135: When the oil runs out and the lamp dies down

Lin Feng stopped by a secluded mountain stream to rest, the fatigue from his skirmish with the Myriad Poison Sect not yet completely gone. The Shadow Scale Snake coiled beside him, the goldenPattern on its forehead a shade dimmer than usual, its tail unconsciously sweeping over the pebbles by the stream.

The stream water carried the unique coolness of the valley, yet it couldn't disperse the faint, sweet scent lingering at the tip of his nose. The smell was extremely subtle, but it made the Shadow Scale Snake suddenly raise its head, its scales slightly parting.

Following the stream downstream, the outline of Qinghe Market appeared in the twilight. At the end of the market, the scolding of a woman and the frantic laughter of a man were faintly intertwined.

Lin Feng originally didn't want to get involved, but he saw several stall owners hurriedly packing their goods, whispering amongst themselves:

"That madman is pestering a Hehuan Sect Fairy again!"

"What a sin, he was a proper Cultivator just a few days ago..."

Through the gaps in the crowd, Lin Feng saw a gaunt male Cultivator clutching the sleeve of a purple-robed woman. The man's eyes were deeply sunken, saliva drooled from the corners of his mouth, and his coarse Daoist robe hung loosely on his shoulders, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

"Fairy... just one more Immortal Pill..." He made a rasping sound in his throat, white foam constantly spilling from his lips.

The silver bells on the purple-robed woman's wrist chimed softly, and she flicked her sleeve, embroidered with jasmine patterns. The male Cultivator flew out like a kite with a broken string, knocking over a roadside stall. He struggled to get up, his emaciated fingers still stubbornly reaching for the woman: "Just one last one... just one..."

Lin Feng frowned slightly. This male Cultivator clearly showed signs of being at the end of his rope, yet a strange fanaticism burned in his eyes. Even stranger, the Spiritual Qi fluctuations around him were extremely unstable, at times surging to Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and at other times dropping back to the Qi Condensation level, as if some external force was forcibly keeping him alive.

This made her recall the alluring smile of the Hehuan Sect Saintess, Flower Without Shadow, back then, and Smoke of Willow, who always loved to flirt in the Hundred Flowers Valley... These Hehuan Sect Disciples were indeed femme fatales who devoured people without spitting out their bones.

Just as he was secretly glad he hadn't fallen into a gentle trap, a goose-yellow figure swept past like the wind. The newcomer's movement technique was light, and the Tianxuan Sect jade token at her waist flashed with a warm luster in the twilight. It was Senior Sister Su Sizhu from Cloud Bamboo Peak.

"Xu Ming!" Su Sizhu's voice carried a rare mix of shock and anger, "How did you become like this?"

Before she even arrived, three silver needles had already shot through the air, their tails leaving faint trails of spiritual light.

The first needle pierced directly into Xu Ming's Daling Acupoint on his wrist. The silver needle penetrated three fen deep, immediately stirring up a circle of bluish-black ripples. Xu Ming's emaciated wrist trembled violently, and a spiderweb-like pattern appeared under his skin. Su Sizhu's hand seal changed subtly, and the silver needle vibrated at a specific frequency, channeling pure Spiritual Qi into his Meridians.

"Guard your Purple Mansion!" She shouted softly as the second needle reached the Shanzhong Acupoint. The moment the needle tip touched, a pink mist suddenly surged from Xu Ming's chest, fiercely clashing with the clear light on the silver needle.

Su Sizhu's expression changed drastically: "This is... pill poison backlash!"

When the third needle pierced his Yintang Acupoint, Xu Ming suddenly laughed maniacally, black blood seeping from his seven orifices: "It's useless... the Immortal Pill has already fused with my Divine Soul..."

His claw-like hand grabbed Su Sizhu's sleeve, "Senior Sister Su, you should also taste this bone-eroding, soul-destroying flavor..."

Just as the pink mist was about to entangle Su Sizhu's wrist, a bolt of lightning struck first. Lin Feng shot a beam of electricity from his fingertip, precisely hitting Xu Ming's glabella. The lightning, like a wisp of silk, seeped into his Meridians, and wherever it passed, the pink mist dissipated completely.

Su Sizhu stood rooted to the spot. She saw that the lightning from Lin Feng's fingertip didn't simply dispel the pill poison; instead, it wove a dense electrical net within Xu Ming's Meridians, layer by layer restraining the rampant medicinal power.

Even more alarming to her was that the lightning actually carried an endless Sword Intent, clearly a sign that his Sword Dao cultivation had reached the Transcendent realm.

"What kind of Cultivation Technique is this...?" she murmured, remembering the last time she saw Lin Feng was a few years ago. Back then, he had just successfully completed Foundation Establishment and made a splash at the Sect Grand Competition. Now, this skill of condensing lightning into a net was probably beyond the reach of even a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator.

Xu Ming suddenly convulsed violently, and the bluish-black patterns under his skin began to move. Lin Feng's lightning suddenly changed, transforming into seven fine threads that locked down the major Acupoints all over his body. Seeing this, Su Sizhu quickly cooperated, her silver needles flashing as she set up a "Soul Stabilizing Array," but as she applied the needles, she found that Lin Feng's lightning net had already protected the main Acupoints.

"Junior Brother Lin..." she couldn't help but speak, "Your lightning technique..."

Before she finished speaking, a cloud of blood mist suddenly burst from around Xu Ming's body. The bluish-black patterns squirmed out of his skin like living creatures, twisting into a bizarre Talisman in the air.

Su Sizhu continuously pierced thirteen vital Acupoints with her silver needles, but she saw Xu Ming's pupils completely dilate, and his last shred of vitality extinguished like a flickering candle in the wind.

"Too late..." Su Sizhu's silver needle dropped to the ground, "The pill poison has already eroded his heart and Meridians..."

From the shadows of the alley entrance, the purple-robed woman slowly walked out. Her gaze swept over Xu Ming's corpse, then she suddenly flicked three pink silks from her sleeve directly at Su Sizhu: "Since you've seen what you shouldn't have, then stay here!"

The silver bells on the silks emitted a soul-bewitching sound, clearly intending to silence them.

Lin Feng was about to act, but he saw a cold light flash in Su Sizhu's eyes. Nine silver needles flew out from her sleeve, their tails adorned with gold threads as fine as hair, weaving a dense net in the air. The silver needles collided with the pink silks, actually producing the sound of metal clashing.

"Hehuan Sect's Soul-Corroding Silks?" Su Sizhu sneered, her fingertips suddenly tightening the golden threads. The silver bells on the pink silks shattered one after another, and the silk fabric broke inch by inch. Only then did Lin Feng realize that Su Sizhu's silver needle technique was exquisitely subtle, each needle precisely piercing the spiritual power nodes of the pink silks.

The purple-robed woman's expression changed drastically. She formed hand seals, intending to escape. However, Su Sizhu had already closed in, and a jade seal had appeared in her palm at some point. The words "Pure Heart" were carved on the seal, emitting a soft white light. The moment the jade seal pressed down, the pink mist around the purple-robed woman melted away like ice and snow.

"Pure Heart Seal?! What is your relationship with Tianxuan Sect's True Person Xuan Ling?" The purple-robed woman was horrified, and in her panic, she threw a Talisman.

The Talisman exploded into thick smoke, and she took the opportunity to transform into a streak of light and escape, leaving only her venomous voice echoing in the alley: "You two just wait... this isn't over!"

Su Sizhu put away the jade seal. When she turned, the corners of her eyes were slightly red. Only then did Lin Feng notice that her needle-wielding fingers were trembling slightly. It turned out that this usually aloof Senior Sister possessed such sharp skills.

"Senior Sister Su..." Lin Feng began hesitantly.

Su Sizhu knelt down and gently closed Xu Ming's still-open eyes: "He was my most capable assistant at the Spirit Pill Pavilion..." Her voice carried a suppressed sob, "Just three months ago, he was discussing Pill Formulas with me, saying he wanted to use his accumulated Spirit Stones to buy medicinal ingredients and open his own pill shop..."

Lin Feng watched in silence. The evening breeze rustled the fallen leaves in the market, and all the onlookers had already scattered.

"Junior Brother Lin, why are you here?" Su Sizhu suddenly asked, her fingertips still trembling slightly.

"I was sent by my master for outdoor training, and I'm about to return to the Sect." Lin Feng answered briefly, his gaze sweeping over the bluish-black patterns on Xu Ming's neck that hadn't completely dissipated.

Su Sizhu scrutinized him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "Your cultivation... has progressed remarkably fast. That lightning technique just now was exquisitely subtle, even able to temporarily suppress the pill poison backlash."

She stood up, lightly shaking her sleeve, "Since your mission is complete, could you lend me a hand?"