bookbashuk Chapter 122 Murderous Intent
Chapter 122 Murderous Intent
"We're all family, no need to stand on ceremony." Zhou Mingyuan waved his hand and took another sip of spiritual wine. "My Zhou family has been operating in the outer sect of Danxia Sect for a hundred years, and we have people in half of the stewards of the eighteen peaks of the outer sect."
"Zhang Lin is just a poor scholar from a rogue cultivator family. He got into Cuiping Peak by luck and thinks he can be arrogant in front of me just because he has Lu Yuanshan backing him up."
"When he blasted me away on the fighting stage, did he ever imagine this day would come?"
Du Heng and Chen Ce exchanged a glance and echoed each other.
"That kid really doesn't know what's good for him. A rogue cultivator from out of town dares to steal the limelight from the Zhou family."
"However, on the other hand," Chen Ce pondered, "this person is indeed quite capable to have won the outer sect competition."
"Breaking through three puppets in five breaths and crushing Brother Mingyuan in the finals—this combat power is indeed rare among Qi Refining cultivators. Will things change if Third Master goes alone?"
Zhou Mingyuan put down the jade cup, a hint of displeasure on his face, but he quickly suppressed it.
He said calmly, "Brother Chen Ce is overthinking it. My third uncle has been at the Foundation Establishment stage for ten years and still possesses the Spirit Mirror bestowed upon him by the clan. Let alone Zhang Lin, he could easily handle anyone at the same Foundation Establishment stage."
"The gap between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cannot be bridged by a few spells or magical artifacts."
He paused, then emphasized, "I personally witnessed my third uncle's attack back in Qingxuan City. A rogue cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining couldn't even last three breaths against him before being crushed into mincemeat."
"That rogue cultivator is from Hunyuan Continent, and his combat skills far surpass those of rogue cultivators from other continents. No matter how strong Zhang Lin is, how strong can he be? Don't you and I know what kind of killing methods the Danxia Sect has?"
"Brother Mingyuan is right." Chen Ce smiled awkwardly and said no more.
Du Heng smoothed things over, saying, "Since Brother Mingyuan is so certain, we can simply wait here. Once Third Master succeeds, he will come to Liangjie Mountain to meet us."
"At that time, we will disguise Zhang Lin's body as if he was killed by a demonic cultivator, and then fabricate some evidence to report to the sect that he colluded with the demonic path and deserved to die."
"Even if Lu Yuanshan has a silver tongue, he can't say anything. He might even be able to get one or two important positions at Cuiping Peak."
"That's exactly right." Zhou Mingyuan picked up the jade cup again, his face regaining its previous composure. "Rest assured, everyone, after tonight, there will be no more Zhang Lin in the outer sect of Danxia Sect."
"Come, drink this cup to the brim, and celebrate in advance."
The three jade cups collided in mid-air, producing a crisp sound.
The cabin was warm and cozy, with wisps of ambergris rising gently, casting a hazy yet resolute glow on the smiles on the three faces.
Outside the celestial boat, around the stone platform, three outer disciples were each on duty.
One of them leaned against a crooked pine tree at the edge of the stone platform, clutching a warning talisman in his hand, and yawned listlessly.
Another person paced back and forth in front of the bushes on the west side of the stone platform, glancing up every now and then in the direction of the fairy boat, muttering, "How long are we going to have to guard this godforsaken place?"
The third person sat cross-legged on a huge rock on the east side of the stone platform, closing his eyes to rest.
Unbeknownst to them, deep within the dense forest, a pair of calm, serene eyes were watching them.
Zhang Lin stood on the branch of an ancient pine tree, his figure blending into the shadow of the tree canopy.
The character "Spirit" in his dantian glowed slightly, and the flying spirits spread out silently in all directions. Eight faint spiritual spirits drifted towards the immortal boat like dandelion seeds, taking in everything around the stone platform.
One is in the open, two are in the shadows.
One was yawning under the pine tree in the open, while two others were meditating in the shadows: one behind a bush, and the other on a boulder.
The three were about twenty feet apart and could communicate with each other using warning talismans.
The three people on the boat had stable spiritual fluctuations; one was on the left side of the main cabin, and the other two were on the right, drinking and chatting.
The jade talisman with the character "藏" lit up, and Zhang Lin bypassed the three people, appearing silently on the other side of the immortal boat. The spirit mirror emitted a beam of light, and the structure of the restriction was as clear as a map drawn with ink lines.
The outer layer of warning light covers the entire celestial ship and the area within ten zhang around the stone platform. Any object or living being that triggers it will emit a warning light.
The middle-level wind barrier, composed of 360 wind-elemental runes, indiscriminately annihilates all unauthorized spiritual energy fluctuations.
The inner layer of true essence protective shield, powered by the Immortal Boat Spirit Source Furnace, is solid and heavy, and cannot be broken without the power of Foundation Establishment.
Zhang Lin's gaze lingered between the wind barrier and the true essence shield.
The dark golden light of the magic mirror revealed an extremely thin slit.
As long as the mirror light fixes the flaw in the restriction, the three layers of defense will be disconnected within three breaths.
Although the time was short, it was enough for something to go out and something to come in.
He moved the mirror light to the bottom of the fairy boat.
The Spirit Source Furnace is located in the center of the bottom of the ship. At its core is a fist-sized demon beast wind core crystal, which is slowly releasing the pure wind-type spiritual energy sealed within, providing power to the entire immortal ship.
There are three protective runes around the Spirit Source Furnace. They are not of high grade and are only there to prevent the furnace core from being accidentally touched.
However, the structure of the Spirit Source Furnace itself is extremely unstable. The spiritual energy in the Wind Core Crystal is compressed to the extreme. Once an external force forcibly disrupts the balance of spiritual energy, the entire Spirit Source Furnace will explode instantly.
A complete plan took shape in his mind.
To prevent these people from having escape techniques or from desperation and detonating the Spirit Source Furnace, we must first silently eliminate the three people on the outside, and then sneak into the boat to kill them one by one.
He put away the spirit mirror, and the character "虚" (xu, meaning emptiness) lit up in his dantian.
A pale blue aura gathered beneath his feet as he silently swept through the treetops, making his way toward his first target.
The outer disciple leaning against the crooked pine tree yawned again.
His name is Zhou An, from a branch of the Zhou family, and he is in the late stage of Qi Refining.
In the Zhou family of Qingxuan City, the status of collateral descendants is not much higher than that of servants. Their monthly spirit stone offerings are only 30% of those of the direct descendants, their cultivation techniques and spells are all leftovers from the direct descendants, and their cultivation resources are pitifully scarce.
He didn't complain when Zhou Mingyuan specifically asked him to accompany him; instead, he saw it as an opportunity.
If you do a good job for the legitimate son, you'll get some reward when you get back, and maybe even get a second glance from the clan elders.
He clenched the warning talisman in his hand; the talisman paper was slightly warm in his palm.
He bought this talisman from the market with three months' worth of savings, and even had it appraised before leaving home to ensure it was safe and sound.
However, in his opinion, this mission didn't require any warning talismans at all. With the Foundation Establishment Realm Third Master personally taking action, what mistakes could possibly happen when dealing with a junior in the Qi Refining Realm?
These people were less there to keep watch and more there to support Zhou Mingyuan.
He yawned again.
A night breeze blew in from the dense forest, carrying a faint chill.
He instinctively shrank his neck and looked up towards the dense forest, but there was nothing there.
Only moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground, swaying gently in the mountain breeze, creating eerie and shadowy shapes.
He looked away, switched the warning talisman to his other hand, and rubbed it against the tree trunk to relieve the itch on his back.
Then he heard a very faint whooshing sound.
It wasn't the sound of the wind, nor the rustling of leaves, but the sound of some sharp object cutting through the air, more subtle than the flapping of a mosquito's wings, and more fleeting than the falling of morning dew.
He tried to speak, but only a warm liquid welled up in his throat.
He tried to crush the warning talisman in his hand, but his fingers wouldn't obey him.
Finally, he looked down and saw a sword tip stuck in his chest.
The cyan sword tip gleamed with a cold luster under the moonlight.
The Azure Sword cuts through the air silently.
The sword tip pierced through his back and emerged from his chest, the sword energy precisely destroying his entire heart before he could even let out a scream.
A hand reached out from behind and caught the warning symbol that had slipped from his hand.
Then a second sword light flashed, and a single strike severed the head, extinguishing life before blood could even flow.
Zhang Lin gently laid Zhou An's body down next to the tree trunk and put the warning talisman into his storage bag.
From drawing the sword to cleaning up the mess, it took no more than three breaths.