Chapter 252 - 280: Void Returning Celestial Pill, Heart’s Blood! Complex Hearts, Longevity’s Calamity
After suppressing the man in the turquoise robe into the Dharma Tripod Prison, Su Bai glanced at the man’s information.
[Criminal: Feng Yunqing]
[Sin Level: Eight-Star]
[Strength: Ninth Tribulation Realm Ninth Layer]
[Status: Near Death (Imprisoned)]
[Suppression Involvement: 90%]
[Reward: 2,700,000 Experience Points/hour]
...
Inside Ning Village, many were left stunned, having witnessed the utterly shocking scene of that single, heaven-spanning finger attack.
"Lord Eunuch!"
Xu Yun, who was holding Lin Qing’Er hostage, stared at the bloody scene before him, his limbs trembling. For a moment, he seemed utterly petrified.
’Brother Su Bai’s strength... has it actually reached such a level?’
At this moment, Jin Yunfeng was also stunned. The longsword in his hand let out a series of trembling hums, as if it too was afraid and shaking.
A moment later, he came to his senses, turned, and raised his longsword. A surging Sword Intent was aimed directly at Xu Yun:
"Let her go!"
"No! Impossible!"
Goaded by the incomparably sharp Sword Intent, Xu Yun snapped out of his daze and looked around with a savage expression:
"You killed the Lord Eunuch! I’m a dead man, I’m a dead man!"
"If I’m going to die anyway, then let’s all die together!"
As he spoke, the arm he had around Lin Qing’er’s neck began to squeeze violently!
"Don’t!"
The expressions of the Lin Family members changed drastically.
SWISH!
Just then, a white shadow flashed past.
Xu Yun’s body stiffened. A great spurt of blood erupted from his neck, and his head tumbled down into the muddy rainwater.
...
The heavy rain had come quickly, and it went just as fast, gone in an instant.
The horizon began to brighten. The wind and rain ceased, and the dark clouds dispersed.
But in the courtyard of Ning Village, the members of the Lin Family, drenched like stray dogs, felt a shadow fall over their hearts. Their expressions were all somewhat unnatural.
Their expressions shifted slightly as they looked at the courtyard of Ning Village, where even the main gate lay shattered on the ground.
With their skills, they could escape Ning Village in a single step.
The reason they hadn’t moved was not only because Lin Qing’er was still inside, but also because a massive Silver-White Dog Demon was lying at the doorway, happily gnawing on a large bone.
Inside, Lin Qing’er stood prettily to the side, her head lowered. She nervously fidgeted with her fingers, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Su Bai and Jin Yunfeng sat facing each other.
On the wooden table sat a sky-blue Jade Bottle and a dozen or so exquisitely crafted, quite durable Medicine Bottles.
"This sky-blue Jade Bottle, this is the Void Returning Celestial Pill? And those Medicine Bottles... they’re the gifts the Lord of the State prepared for Emperor Yu?"
Jin Yunfeng’s expression gradually grew solemn as he briefly examined the items on the table.
"That sky-blue Jade Bottle is indeed the Void Returning Celestial Pill."
"As for these Medicine Bottles..."
"My fa... father left these behind. I don’t know if they’re really the gifts from the Lord of the State for His Majesty, Emperor Yu..."
Lin Qing’Er said in a small voice, unconsciously shuffling a little to the side.
She put some distance between herself and the big, silver-white dog licking a bone just outside the door.
This seemingly chubby, silver-white dog had snapped Xu Yun’s neck with a single swipe of its paw, splattering her with blood. The memory left a shadow on her heart.
"After observing this Void Returning Celestial Pill, I sensed a vast and boundless energy of Vitality from it. It’s certainly no ordinary item. But these things..."
"They don’t seem to have any special qualities."
As he spoke, Jin Yunfeng’s gaze fell upon the dozen or so Medicine Bottles before him.
He was quite curious, but alas, his own Cultivation and experience were too shallow. No matter how he observed them, he couldn’t perceive anything miraculous.
Not that he thought the items were merely commonplace.
Because these Medicine Bottles were possibly part of the tribute from the Lord of the State to Emperor Yu, some of which had been intercepted by Lin Tianjing.
And how could a gift for Emperor Yu possibly be ordinary?
"These items indeed have nothing strange about them. They aren’t rare. You could even say they’re quite common, practically everywhere."
Su Bai glanced at them and spoke slowly.
"Everywhere?"
Jin Yunfeng was taken aback.
’How is that possible?’
’If they were really so common, why would that old eunuch bring so many elite men and travel thousands of miles for them?’
’Not to mention, the man in the turquoise robe with that terrifyingly powerful aura was also in his entourage.’
’That man’s status was clearly not low; he was probably a major figure in the State Mansion.’
’How could these things possibly be ordinary?’
"That’s right. They are indeed very common and ordinary."
Su Bai nodded slightly, a cold light glinting in his eyes.
"These Medicine Bottles are filled with the heart’s blood of hundred-day-old infants, the bone marrow of adolescents, and Soul Nourishing Liquid refined from the souls of young adults..."
His Power of Divine Thought was now exceedingly strong; after just a moment of sensing, he understood exactly how the liquids in the Medicine Bottles had been refined.
No matter how secretive the refinement method, it could not escape his perception.
He just hadn’t expected the tribute from the Lord of the State to Emperor Yu to be this kind of Demon Liquid.
The Medicine Bottles before him looked small, but the liquid inside a single one contained the essence of blood and marrow from at least thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people!
A theory began to form in his mind.
Perhaps the so-called tribute was just a cover, an excuse for the Lord of the State to secretly collect these things for his own use.
After all, presenting this kind of Demon Liquid on Emperor Yu’s grand birthday celebration—wouldn’t that be courting death?
Most likely, it was for the purpose of extending his own lifespan.
And Su Bai, having seen the memories of so many demonic criminals so far, naturally had some understanding of the Demon Dao’s Secret Techniques for refining blood essence and extending one’s lifespan.
Therefore, this theory was actually highly plausible.
BANG!
When Jin Yunfeng heard this, his expression changed dramatically. He shot to his feet, nearly overturning the table and chairs.
"Impossible! How could this be possible!?"
It wasn’t just him; Lin Qing’er was also so terrified her face lost all color.
Looking at the bottles and jars on the table again, it was as if they were seeing ghosts.
"How could this be?"
Jin Yunfeng’s expression was utterly ghastly, a storm of horror raging in his heart.
And when Su Bai voiced his theory, Jin Yunfeng froze.
Then, his golden eyes widened violently, looking as if they were about to shoot flames!
"Damn that Lord of the State!"
"How dare he!?"
’It was said that the Lord of the State had been planning the tribute for Emperor Yu for several months. If you count it up, how many people must have died?’
’And this was only what they could see now.’
’In the shadows, how many more had died at his hands?’
HUM!
Su Bai said no more, simply flicking a finger.
As his True Qi spread out, one of the porcelain vials carved with crimson markings instantly shattered. As the pale red, crystalline liquid splashed out, Su Bai pointed a finger again.
AHHH!
A shrill, despairing wail exploded simultaneously in the minds of all three.
In reality, it wasn’t a single wail, but countless voices overlapping, erupting in an instant!
This was the last sliver of will left behind by the remnant souls.
Lin Qing’er collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale, trembling uncontrollably.
Jin Yunfeng’s face twitched, his eyes filled with disbelief. "How can this be?"
"Why wouldn’t it be?"
Su Bai’s eyes glinted as he continued.
"When truly faced with death, how many people can remain composed?"
"Especially those who sit in high positions."
"For the sake of longevity, what wouldn’t they do?"
A common person living a hard, painful life would yearn more for their next life, to be born into a rich and powerful family, rather than wanting immortality in this one.
If you talk about immortality to a slave who toils day and night, with no future, living like cattle, they would want to kill you on the spot.
But high officials are different.
They enjoy the service of the masses, enslave countless people to satisfy themselves. When it’s their time to die, how could they possibly be willing to accept it?
Naturally, they would try by any means necessary to extend their own lives.
They would stop at nothing.
"Impossible... Impossible. Father has always been an honest official, accumulating merit and doing good deeds. He often gives alms to the poor and shares in the joy of the common people."
"He... how could he!"
Beside them, Lin Qing’er, for some unknown reason, seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. Her eyes filled with tears, and her expression was one of terror.
Su Bai glanced at her, and his Divine Thoughts swept over, seeing the images in her mind.
It was a scene of Lin Tianjing, laughing maniacally as he refined this very Demon Liquid!
After using some minor techniques to view all the memories in Lin Qing’er’s mind, Su Bai’s gaze flickered.
’Lin Tianjing’s incorruptibility was real.’
’But his crimes were also real.’
’The world has always been gray. People are the same—complex, with two sides.’
’As one of the high officials in Jin Yun City, Lin Tianjing was indeed incorruptible and humble. But to extend his own life, he ultimately gave in to evil intentions.’
"Longevity..."
At this moment, Jin Yunfeng’s body was trembling. He looked at the bottles and jars on the table and suddenly exploded with rage:
"To hell with longevity!"
ZING—
A flash of sword light!
An incomparably sharp wave of Sword Qi swept out, obliterating the entire row of bottles and jars!
Lin Qing’er looked up.
She saw Jin Yunfeng standing with his sword, his robes fluttering though there was no wind. His face was grim, his eyes held a murderous glint, and his killing intent boiled!
"That dog Lord of the State! That dog!"
Jin Yunfeng looked at Su Bai and cupped his sword in a farewell gesture:
"Lately, quite a few people have been sucking up to that dog Lord of the State. I’m going to go see if those officials are all like Lin Tianjing..."
"...sons of bitches!"
The last three words, Jin Yunfeng practically spat out through gritted teeth.
Without waiting for Su Bai’s response, Jin Yunfeng didn’t even glance at Lin Qing’er before turning with a flick of his sleeve and storming out the door.
With every step, his longsword hummed like a dragon, radiating a palpable killing intent that made all the Lin Family members in the courtyard turn pale as ash.
"Brother Jin!"
Lin Qing’er’s face was deathly white. She shakily tried to follow him, but the moment she stepped through the door, the massive Silver-White Dog Demon grabbed the scruff of her neck with its paw and lifted her up.
"Stop!"
Seeing this, the Lin Family members shouted in anger, yet were too nervous to step forward.
"Enough."
Su Bai’s voice rang out, like a Stabilizing Needle, easily quelling their shouts.
He sat inside, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the Lin Family members present.
"Now, it’s time to talk about you."
’What Lin Tianjing did could not have been seamless. For something like this, outsiders can’t be trusted.’
’Naturally, he could only trust his own family, especially the few family members whose interests were closely tied to his.’
’Like that adopted son, Xu Yun, for instance.’
’Lin Qing’er may have been ignorant, but that doesn’t mean all the Lin Family members present were.’
He just used the Purification Tripod to sense them for a moment and saw two or three Lin Family members whose Sin Levels were as high as Five or Six-Star.
’Taking people’s blood, marrow, and souls to refine and nourish oneself—whether as the principal offender or an accomplice...’
’The sin is immense!’