing Virtue Merit naturally holds an advantage against those unorthodox Magical Artifacts, but the treasures of our Mystic Gate are forged from the Great Dao itself, so there is absolutely no problem.”
“Besides, on such a fine night with beautiful scenery, merely eating and drinking like this is too boring. Performing some magic can also entertain everyone!”
He intended to show off his skills and background before the many senior experts and fellow disciples. With a cold smile in his eyes, his hand moved slightly, and a red light appeared, revealing a treasure diagram.
As the red light swirled, the diagram faintly displayed a mundane market scene, full of all sorts of strange sights!
“What a fine treasure!” Seeing this treasure, Yun Bufan on the main seat couldn’t help but stand up. Many officials and rogue cultivators also couldn’t resist looking over.
“It contains the myriad forms of the mortal world, truly a heavy treasure!” A deep-cultivation rogue cultivator raised his head, his expression moved.
The young Daoist looked around at everyone and smiled. “This treasure is called the Red Dust Heart-Tempering Diagram. It is a supreme treasure from my uncle’s possession. In the past, it was used to refine demons and protect the Dao. Many renowned major cultivators from famous sects have fallen within this treasure!”
Holding the treasure diagram, he added with a light laugh, “It has another wonderful use: it can temper the Dao Heart and bone structure of our sect’s disciples!”
“Speaking of which, it is also the good fortune of that Lin Family brat. Aside from a few True Inheritors of our sect, very few others have the chance to enter the diagram and experience the tempering of the mortal world!”
The young Daoist spoke beautifully, but in the great hall, many rogue cultivator experts and Mystic Gate elders felt a secret chill in their hearts.
The Red Dust Heart-Tempering Diagram was said to be a supreme treasure in the hands of a Mystic Gate high adept from the Tianhe Sect within the Mystic Gate Dharma Lineage. It contained all kinds of mysteries of the mortal world and was most adept at probing thoughts.
Once trapped inside, all manner of secrets in one’s heart would be difficult to hide.
As cultivators, who didn’t have some personal secrets? Having secrets exposed in such a public setting, how would Lin Yuan have the face to establish himself afterwards?
Yet such a supreme treasure was actually being paraded around by a junior like this, making many rogue cultivator experts and Mystic Gate true cultivators sigh inwardly. The foundation of the Tianhe Sect was indeed far above that of ordinary sects.
Seeing this situation, the young Daoist chuckled.
At the head of the table, Yun Bufan stood up even more upon seeing this and couldn’t help but clap and praise loudly.
“Master Wang Pan is truly a young hero, accomplished at a young age!”
“Isn’t that right? Among the seventy-two spiritual mountains of Jiangnan, who doesn’t know that Junior Brother Wang Pan is a famous Upper Mystic true cultivator and cultivation genius of the Tianhe Sect!” one rogue cultivator whispered.
A Dharma Lineage disciple of slightly lower status beside him also nodded gently.
“Truly so. Among the Twelve Dharma Lineages, each lineage has many sects, but young heroes like Junior Brother Wang Pan are few and far between!”
Many present possessed profound arts, so who wouldn’t hear such voices? Many secretly cursed them as flatterers.
But the identity of this young Daoist before them was indeed extraordinary.
Dongyue Province had Twelve Dharma Lineages. Each lineage contained many sects, and within each, there was one leading sect. The leaders of the Twelve Dharma Lineages constituted the twelve orthodox Mystic Gates.
This young Daoist came from the Tianhe Sect. The Tianhe Sect was one of the sects under the Yunlou Dharma Lineage. Although not the leading orthodox Mystic Gate, it was still enough to rank within the top five of its own Dharma Lineage, which was quite extraordinary.
At the upper right seat, a Daoist from the Yunlou Dharma Lineage saw the young man’s self-satisfied expression and couldn’t help but frown. He quietly sent a sound transmission to the young Daoist.
“Junior Brother, don’t go too far!”
He pondered slightly and added, “I heard privately from a Daoist at the Wenchang Daoist Academy that the Lin Family youth has good bone structure and has already attracted the attention of many Dharma Lineages…!”
Wang Pan chuckled upon hearing this and directly interrupted via sound transmission. “It doesn’t matter. He’s just a disciple without much background anyway. How can I not eat a piece of fat meat that’s right in front of my mouth?!”
Hearing this, the Daoist secretly shook his head. Although his cultivation was more refined than Wang Pan’s, he couldn’t match Wang Pan’s background from the Wang Family within the Tianhe Sect. The Wang Family was quite influential among the many cultivation families, and their power was not something that disciples from humble backgrounds like them could compare to.
The Daoist fell silent inwardly, just thinking to himself that encountering Wang Pan meant bad luck. Once Wang Pan coveted someone’s possessions, how could they keep them?
At this time, he still did not know that Lin Yuan had been tested to have an Innate Dao Body bone structure, and this had already been reported to many Dharma Lineage sects.
How could the Daoist know that Wang Pan already had his own thoughts? Wang Pan roughly guessed Yun Bufan’s schemes—likely plots to eliminate rivals and the like. Out of respect for a few Yun Family cultivators, he didn’t care. What he cared about was that unusual treasure in Lin Yuan’s possession. He had only heard of such a treasure within his sect. Seeing an unusual treasure right there, he had long been very tempted.
Fortunately, Lin Yuan had just entered the Mystic Gate, making it the perfect time to seize it!
Moreover, he wanted to make the many rogue cultivator experts and Mystic Gate seniors present have nothing to say; he was upholding heavenly justice.
At this moment in the great hall, the young Daoist was heard asking with a smile, “Uncle Yun, does your county office have that Lin Family brat’s birth characters?”
Yun Bufan pondered slightly and nodded. “Of course I do!”
He then waved his hand. A minor official beside him got up and left. After just a short while of song and dance, he returned holding a slip of paper with Lin Yuan’s birth characters clearly written on it.
Meanwhile, in the Lin Manor, by the Downfall Formation, Lin Yuan’s eyes held a cold smile.
What kind of person was he? A Primordial Spirit Great True Lord, who in an unorthodox sect would be a founding elder. How could he allow some Mystic Gate disciple to insult him lightly?
If you don’t court death, you won’t die!
A cold, mocking laugh flickered in Lin Yuan’s eyes as he prepared to watch the young Daoist’s next actions, but he was already moving his hands.
Above his head, the Downfall Banner already stirred with baleful aura, shaking slightly as it captured another wisp of energy remotely from afar.
The energy manifested, precisely the image of that young Daoist, placed alongside the energy manifestation of Yun Bufan.
Both figures were similarly surrounded by baleful aura.
Unaware of the impending disaster, the young Daoist only wanted to show off his skills before the many cultivators and seize the treasure opportunistically.
A stream of magic power was sent into the “Red Dust Heart-Tempering Diagram.” Over at the Lin Manor, Lin Yuan’s expression moved slightly as he felt an invisible wisp of energy trying to draw out a trace of his own energy.
However, he was currently cultivating the Path of Turbid Sha and Divine Demons. Moreover, he possessed supreme treasures like the Innate Twenty-Four Dao Diagrams and the Merit Golden Lamp on his person, making his aura perfectly harmonious and flawless. How could a mere Upper Mystic second-layer cultivator manage to draw it?
“Huh?”
In the great hall, Wang Pan had already cast the spell several times but still sensed that wisp of energy had not been drawn over. His expression turned strange. He urged his entire magic power once more, and before long, he was sweating profusely.
Many cultivators in the hall saw the oddity and couldn’t help but whisper and discuss.
“Could it be that this immortal master hasn’t eaten enough today?” A noblewoman who couldn’t quite see clearly couldn’t help showing a doubtful look, whispering to her neighbor. Wang Pan heard this, and his face flushed red with anger, steam practically coming from his seven orifices.
Especially under the gaze of his many fellow disciples and Mystic Gate seniors, he felt very awkward.
Yun Bufan on the main seat, however, remained as calm as an old monk, eating fruits while a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
When news of Yun Yi’s disappearance came, the first thing he thought of was the Lin Manor’s involvement in it.
The Yun Manor had just arrived in Wenchang County. Thinking about it, the only ones they had truly offended were the Lin Family.
So many disciples of the Wenchang Daoist Academy were captured, yet the only one who ended up missing was Yun Yi from the Yun Manor.
How could this not make Yun Bufan suspicious and filled with hatred?
As long as he lived for one day, the Lin Family could forget about having a peaceful day.
But with this Tianhe Sect disciple taking action, tonight promised to be quite entertaining to watch!
In the Lin Manor, Lin Yuan watched the scene in the Yun Manor’s great hall, a strange gleam appearing in his eyes. After a moment, he gave a cold laugh. A bit of magic power flowed from his hand into the Downfall Banner. He simply used the power of the Downfall Banner to slightly conceal the captured two wisps of energy and directly sent them into the “Red Dust Heart-Tempering Diagram”!
“Success”!
Wang Pan’s expression suddenly moved, a hint of joy appearing in his eyes. He felt two wisps of energy being drawn over and falling into the “Red Dust Heart-Tempering Diagram,” but he sensed there seemed to be one extra wisp.
“Whose is the extra wisp?”
Wang Pan felt strange but didn’t think much of it. This treasure was borrowed after all, not refined, only usable, and he wasn’t very familiar with it. He just guessed that casting the spell might have affected some bystander. However, his nature was always cold and cruel; he didn’t care about others’ lives.
He didn’t bother anymore. Under the many strange gazes, he had long been angry and impatient inwardly. A stream of magic power surged, activating this important sect treasure.
Annoyed by the earlier loss of face, he decided to do something drastic, suddenly urging the “Red Dust Heart-Tempering Diagram” to its limit.
A strange phenomenon appeared instantly. Amidst everyone’s exclamations, Wang Pan and Yun Bufan seated at the head suddenly vanished.
Boom!
It was as if a Grotto-Heaven had opened.
Various scenes immediately appeared within the treasure diagram. The cultivators stared and soon showed odd expressions. Inside were clearly all sorts of prison cells for unorthopath Divine Demons. Two figures had just entered and were captured by all kinds of unorthodox cultivators, subjected to relentless torture and torment, with various terrible tortures inflicted upon them.
The two figures were tossed about, beaten until they cried out in misery!
Looking more carefully, many cultivators wore strange expressions. The two being beaten half to death were none other than Wang Pan and Yun Bufan themselves!