Chapter 15: Going All Out Against Qi Refining Disciples!

“This kid’s pretty loyal. I could make an exception and take him as my adopted son.”

The cave fell briefly silent. This time Xiao Hei hadn’t used spirit pet voice transmission. Lin Yang, Chen Junsheng, Cao Hu, and Zheng Tong had all heard it clearly.

Cao Hu turned sharply. “Was that dog talking?”

Zheng Tong was surprised too. A spirit beast capable of human speech needed considerable intelligence. Where had Lin Yang found a pet like that after only a few days in the sect?

Neither man worried much, however. How powerful could a palm-sized black puppy be, even if he could talk? He had probably awakened some special bloodline. Besides, a talking creature like that would fetch a good price in the cultivation world. If they took him, they could probably sell him for several thousand spirit stones.

“What are you staring at?” Xiao Hei sat on Lin Yang’s shoulder, indignant. “Never seen a dog as handsome as me?”

Cao Hu sneered at Lin Yang. “Lucky you, picking up a talking spirit pet. Unfortunately, nobody can save you today!”

Chen Junsheng knew their plan now. They couldn’t merely leave him bedridden for a few months; they had to kill him to silence him!

Cao Hu and Zheng Tong exchanged a look and raised their swords.

“Qingyuan Sword Art!”

Spiritual power poured into their blades. Streams of azure sword qi shot upward, forming two enormous phantom swords three or four meters long. Their sharp qi struck the cave walls, carving deep gouges into the stone.

“Chen Junsheng, we gave you a chance and you threw it away! Now die!”

They swung together. The two giant swords descended on Chen Junsheng with overwhelming force.

His face changed. He held his sword across his body and released all his spiritual power.

“Qingyuan Sword Shield!”

Azure energy gathered into a sword-shaped shield over two meters tall. The first giant blade struck it with a boom, shaking the shield violently and covering it in cracks. The second fell immediately afterward.

Crack! The shield shattered. Chen Junsheng stumbled back several steps. Cao Hu was at the sixth level of Qi Refining and Zheng Tong at the fifth. He couldn’t stop them both!

“Lin Yang, why aren’t you running?”

He had worked so hard to buy time. Had Lin Yang frozen in fear? Leaning against the wall, he shouted, “Take the path on the left! I’ll hold them off!”

Even now, he wanted Lin Yang to escape first. Lin Yang looked at him. This senior brother was a good man. They had known each other only a few days, yet he was willing to risk his life protecting him.

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother Chen. Leave the rest to me.”

With Xiao Hei on his shoulder, Lin Yang walked toward Cao Hu and Zheng Tong. Cao Hu laughed. “You just joined and have third-grade spirit roots. You want to stand up for him? You obviously don’t know the difference between a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator and an ordinary person!”

Lin Yang really didn’t know. He hadn’t stayed at the sixth level long enough to remember what it felt like. He’d accidentally cultivated all the way to the Violet Palace Realm! What could he do?

At a thought, he temporarily disabled the realm-concealing effect of the Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers.

Boom!

Terrifying Violet Palace pressure burst from him. Dense purple true essence spread in visible waves. The cave shook violently, the floor cracked, and falling stones were crushed to powder before they could reach him.

The smiles vanished from Cao Hu’s and Zheng Tong’s faces. Their swords trembled. Their previously abundant spiritual power couldn’t circulate properly under that pressure.

“V-Violet Palace Realm!” Cao Hu’s eyes widened, his voice shaking. “Impossible! You’ve only been here a few days. How can you be a Violet Palace expert?”

Zheng Tong was numb. Many elders of the Qingyuan Sword Sect had never reached that realm; only the peak masters had just attained its first or second level. Even the Supreme Sect Master had merely perfected Violet Palace. And the two of them had come to cripple such an expert for five hundred low-grade spirit stones?

It was like accepting five million to take out the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. How absurd was that?

Chen Junsheng stared at Lin Yang from against the wall, forgetting his pain. Didn’t Lin Yang have third-grade metal and wood spirit roots? Hadn’t he just joined the sect? Where had this Violet Palace cultivation come from?

…

At the same time, deep inside a cave abode on Qingyuan Peak, the sect master opened his eyes during secluded cultivation. “A Violet Palace aura?”

He sent his spiritual sense toward it, but the Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers trembled. An invisible force diverted his sense around Lin Yang. The sect master could tell a Violet Palace cultivator had appeared near Blackwind Cave, but couldn’t see who it was.

“The aura is on the outskirts, outside the core of the mountain-protecting formation. Probably a passing Violet Palace cultivator fighting something in the mountains.”

He watched for a while. Once certain the stranger wasn’t attacking the formation or approaching the sect’s core, he closed his eyes again. Violet Palace cultivators were rare in the Black Mountain Region, but he wasn’t the only one. As long as the stranger didn’t intrude, there was no need to interfere.

…

In Blackwind Cave, Lin Yang reached the two men. “Senior brothers, weren’t you going to cripple an arm and break a leg? Come on. Let’s have a fight. Bring out everything you’ve got, and we’ll fight to the death!”

Thud! Cao Hu’s legs gave way and he dropped to his knees. Zheng Tong followed just as quickly.

“Senior, spare us! It’s a misunderstanding! This wasn’t our idea. Liu Feng asked us to attack you!”

Cao Hu’s arrogance was gone. He threw his sword aside and repeatedly knocked his head against the ground. “Liu Feng said it was Senior Brother Huang’s order. He offered us five hundred low-grade spirit stones to cripple your arm and leg! The stones are in my storage pouch! If you spare us, they’re all yours!”

Five hundred low-grade spirit stones. Lin Yang was tempted. Even a small profit was still a profit! But he could take the money without letting them go.

“If I really were only at the first level of Qi Refining and knelt to beg you for mercy, would you spare me?”

Neither man could answer. Of course they wouldn’t. Even if Lin Yang knocked his head bloody, they would break his arm and leg as Huang Bin had ordered. And Chen Junsheng absolutely had to die!

Their expressions told Lin Yang enough. “Apparently not. Then why should I spare you?”

Zheng Tong hurriedly looked up. “Senior, we’re only minor Qi Refining cultivators! You’re a Violet Palace expert. Killing us would be beneath your dignity!”

“Quite the opposite,” Lin Yang said earnestly. “You’ve cultivated for years, and I only joined three days ago. Besides, you’re ganging up on me. All the more reason to go all out! This is my first fight since coming to the cultivation world, after all.”

Cao Hu and Zheng Tong stared. A Violet Palace expert going all out against two Qi Refining cultivators? Was that necessary?

Even Xiao Hei looked at him. “Aren’t you being a little too cautious? The two of them together couldn’t withstand one sneeze from you!”

“What do you know?” Lin Yang raised his right hand. “A lion uses its full strength even against a rabbit!”

Red-gold true essence flooded from his body. The cave’s temperature soared, the stone walls turned red, and protruding rocks began to melt. A red-gold sun dozens of meters across rose behind him. At its center, a huge golden seal carved with flame patterns took shape. Terrifying fire illuminated the cave.

“Great Sun Mountain-Burning Seal!”

He thrust out his palm. The great seal, carrying the blazing sun, crashed toward the two men. Their world filled with red-gold fire. There was nowhere to run!

“Senior, spare us!”

“We were wrong!”

Boom! The explosion swallowed their voices. The seal struck them without slowing and continued deep into the cave. Walls crumbled like tofu, and the mountain shook. Hundreds of meters of rock above the cave were blasted away. With a thunderous roar, the mountainside from halfway up was flattened. Rocks and red-gold flames rained from the sky.

Behind Lin Yang, a purple true essence barrier protected him, Xiao Hei, and Chen Junsheng. When the dust cleared, the dark, narrow cave had become an open-air ruin, sunlight pouring in. Cao Hu and Zheng Tong had vanished completely. There weren’t even ashes left!

“Decent power.” Lin Yang nodded in satisfaction. It was his first time using the Great Sun Mountain-Burning Seal, and it was a little stronger than he’d imagined.

Then he spotted a scorched storage pouch on the ground nearby. He hurried over and touched it. Crack! It crumbled into black ash. The five hundred low-grade spirit stones inside had also been destroyed, leaving only dark fragments drained of spiritual energy.

His smile disappeared. “Five hundred spirit stones! Why didn’t I take the money before killing them?”

Xiao Hei rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who insisted on going all out against two paramecia. Now you regret it?”

“How is that the same?” Lin Yang stared at the black debris in pain. “An enemy’s money is still money!”

Chen Junsheng finally recovered from his shock. He looked at the flattened mountainside, then at Lin Yang standing amid the ruins. Thud! He dropped to his knees.

“Junior Chen Junsheng greets Senior!”

Only one question remained in his mind. Had Lin Yang already possessed Violet Palace cultivation and deliberately concealed his identity when he entered the Qingyuan Sword Sect? Or had he really cultivated from mortal to Violet Palace in a little over three days?

His voice trembled as he looked up. “Senior, who are you?”