42: Chapter 42 Cutting Off One's Own Arm

Lin Hao knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe loudly, quietly listening to his father's lecture.

"First, you should not have stolen the Sect's Spiritual Rice without permission, attempting to sell it for resources!"

Lin Zhentian raised his hand and pointed angrily at Lin Hao, his voice booming like thunder. "Spiritual Rice is the Sect's public property; how could you use it privately? If word of this gets out, where will our Lin family's honor be?"

"If you wanted Spirit Stones and resources, you could have come to me for them, instead of stealing Spiritual Rice."

"Second, after such a massive incident occurred, you didn't even send a message to inform me immediately!"

"Attempting to hide it delayed the optimal time for a search, resulting in the theft of over three hundred thousand catties of Spiritual Rice. Now, it's difficult to even track the thief's whereabouts!"

"Third, you shouldn't have let alcohol interfere with your duties!"

"As a scion of the Lin family, to be negligent to such an extent is simply the height of stupidity!"

"Fourth, you should not have forcibly taken the Array Token from Manager Liu Cheng's hands!" Lin Zhentian's tone was bone-chillingly cold. "The token was entrusted to Manager Liu Cheng so that each person could perform their duties and maintain a system of checks and balances. You used your status to seize it, and now that such a major incident has occurred, how am I, your father, supposed to protect you?"

"Father, your son knows his mistake!"

Lin Hao lowered his head, not daring to defend himself at all; he also knew he had caused a huge disaster.

"Sever one of your own arms, then go into solitary confinement for three years to reflect on your mistakes," Lin Zhentian said.

"What?!" Lin Hao's body shook, and he suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

However, Lin Hao soon realized that this was the lightest possible punishment.

Given the Sect's harsh laws regarding the theft of resources, let alone his private taking of Spiritual Rice and negligence, the secondary responsibility for the theft alone would be enough to have him executed.

His father's handling of the matter was already the most lenient punishment.

"Your son... obeys." Lin Hao kowtowed to Lin Zhentian.

"In the Sect Competition three years from now, among the rewards for first place is a 'Bone-Regenerating Rebirth Pill'." Lin Zhentian's voice was calm. "During these three years in solitary confinement, cultivate diligently, stabilize your cultivation, and temper your Heart-Nature. When the three years are up, come out and participate in the Sect Competition. If you can take first place, you can use that Spirit Medicine to regrow your arm and return to how you were before."

Hearing this, a glimmer of light instantly flashed in Lin Hao's eyes.

The Bone-Regenerating Rebirth Pill was a mid-tier High Grade Medicinal Pill that could bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bone; it was the perfect Spirit Medicine for regrowing a severed limb.

He never expected that behind his father's seemingly ruthless punishment, a path forward had already been paved for him.

"Father..." Lin Hao kowtowed heavily to Lin Zhentian once again.

Lin Zhentian snorted coldly, but his tone was no longer as furious as before. "Take care of yourself. After you sever your arm, someone will take you to the Confinement Room. During this period, you are not allowed to go out."

"Your son understands!" Lin Hao replied. Without further hesitation, he raised his hand, condensed a thick layer of Spiritual Qi, and swung it fiercely toward his left arm.

"Splurt—" With a soft sound, blood sprayed out, and his left arm fell to the ground.

Lin Hao let out a muffled groan, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead. He gritted his teeth hard, not letting out a single scream, his eyes filled with determination.

Seeing his resolute appearance, a flash of approval crossed Lin Zhentian's eyes. He then shouted an order outside the hall: "Someone, come! Take him to the Confinement Room, get some healing pills to stop the bleeding, and keep him under strict supervision. There must be no mistakes!"

Two Cultivators stepped in quickly and respectfully complied. While applying medicine to stop Lin Hao's bleeding, they supported him as he stood up and walked out of the hall.

Watching Lin Hao leave, Lin Zhentian's eyes were filled with rage.

Although Lin Hao was a disappointment, he was still Lin Zhentian's son.

Now that someone had dared to cross him, how could he, Lin Zhentian, not retaliate?

Although he did not yet know who it was.

But someone would know.

With a light wave of his hand, a communication talisman glowing with a dull red light flew out from his sleeve.

With another wave of his hand, the communication talisman instantly turned into a streak of red light, piercing through the roof and disappearing into the pitch-black night.

He slowly walked back to the main seat and sat down again.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a Man in Red appeared within the hall.

This man's aura was very sinister and charming, and his face was covered by a hideous bronze mask that hid his entire countenance.

The Man in Red glanced at Lin Zhentian and said, "Was it not agreed that unless it is a life-or-death situation, we would not meet within the Sect? Are you not afraid of being discovered and ruining our agreement?"

"Forgive me, Fellow Daoist, but this is an urgent matter," Lin Zhentian said, quickly standing up.

"What matter have you summoned this old man for?" the Man in Red asked.

"I want you to help me curse someone!" Lin Zhentian's eyes were filled with venomous malice.

"Curse?" The Man in Red sneered. "As the Law Enforcement Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Elder Lin actually wants to use this old man's unorthodox arts? Are you not afraid of becoming a laughingstock if word gets out?"

"I do not yet know that person's identity, so I can only ask for your help!" Lin Zhentian replied.

The Man in Red sized up Lin Zhentian for a few moments before saying, "I can, but you must be able to pay the price."

Lin Zhentian's expression remained unchanged. "Speak, what is the price?"

The Man in Red tossed a bottle to Lin Zhentian. "I want the Essence Blood of thirty low-level Cultivators. It must be pure Essence Blood from those below the third level of Qi Refining."

"I also need you to give me the Defense Maps of the front lines!"

Although the Essence Blood of low-level Cultivators was not considered rare, the front-line Defense Maps were the positions where many Cultivators defended against Yao Beasts.

But at this moment, Lin Zhentian hated the person who stole the Spiritual Rice so much that he didn't care about these things at all.

Lin Zhentian nodded slightly and said in a heavy voice, "Fine. Within three days, I will have someone deliver the Essence Blood to the agreed location. The Defense Maps will be placed in the Scripture Pavilion."

Seeing him agree, a flash of satisfaction appeared in the Man in Red's eyes. "Speak then, who is the target?"

Lin Zhentian said, "The person who stole over three hundred thousand catties of Spiritual Rice from the back mountain's great array. This person is skilled in concealment techniques; I have already sent people to search, but there is no trace of them."

Hearing this, the corners of the man's mouth beneath the mask curled up slightly in a sinister and eerie smile. "So what if they are skilled in concealment? Under my Curse Technique, even if they hide at the ends of the earth, they cannot escape death."

His tone was certain, filled with absolute confidence. "Leave this matter to me. You just need to prepare the Essence Blood on time. In forty-nine days, that rice thief's Lifespan will be exhausted, and they will die."

"Good." Lin Zhentian felt a sense of relief. As long as he could eliminate that thief, the price of handing over the Defense Maps was worth it.

The figure of the Man in Red gradually became illusory, and in the next instant, he completely vanished from the hall without leaving a single trace, as if he had never appeared.

Lin Zhentian also shouted loudly, "Someone!"

A trusted Cultivator immediately rushed in and bowed. "What are your orders, Elder?"

"Go to Servant Peak to recruit people. I need thirty-five Utility Disciples to go to the back mountain to gather Spirit Medicines. Each person will be paid thirty Spirit Sand," Lin Zhentian said.

"Your subordinate obeys!" The confidant's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed and withdrew.

...

Servant Peak.

"Dong, dong, dong."

A sudden series of rapid and heavy bell tolls rang out.

"What's going on? Why are they ringing the bell in the middle of the night?"

"Could something major have happened?"

"Could it be that Yao Beasts are invading?"

Many Utility Disciples were awakened by the bell and pushed open their doors one after another.

One should know that in the past, the assembly bell on Servant Peak only rang for daytime labor, Sect orders, or sudden major events; such a late-night tolling had never happened before.

Although they were puzzled, the Sect's rules were strict, and no one dared to disobey. They could only hurriedly tidy their robes and rush toward the plaza.

Qin Changsheng was also awakened by the bell.

At the same time, he understood in his heart that this bell was likely due to the theft of the Spiritual Rice.

However, all of Manager Liu Cheng's schemes were destined to fail.

After all, those three hundred thousand plus catties of Spiritual Rice had all been put into the Storage Space by Qin Changsheng.

The Storage Space was a Golden Trait; let alone Manager Liu Cheng, even if Lin Zhentian himself came, it would be impossible to find anything.