42: A narrow encounter, secrets exposed

"S-rank evaluation, that's powerful."

"Cultivation directly to Qi Refining Level Nine."

"And it comes with a new skill... Puppet Remnant Detonation?"

Lin Gou felt the Qi surging through his limbs and bones like never before, and only one word remained in his heart.

"Awesome."

He opened his eyes.

He happened to meet Hei Shan's ghost-seeing face.

"Damn it."

This resurrection was broadcast live to the enemy.

The entire main hall was utterly silent.

Time seemed to freeze.

In the air, only Hei Shan's heavy breathing, like a broken bellows, remained, mixed with fear.

"You..."

Hei Shan's finger trembled as he pointed at Lin Gou, shaking like a candle in the wind.

His ferocious Scarface lost all color, replaced by an extreme, distorted horror.

"Ghost... You're a ghost!"

Behind him, the few surviving Blackwood Sect Disciples were a sorry sight.

Someone's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, his crotch wet and warm.

Someone's teeth chattered madly, making a "clack-clack" sound, clearly about to roll his eyes and faint.

To witness a person turn to ashes in the center of an explosion.

And then to witness him re-materialize from nothingness.

Such a sight was enough to instantly shatter any Cultivator's rock-solid Dao Heart.

Lin Gou's mind raced.

"Explain?"

"No, there's no need to explain anymore."

He looked at Hei Shan, at the terrified demonic Cultivators, and the habitual humble smile on his face slowly receded.

It was replaced by a bone-chilling, indifferent coldness.

He didn't even say anything.

He just lightly dusted off his robes, which were condensed from Qi and spotless.

A very light movement, yet it was like an invisible heavy hammer, striking hard at everyone's heart.

"Reincarnation of an ancient mighty being?"

This thought flashed through Hei Shan's mind.

But in an instant, it was completely swallowed by an emotion ten thousand times more intense.

"Greed."

Boundless greed!

"To hell with the Reincarnation of a mighty being!"

"This is definitely some Heaven-Defying secret art of immortality!"

"Or, it's a supreme treasure that can bring people back from the dead!"

Hei Shan's breathing instantly became incredibly heavy, his eyes erupting with terrifying bloody light, staring fixedly at Lin Gou.

Like a starving wolf that hadn't eaten for ten days, seeing the fattest prey in the world.

"If... if I can get this secret... eternal life!"

"Everlasting!"

These four words, like demonic whispers, shrieked madly in his heart.

"He just resurrected!"

"He must be in his weakest state!"

"This is the best chance! And the only chance!"

This thought, like a prairie fire, instantly burned away his last shred of sanity.

"Kill him!"

Hei Shan let out a hysterical roar, his voice becoming sharp and distorted due to extreme greed.

"Kill him at all costs!"

"Seize his secret!"

The veins on his intact arm bulged, gripping his ghost-head broadsword, as he charged madly towards Lin Gou.

"Protect Junior Brother Lin!"

The Qingyun Sect Elder roared, disregarding his injuries, and met the charge again.

Zhao Linger and all the surviving Disciples unhesitatingly stood in front of Lin Gou.

Zhao Linger's pretty face was solemn, and she looked anxiously at Lin Gou behind her.

"How many more times could his 'substitute death Talisman' lie be used?"

However.

The "weak" Lin Gou she had expected did not appear.

The young man just quietly watched the charging demonic Cultivators.

A hint of... playful amusement even curved his lips.

He raised his right hand.

His slender fingers, in the air.

Lightly, he snapped his fingers.

"Snap."

The sound was crisp.

The next moment.

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Inside the main hall, the dozens of cold Puppet remnants scattered everywhere, exploded simultaneously at that instant!

The energy slots on the chests of the Puppets closest to the Blackwood Sect Disciples suddenly glowed with dazzling red light.

Following that was a chain of earth-shattering explosions!

"No!"

A demonic Cultivator at the very front had no time to react as the Puppet remnant at his feet exploded with a roar.

The violent shockwave, mixed with countless black iron fragments as sharp as knives, instantly tore him into a mist of blood.

A Puppet arm next to another demonic Cultivator suddenly exploded.

He let out a short, tragic scream, and half his body was directly charred.

The explosions continued.

Like the unseen scythe of the God of Death, playing the most magnificent death symphony on the battlefield.

Those demonic Cultivators who had just been so imposing were now completely trapped in a living hell.

Every piece of scrap metal under their feet was a life-taking Talisman.

Every remnant around them was an explosive ready to detonate at any moment.

Panic spread like a plague.

"Ah! My leg!"

"It's a trap! There are traps everywhere!"

Screams, pleas for mercy, and desperate wails resounded.

The fierce encirclement instantly turned into a one-sided, bloody massacre.

Hei Shan was also dazed by the explosions.

The aftershocks sent him flying, rolling several times on the ground.

When he scrambled to his feet, covered in dust, what he saw was the tragic sight of his subordinates being blown to pieces, suffering heavy casualties.

He looked at Lin Gou again.

The young man still stood in place, with his hands behind his back, not even a corner of his clothes moved.

On his face was a faint, cold sneer.

As if he had only done a trivial little thing.

A chill ran from Hei Shan's feet straight to the top of his head.

He finally understood.

"What weakness?"

"What opportunity?"

This kid had been playing them all along!

He wasn't human at all!

He was a monster!

A monster they completely couldn't understand or contend with!

Boundless greed, at this moment, was completely extinguished by even more boundless fear.

"Run!"

"Must run immediately!"

A look of determination flashed in Hei Shan's eyes, and he glared fiercely at Lin Gou, his gaze filled with venom and unwillingness.

"Kid!"

"My Blackwood Sect will definitely have your secret!"

"You wait! Wait for our Sect Master to come find you personally!"

He uttered harsh words, then transformed into a streak of bloody light, fleeing frantically towards the depths of the ruins without looking back.

The crisis was temporarily averted.

The entire main hall returned to silence.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and char.

All the surviving Qingyun Sect Disciples were silent.

They looked at the mess on the ground, then slowly turned their gaze towards the young man standing not far away.

Their eyes had changed.

No longer admiration, no longer gratitude.

But an instinctive... fear, like looking at the unknown, at something inhuman.

The Golden Core Elder leading the team walked over in silence.

He stood in front of Lin Gou, his expression more complex and solemn than ever before.

He took a deep breath and slowly spoke in an incredibly hoarse, incredibly heavy voice.

"Lin Gou."

"You, need to give us an explanation."

The moment his words fell.

Zhao Linger's hand gripping the hilt of her sword tightened sharply.

Her knuckles were slightly white from excessive force.

A crisis of trust within the team was on the verge of breaking out.