Myriad Daos of the Heaven

One of the followers asked, "Young Master, are you just going to let them leave like that?"

Another follower sneered, "So what if we let them go? He’s been hit by our Dark Force. He’s a dead man for sure! It’s just a shame that a delicate beauty like Hua Xiaoling was sullied by that piece of trash!"

Lin Qing’s face was ashen as he said coldly, "That little slut Hua Xiaoling is a toy my younger brother has his eye on. For her to get with that strange kid first... very well. My brother may be useless at cultivation, but he’s got quite a talent for toying with women. When the Hua Family falls, I’ll gift that woman to him!"

One of the followers suddenly spoke up. "But, wasn’t Hua Xiaoling searching for the Thousand-Petaled Flower? She’s back now, could it be that..."

The other follower chimed in, "Could she have brought back the Thousand-Petaled Flower? But I heard Second Young Master Lin Qiu took some men to tail her. Logically, that shouldn’t be possible. But why hasn’t Young Master Lin Qiu returned yet?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Hearing his followers’ words, Lin Qing’s expression changed. It seemed he had thought of something, and a bad feeling rose in his heart. He barked out a cold order, "Back with me! We’ll find the Grand Elder and have him perform an Inference!"

Just as Lin Qing was about to step forward, the two followers behind him suddenly spat out mouthfuls of blood. PFFT! Their faces instantly turned white as paper. A series of cracking sounds, a CRACK-CRACK, echoed from within their bodies. It was the sound of a Qi Sea shattering and Spirit Veins breaking!

The two followers had no idea what was happening. All they could feel was the Spiritual Power in their Spirit Veins and Qi Sea suddenly being detonated by something, exploding violently.

It was so sudden that blood flew everywhere, splattering all over Lin Qing!

"Ah!"

The two followers let out miserable screams.

"My... My Spirit Veins are shattered! My Qi Sea is destroyed! What’s happening?! Ah, my cultivation is crippled! No..."

The two followers shrieked, their voices filled with despair.

The crowd of onlookers hadn’t dispersed yet, and they watched this scene in utter shock.

It was bloody and brutal. For something like this to happen to those two followers... could this be swift retribution?

Many in the crowd hated the Lin Family and those two followers to the bone. They had relatives and friends who had been crippled or killed by their Dark Force.

Now, seeing the followers’ miserable state, they felt a surge of satisfaction.

"What’s going on?"

Lin Qing’s face was grim. He had no idea what was happening!

"Young Master, this is the delayed effect of Dark Force! The people we used it on before... they all ended up just like this! It must have been that kid! Ah..." one follower cried out, his voice a mixture of hatred and agony.

"Young Master, you must avenge us! I want that kid to suffer a fate worse than death!" the other follower said through gritted teeth.

The two of them now lay on the ground, without even the strength to stand up, only able to cry out with lifeless eyes.

They were surrounded by onlookers, and the crowd was growing.

"What happened? What’s going on here?" some of the newcomers asked.

"Those two vicious dogs who cripple people with Dark Force have been crippled themselves!"

"It seems their cultivation was crippled with a taste of their own medicine. What a satisfying sight!"

"Could it have been that kid at the Innate First Realm from before? That seems impossible, right?"

...

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, clearly pleased to see the two in such a miserable state.

Meanwhile, Lin Qing, his face dark, had an old man step forward to examine them. After probing their bodies, the old man reported, "I can find no trace of Dark Force being used. However, these two are completely crippled!"

"So it really wasn’t that kid? Then how could their cultivation be crippled for no reason?" Lin Qing asked.

"Their condition more closely resembles the symptoms of Demon Possession from a cultivation deviation," the old man said faintly.

"Whatever the reason, that kid must die. Let’s go!" Lin Qing continued forward, not even glancing at the two crippled followers on the ground.

"Young Master, what about these two?" the old man asked.

"I don’t keep trash. Toss them some money for their retirement," Lin Qing said with cold indifference, then strode away.

Lying on the ground, the two followers were instantly plunged into utter despair.

All around, people were already eyeing them like prey. They only held back because members of the Lin Family were still present; they wouldn’t dare make a move in front of them.

Meanwhile, Jiang Jichen and Hua Xiaoling were walking through a quiet, ancient alley!

The buildings in Fenggu Town were ancient, all built from massive stones, making them incredibly sturdy and able to stand for ten thousand years.

Viewed from a high vantage point, it looked just like a city of stone, utterly distinctive.

"I..."

Hua Xiaoling’s heart was still pounding, and her face was flushed with shyness.

"That was a great performance, perfectly acted. Sister Xiaoling, your acting skills are top-notch. I’m impressed!"

Jiang Jichen praised her sincerely.

"No, what I mean is, there’s no one here now, Little Chen. You can let go of my hand!"

Hua Xiaoling said, her face burning.

Jiang Jichen, however, looked perfectly calm and had no intention of letting go. Instead, he said shamelessly, "Even though our act just now was convincing, some people definitely haven’t given up. They’re probably spying on us from the shadows right now. We can’t let our guard down!"

’Is this really the same young hero who displayed such might, annihilating Lin Qiu and slaughtering Fierce Beasts?’ Hua Xiaoling was finally seeing a different side of Jiang Jichen. A bit of a rogue, a bit of a lecher...

"Little Chen, I possess the Celestial Eye Soul. My Divine Sense is naturally able to perceive things more than twice as far as others. There’s no one spying on us within a ten-li radius!"

Hua Xiaoling said in a low voice.

Only then did Jiang Jichen give a dry cough and say, "It seems I was being paranoid. Well, since Sister Xiaoling has the Celestial Eye Soul, there really shouldn’t be anyone watching us."

However, Hua Xiaoling let out a delicate laugh, mercilessly exposing him. "Little Chen’s Divine Soul is even more mysterious and powerful. I’m afraid no one can escape your senses within a radius of dozens of li. On the way back, there was a Fierce Beast more than ten li away that even I didn’t sense, yet you sensed it a step ahead and avoided it!"

Being exposed so directly, even with Jiang Jichen’s fantastically thick skin, his face couldn’t help but heat up slightly—but only for a moment.

’This little minx is too sharp,’ Jiang Jichen thought. ’Taking advantage of her won’t be easy!’

He released the arm he had around Hua Xiaoling and seamlessly changed the subject. "Are we at the Hua Mansion yet? We should hurry and deliver the Thousand-Petaled Flower to treat your grandfather, the Clan Leader. With the Lin Family’s methods, they should be able to use Inference to figure out that Lin Qiu is dead very soon. They’ll definitely come looking for trouble!"

Hearing this, Hua Xiaoling stopped talking and led Jiang Jichen at a faster pace. Soon, they appeared before the Hua Mansion.

The Hua Mansion was massive, like a great stone castle, with an extraordinary presence.

Jiang Jichen had heard from Hua Xiaoling that the Hua Mansion once belonged to the number one family in Fenggu Town. It had simply fallen on hard times and now showed signs of decline.

Just as Jiang Jichen and Hua Xiaoling were about to step through the Hua Family’s main gate, a voice suddenly rang out, "The Hua Family is under lockdown! No unauthorized personnel may enter!"

Then, a metal gate came down from above, blocking both Hua Xiaoling and Jiang Jichen outside the threshold!