Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

It was just a simple glance.

Cheng Yi, who had been so menacing just a moment ago, suddenly felt a violent palpitation in his heart.

His first reaction was to dodge, but he instantly dismissed the thought, instinctively activating the Clear Heart and Protect God Talisman.

The talisman’s light rippled, protecting the spot between his eyebrows.

THUD! THUD!

Though there was clearly nothing there, the sound of a dull impact echoed.

Cheng Yi didn’t feel much force. He was simply thrown back several dozen feet by the momentum. He then stared blankly at the ground until he felt a warm, gushing sensation on his face.

He reached up to touch his face. Seeing the red between his fingers, his trembling pupils filled with horror.

"..."

The other two women at the scene also fell silent.

Blood was streaming uncontrollably from the Overseas Dragon’s eyes, nose, and ears.

The mighty Gang Wind he had summoned also dissipated quietly. He was clearly unable to maintain the Formulas.

’This... is a Foundation Establishment Formula that specifically attacks the Divine Soul!’

The Sea-Covering Dragon’s breathing grew ragged. She had thought the man beside her was the most formidable Cultivator in the city.

She never expected someone else to have mastered an even rarer set of Formulas.

Moreover, the sheer abundance of this person’s Spiritual Power was astonishing.

’Why would a place like Black Water City gather so many powerful experts hiding their identities?’

"What are you still looking at? That woman, Gu, is just putting up a brave front! Ignore her and kill that stupid dog!"

Cheng Yi roared in terror, popping one Awakening Pill after another into his mouth until his hand came up empty.

He had never imagined Lin Shu was capable of such a treacherous technique.

He had suffered a huge loss from a moment of carelessness and desperately needed time to recover.

Fortunately, he had brought the Sea-Covering Dragon with him. Although Gu Nanzhi was on the other side, the County Captain had clearly lost her ability to fight and was no longer a threat.

"Er... All right."

Under his tyranny for so many years, the Sea-Covering Dragon didn’t dare to question him. Suppressing the shock and doubt in her heart, she forced her Spiritual Power to surge and charged toward the riverbank.

Gu Nanzhi subconsciously tried to gather Sword Qi to stop her. She had just raised her arm when it froze in mid-air.

Because the fat dragon had already stopped in her tracks. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, her eyes staring blankly at the riverbank.

"Huu..."

At some unknown point, the young man had stood up.

Bathed in the reflection of the wildly dancing black fire, his somewhat haggard face was still pale.

But the pain between his brows had long since faded.

Lin Shu stood there calmly. He looked frail and scholarly, but the two crimson orbs of light in the air added a thick, sinister aura to his presence.

But the real reason the Sea-Covering Dragon had stopped was not just his powerful and murderous aura.

The hideous and terrifying Evil Flood Dragon had finally lost its earlier stiffness. Its body writhed rapidly before coiling its massive form, hovering behind the young man.

"You... How audacious! That’s my Master’s Magical Artifact!"

Cheng Yi’s shoulders trembled as he lifted his head, his expression not of anger, but of absolute terror.

He desperately tried to contact the Divine Thought within it, only to find he couldn’t connect at all. It was as if it had simply vanished.

"Oh."

Lin Shu took a noncommittal step forward.

Enveloped in black flames, he casually extended his right palm.

All eyes at the scene fell upon that fair, slender hand.

’Cheng Yi had pressed his palm to command the Evil Flood Dragon to attack. Could it be that Lin Shu has really taken control of the Magical Artifact and can do the same?’

BOOM! BOOM!

With the young man’s slight movement, the Evil Flood Dragon suddenly disintegrated into black mist, surging downward like a great river.

The streams of mist gathered between his five fingers, forming a three-foot-long misty blade. Its body was ethereal, yet it radiated an indescribable, violent killing intent.

"It’s a sword?!"

Cheng Yi’s eyes widened. He had tended to this Treasure for a full ten years. How had he never known this?

What was even more terrifying was that this sword had willingly flown into the other man’s hand.

Lin Shu grasped the hilt, his steps steady.

Piercing shrieks echoed from within the ethereal blade.

The Filthy Moon Wolf Lord’s Magical Power raged around his body. Thirty-foot-high black flames shot toward the sky, faintly forming the silhouette of a wolf.

The Immortal Talisman in mid-air, enveloped by the Golden Sun, was gradually obscured by the two crimson flames. The talisman, made of some unknown material, trembled and shattered.

The riverbank grew even darker than before, leaving only Lin Shu’s flickering figure.

He walked up to the Overseas Dragon.

"Stay back!"

Cheng Yi was truly from an Immortal Sect. Though he retreated step by step, with a panicked wave of his sleeve, both Formulas and an Immortal Talisman activated at once.

A purple-and-green Spiritual Curtain formed before him, like an indestructible barrier.

At the same time, he rapidly formed a series of Finger Formulas. While defending, he used his remaining strength to conjure several blasts of Gang Wind, intending to force his attacker back.

FZZT! FZZT!

The translucent, wolf-shaped black flame flickered slightly and easily dissipated the Gang Wind.

Lin Shu had never used a Magical Artifact, or even a sword, before.

Thus, this ethereal, sword-shaped Magical Artifact was more like a Mountain-opening Saber in his hands.

He had no intention of wasting any more words.

A savage expression appeared on the young man’s fair and handsome face.

He gripped the hilt somewhat crudely and brought the three-foot-long blade down in a ferocious diagonal slash!

With a crisp sound, the purple-and-green Spiritual Curtain shattered layer by layer, like exploding colored glass.

The Longsword sank into Cheng Yi’s left shoulder, cut through his chest, and emerged from his right waist.

SCHLICK!

The blade sent a wave of blood flying. The staggering figure was split in two down the middle, and half of his body fell to the ground with a SPLAT.

"AHHH!!"

Cheng Yi dragged his severed torso, desperately pushing himself along the ground with his one remaining right arm. He didn’t dare to stop, even as his elbow was scraped raw and bloody by the gravel.

He raised his head in despair, his eyes wide as he stared at the figure before him.

The pride he held in his heart as an Immortal Disciple finally crumbled.

’Even if I took all the wealth and status I’m so proud of, how could it possibly compare to the sword in his hand?’

He just couldn’t understand why his Master’s Magical Artifact would be so docile under the other man’s control.

’How could a Foundation Establishment Cultivator possibly do this?!’

"Don’t... Don’t..."

Cheng Yi stopped squirming. He waved his right arm frantically, letting out strange cries. He wanted to beg for mercy but was too horrified to form a complete sentence.

His entire body was engulfed in the shadow of the giant wolf of black flame.

And within that surging, unholy fire, the young man slowly came to a halt.

Lin Shu calmly raised his arm again. The red orbs of light in the air grew even more blinding, pulsating with bloodthirsty cruelty.

The next moment, the blade lunged forward, wrapped in a terrifyingly malevolent aura.

KRAK!

The Longsword ruthlessly pierced Cheng Yi’s face and jutted out from the back of his head!

[Murder and arson gets you a golden sash; building bridges and roads gets you a nameless grave. One mortal body slain. Reward: two strings of Sin Coins.]

"..."

Lin Shu withdrew the Longsword and pondered for a moment. He felt that something wasn’t quite right.

Even though his Realm was insufficient, and even borrowing the Magical Power of the Moonlight Wolf Lord, he could only unleash about thirty percent of the Ink Flood Dragon Sword Bracelet’s might.

But it was, after all, a Magical Artifact capable of trapping the entire Black Water City. It shouldn’t just be a little sharper than an ordinary weapon.

After a brief moment of thought, Lin Shu turned slightly and looked at the distant Sea-Covering Dragon, who was petrified.

He suddenly opened his palm, and his sleeve fluttered gently.

WHOOSH!

The ethereal Longsword shot from his hand, transforming into a streak of inky black sword light. It roared as it streaked across the sky, trailing a ten-foot-long afterimage as it shot toward the distance.

"Spare me!"

As the Sea-Covering Dragon watched the soaring sword light, the terrifying image of the Evil Flood Dragon was once again reflected in her pupils.

She was like a wooden post, her entire body rigid, as if targeted by some peerless, ferocious beast.

The sword’s shadow was simply too fast. Forget escaping; she couldn’t even move a fingertip. The Spiritual Power in her body was frozen solid by the baleful aura.

The words had barely left her mouth when the fat dragon felt a chill creep across her skin.

She dazedly lowered her head. "..."

SHHH—

With a beckoning gesture from Lin Shu, the roaring sword light flew back.

It wrapped around his wrist, transforming into a bracelet in the shape of a flood dragon. It was the color of black jade, with faint threads of crimson running through it.

"So that’s how you use it."

He lowered his eyes thoughtfully and reached out a fingertip to stroke the cool bracelet.

At the same time, a dull thud echoed from the riverbank. The Sea-Covering Dragon, her face still frozen in a daze, didn’t even have time to react before her plump chest and abdomen were torn to shreds by the sword’s passing, exploding into a cloud of blood mist!