Chapter 612: Solved (II)
Deep within the Bloody Trial Grounds, Woo Yiyan, who was cultivating cross-legged inside a secluded chamber, suddenly opened his eyes. A trace of surprise appeared on his face.
Little Xuan came, too? Did he come for Xiao Yu?
Moments earlier, he had received a message from Woo Mingkun. He had sent him and Wu Yijie not only to assist Woo Yixuan in hunting Lin Zheyu, but also to protect him and keep an eye on his actions.
"With Mingkun and Yijie there, Little Xuan's safety shouldn't be a problem. I'll let him handle this matter himself."
Woo Yiyan spoke softly before closing his eyes again and resuming his cultivation.
Time slowly passed. The cultivators immersed in cultivation gradually awakened, excitement written all over their faces. Outside the area, Woo Yixuan's brows lifted slightly as delight flashed through his eyes.
Seeing the beam of light begin to move, Woo Yixuan immediately rushed after it. "Let's go. Chase him!"
The instant he moved, Lin Zheyu moved as well. A thunderous boom erupted beneath his feet as he shot toward the depths of the Bloody Trial Grounds at a speed roughly twenty percent faster than Woo Yixuan's.
He was not worried in the slightest that the three of them would fail to keep up. Judging by their appearance, they had clearly once again employed some powerful secret technique or dharma treasure.
Woo Yixuan gradually sensed that something was wrong and frowned slightly. "Not good! It seems the rumors that Xiao Yu awakened a spirit divine ability are true. He appears to have discovered us."
After a brief moment of thought, he turned to the two men beside him. "You're both faster than I am. Don't worry about me. Go ahead and stop that guy first."
Woo Mingkun replied in a deep voice, "Understood!"
Energy exploded from within their bodies. The speeds of Woo Mingkun and Wu Yijie surged instantly. Guided by the Sky-Patrolling Mirror, they rapidly closed in on Lin Zheyu at an astonishing pace. The distance between them shrank steadily.
Before long, Woo Mingkun and Wu Yijie could already make out the burly figure ahead. At this moment, Lin Zheyu was neither using the Heaven-Deceiving Art nor revealing his Golden Body Dharma Form. His purpose was to lower the vigilance of Woo Yixuan and his companions. Then, when the moment was right, he would strike them with a sudden and fatal blow.
The corners of Lin Zheyu's lips curled upward into a faint smile. "Interesting... Woo Yixuan is surprisingly considerate. He actually knows how to create such a perfect opening for me."
His speed suddenly surged once more with a boom as the Heaven-Deceiving Art activated in an instant.
"Hm? Where did he go?"
Woo Mingkun's expression changed drastically as Lin Zheyu inexplicably vanished from his perception. Beside him, Wu Yijie also revealed a look of surprise. However, his expression suddenly changed moments later. He abruptly turned around and sped back toward Woo Yixuan's direction.
"Not good!"
Woo Mingkun also sensed that something was wrong, and his face instantly paled. He kicked off the ground with all his strength, blasting a massive crater beneath his feet, and shot toward Woo Yixuan at astonishing speed.
"Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, so what if your talent is extraordinary? So what if your aptitude is monstrous? A commoner is still a commoner. How could someone like you compare to an ancient, esteemed martial family like ours? I won't let you die so easily. That would be letting you off too lightly. I'll make you experience..." Woo Yixuan sprinted toward the depths of the demon cave with all his strength.
A cold smile appeared on his face as he imagined how he would torture and humiliate Xiao Yu once he caught him. Only then could he avenge the humiliation of the past.
"I heard you've been looking for me."
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from beside him, and the smile on Woo Yixuan's face instantly froze.
His powerful perception spread outward, yet he could not determine where the voice had come from. In an instant, Woo Yixuan's face changed dramatically. This was the depths of the demon cave, the terrifying battlefield known as the Bloody Trial Grounds.
Not only were there countless powerful yao lurking here, but there were also formidable cultivators from the barbarian tribes, ancient yao clans, the sea clan, evil sects, and many other races and factions.
"No, that voice sounds familiar... It's... Xiao Yu!" Woo Yixuan's eyes widened as disbelief filled his face.
How is that possible? Wasn't Xiao Yu ahead of them? Woo Mingkun and Wu Yijie had already gone after him, so how could he suddenly appear here?
Woo Yixuan's mind raced. Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead. He did not know where the voice had come from, where Xiao Yu was hiding, or when the attack would come. The terror of an unseen enemy made his body tremble uncontrollably. His right hand slapped toward his storage pouch, and a flash of light flickered forth...
At the very instant Woo Yixuan reached for his storage pouch, a massive fist covered in purple-black scales exploded out of the darkness. Woo Yixuan noticed nothing. Only when the fierce gale struck his face, and every hair on his body stood on end, did he realize something was wrong.
"Damn it!"
Woo Yixuan shouted in fury as immense purple bloodline power erupted from his body.
But he was not Woo Yiyan. Having only recently advanced to the Shackles realm, Woo Yixuan was as insignificant as an ant before Lin Zheyu. His desperate counterattack before death landed on Lin Zheyu's body without effect. It felt weak and powerless, incapable of leaving even the slightest mark.
The enormous fist crashed into Woo Yixuan's chest. The crater blasted through his torso was so massive that it nearly split him in half.
Woo Yixuan stared at the slowly emerging figure of Lin Zheyu in utter disbelief. His lips moved weakly, his eyes filled with unwillingness and venomous hatred. "Y-You... H-How... How could you be this..."
A faint smile appeared on Lin Zheyu's face. He reached out and grabbed Woo Yixuan's head. With a slight squeeze, his entire skull exploded instantly.
The instant Woo Yixuan died, a streak of purple energy shot out from his body and entered Lin Zheyu at a speed too fast to react to. Lin Zheyu showed no surprise at the sight. A faint smile remained on his face. He slowly turned around, and a sharp saber appeared in his hand.
Looking into the distant void, Lin Zheyu said with a smile, "So you've arrived."
"You're courting death!"
The fury in Woo Mingkun's eyes seemed ready to erupt. A purple tiger phantom roared from his body and lunged toward Lin Zheyu.
At the same moment, from Lin Zheyu's front-left, Wu Yijie unleashed a terrifying saber arc. A purple tiger phantom roared skyward atop the blade light, carrying astonishing might.
Lin Zheyu's figure swayed slightly as immense blood qi surged from his divine repositories. Powerful rule energy spread throughout the surrounding area.
Deep within the demon cave, one was subjected to tremendous suppression. It was not that rule power could not be used, only that the cost of using it became extraordinarily high. For Lin Zheyu, however, whose divine repositories contained vast reserves of energy, such expenditure was insignificant.
"He disappeared?" Woo Mingkun froze for a brief instant before his expression changed dramatically. "It's the power of rules!"
A pitch-black rift half the height of a man suddenly split open behind him. From within it, a terrifyingly cold saber light slashed forth. Woo Mingkun spun around and retreated at high speed, attempting to evade the attack.
But after obtaining the opportunity from the rule fragments, Lin Zheyu's mastery of spatial laws had advanced another step. The Sixth Saber of the Seven Absolute Sabers had become unimaginably fast. The moment Woo Mingkun sensed something was wrong, the saber light had already passed through his body before crashing into the ground and carving out a horrifying chasm.
"Uh..." Woo Mingkun's eyes widened. The world before him began to tilt. His body split into two halves and slid apart in opposite directions.
"Mingkun!" Wu Yijie shouted in fury as he twisted his body and violently slashed out with his saber.
His face was fierce as a sinister purple-red aura burst from him, making him seem ready to die alongside his enemy. However, as soon as he struck, he stomped forcefully, spun, and swiftly retreated into the distance.
"This man cannot be fought!" Wu Yijie's temples throbbed wildly. From Lin Zheyu, he sensed the unmistakable aura of death.
If he delayed for even a moment longer, he would certainly die. Unfortunately for him, even without delaying, he was still going to die.
A deep black rift, dark as hell itself, silently opened beside Wu Yijie. A silver-white saber light shot forth and pierced straight through his body.
Maintaining its forward momentum, Wu Yijie's body split into two halves before crashing heavily onto the ground with two thuds. The powerful vitality of a martial artist allowed him to retain a sliver of consciousness despite having been cut in half. His eyes widened, filled with horror and fear of death.
Wu Yijie was utterly terrified as he had his last thought. What kind of terrifying monster did Woo Yixuan provoke this time?
As the thought flashed through his mind, another saber light swept past. The last remnant of his soul shattered instantly and vanished into the dark void.
One more nuisance dealt with at last. Now I just need to find a place to remove this mark.
After killing Woo Yixuan and the other two, a strand of purple energy had emerged from each of their bodies and entered Lin Zheyu. This was the bloodline curse of the Woo Family. Anyone who killed a member of the family would be afflicted by it.
Removing such a bloodline curse through ordinary means was exceedingly difficult. To Lin Zheyu, however, it was merely a minor inconvenience.
Lin Zheyu looked at the purple energy being blocked by the vast golden energy outside his sea of consciousness, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "A powerful curse hidden within both the bloodline and the soul. Interesting. Unfortunately for it, it ran into me."
Under the constant erosion of the golden energy, the purple energy had nearly been completely extinguished. Only the energy mark fused into his bloodline remained, circulating through his body along with his blood. Dealing with that mark would require a little extra effort. But that was all.
Lin Zheyu's figure moved, but he did not rush to leave the demon cave. Instead, he sped toward the nearest space-time node. The previous location was no longer suitable. That mysterious expert had already taken notice of him.
Lin Zheyu intended to find a different one. The thing the demon cave lacked the least was space-time nodes connected to the demon realm. To remove the bloodline curse mark within his body, he needed to rely on the power of Origin Force and the vast energy contained within the energy lake of a space-time node.