163: Chapter 162 Two People Killed

Deacon Liu stood before Qin Wan, just about to speak.

Then, a person descended from the sky.

He landed beneath the banyan tree, right between Deacon Liu and Qin Wan, perfectly blocking Deacon Liu's view of her.

The movement was very natural, as if he had just strolled over casually, or as if he had been standing there all along.

Both deacons took half a step back simultaneously.

It wasn't out of fear, but instinct.

This person had appeared far too suddenly.

Their Divine Sense had been spread out the entire time; every movement within a hundred-mile radius was under their surveillance.

Yet, before this person landed, they hadn't sensed a thing.

No escape light, no Spiritual Pressure, no warning signs whatsoever.

He simply appeared out of thin air, like a pebble falling from the sky or a spray of water flipping up from the sea.

Deacon Zhou's hand was already pressed against the Magical Artifact at his waist. Deacon Liu also fell silent, her gaze shifting from Qin Wan to this man, sizing him up.

“Two honored guests,” Yun Ming spoke, his voice calm and a faint smile on his face, “you have come from afar; is there something I can help you with?”

Deacon Zhou did not answer.

His Divine Sense repeatedly swept over the man—Golden Core Middle Stage.

It was indeed the Early Golden Core Stage; his aura was steady and his Foundation solid, but his cultivation level was right there for all to see, and it couldn't be faked.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his hand moving away from his Magical Artifact, and the expression on his face shifted from vigilance to scrutiny.

The Early Golden Core Stage was considered a significant figure in such a backwater place. However, before a Golden Core Middle Stage of the Wanze True Mansion, he wasn't much to look at.

“Who are you?” Deacon Zhou asked, his tone carrying a condescending weight.

“A resident of this island, surnamed Yun,” Yun Ming said.

Deacon Liu glanced at him, then at the woman behind him. That woman had already retreated to the side, standing quietly with her head bowed, showing no panic nor any attempt to seize the opportunity to leave.

“How long have you lived here?” she asked.

“For some years now.”

“Have you seen a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator? A man, surnamed Qian, a deacon of the Wanze True Mansion.” She paused and added, “He came to this sea area about half a month ago.”

Yun Ming thought for a moment and nodded. “I have. He came here, circled around a couple of times, and then left.”

The two deacons exchanged a look.

They saw the same thought in each other's eyes—this person wouldn't dare to lie.

The name of the Wanze True Mansion was more effective than anything else in this sea area.

Forget a Loose Cultivator at the Early Golden Core Stage; even the Sect Masters of those small and medium Sects wouldn't dare play tricks in front of the Wanze True Mansion.

If he said he had seen him, then he had seen him.

If he said Qian Jin had been here, then he likely had been.

But Deacon Zhou still felt something was off.

Qian Jin just circled around twice and left? Then why were his traces on the Bronze Mirror so dense, going back and forth as if he were searching for something or waiting for something? He glanced at Yun Ming, then at the villagers, and suddenly spoke: “We wish to ask someone a few questions.”

He looked in the direction of Qin Wan.

Yun Ming quietly shifted half a step to the side, blocking that direction again. “They are all Mortals,” he said. “When that Golden Core True Person came, they couldn't even see him. You won't get anything out of asking them.”

Deacon Zhou's brow furrowed.

He felt this person was obstructing him.

It wasn't an obvious obstruction, but the kind of subtle, ethereal blocking that you wouldn't notice unless you looked closely. But he was a deacon of the Wanze True Mansion; it had always been him blocking others, never others blocking him.

“Whether we can find anything out is our business,” Deacon Zhou's voice turned cold. “Fellow Daoist, it would be best if you didn't meddle in things that don't concern you.”

Yun Ming did not retreat.

He stood there, his face still bearing that calm expression, showing neither anger nor fear.

He simply looked at Deacon Zhou, watching him quietly.

Deacon Liu began to feel that something was wrong.

This man's gaze was far too peaceful.

Facing two Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivators and the reputation of the Wanze True Mansion, he wasn't flustered at all. It wasn't a forced lack of panic, but a genuine one. It was as if he were completely confident, as if he were well-prepared, or as if—he didn't even consider them worth his notice.

“Fellow Daoist,” Deacon Liu spoke, her tone slightly more moderate than before, though the arrogance in her bones was not diminished in the least, “we are merely performing official business to clarify the whereabouts of Deacon Qian Jin. We will leave after asking a few questions and will not make things difficult for these Mortals. Step aside.”

Yun Ming was silent for a moment.

He sighed, a very soft sound, almost inaudible.

“Why,” he murmured, as if talking to himself or asking someone else, “is there always someone coming here to seek death?”

The expressions of both deacons changed simultaneously.

Deacon Zhou's hand pressed onto his Magical Artifact again, and spiritual light began to shimmer on Deacon Liu's body. But their movements stopped halfway.

It wasn't that they wanted to stop; it was that they could no longer move.

The surrounding space seemed to have solidified, their bodies pinned in place, unable to lift even a finger.

Even more bizarrely, their sense of existence was disappearing. It was a strange feeling; clearly they were still standing there, clearly their eyes could see and their ears could hear, but they felt as though they no longer existed. It was as if they had been erased from this world by someone, as if they had become people in a painting, or as if they had fallen into a pure white world of nothingness.

They wanted to scream but couldn't.

They wanted to struggle but couldn't.

They could only watch helplessly as that man walked over, grabbed them each by the collar with one hand, and lifted them up like two little chicks.

Then they flew. They didn't fly on their own; they were thrown up.

With a casual toss from the man, the two of them soared into the high sky, moving so fast that the wind howled in their ears, so fast they couldn't even open their eyes.

Then they stopped. Suspended high in the air, there was nothing around them but clouds and wind. Then they saw that cauldron. The cauldron wasn't large, with three legs and two ears, looking ancient and simple, suspended above the man's head. Golden Flames burned at the mouth of the cauldron; the flames weren't hot, but the moment they saw them, their entire Divine Souls trembled. Then, the Golden Flames fell.

There were no screams, no struggling. The two Golden Core Middle Stage deacons of the Wanze True Mansion vanished into nothingness within those Golden Flames.

From Physical Body to Divine Soul, they were wiped clean, leaving not a single trace behind.

Their Storage Pouches, Magical Artifacts, Command Tokens—everything was taken by that man.

From the moment Yun Ming struck until everything ended, barely three breaths had passed.

The villagers under the banyan tree were still dazed.

They had only seen Mr. Yun descend from the sky, speak a few words to those two Immortals, and then those two Immortals had vanished in the blink of an eye.

They hadn't even clearly seen how the two Immortals flew off, nor how Mr. Yun had moved. Everything had happened too quickly.

“Mr. Yun,” Old Chen walked over leaning on his cane, “those two Immortals...”

“They've left,” Yun Ming said. “They finished their questioning and left.”

Old Chen nodded and didn't ask further.

The other villagers also dispersed, going back to weaving nets, drying fish, or returning home.

They didn't care where those Immortals had gone; they only cared if today's fish were dry and if they could head out to sea tomorrow.

Whatever Mr. Yun said, they believed.

It had always been that way.