32: Chapter 32 Shifting the blame eastward—is this the "gift" you've given me?

Seeing this line of small text, Shen Xiao's originally tense nerves relaxed instead, and the corners of his mouth curled into an extremely dangerous arc.

The Lin family's ancestral Cultivation Technique?

Isn't this a "specially prepared surprise" for the Child of Destiny, Lin Yun?

He had intercepted the lotus, and as a result, he had also signed for the highly toxic delivery meant for the protagonist.

What do you call this?

This is called precise poverty alleviation to send warmth, only to kick open the assassin's door.

Interesting.

"Diverting the disaster..." He rubbed his chin, calculation flashing in his eyes, and muttered to himself, "Xia Lengbai, is this the 'grand gift' you sent?"

The list that crazy woman gave didn't mention this.

Did she not want to remind him, or did she not know herself?

Shen Xiao was more inclined towards the latter.

This trap was set so secretly that it was clearly the work of another one of Lin Yun's enemies, interlocking and just waiting for Lin Yun's Divine Soul to be damaged to swallow him up in one bite.

Destroy the Mechanical Beetle egg?

No, that would be too wasteful.

Such a good thing, how could it be wasted?

It must be put to good use and sent back to its "fated" owner.

Shen Xiao carefully used his Spiritual Qi to scrape a nearly imperceptible trace of Deacon Sun's aura from the title deed, which was filled with humiliation.

This trace of aura was contaminated with the faint characteristics of the Cultivation Technique that he had absorbed over the years while constantly following Lin Yun.

"System, activate [Disguise Module]."

[Disguise Module activated. Please select the disguise target and sample.]

"Using this trace of Deacon Sun's aura as a sample, disguise the aura of this Soul-Devouring Mechanical Beetle egg as an ordinary 'Insect Repellent Talisman'."

[Command confirmed. Consuming 1 point of destiny value... Disguise complete.]

The light of the egg in the jade box dimmed, and the faint, evil aura that had been present instantly vanished, replaced by the unremarkable Spiritual Qi fluctuation of a Talisman.

After finishing all this, Shen Xiao picked up the title deed and swaggered toward the newly acquired Spirit Medicine field on Black Wind Mountain.

This herb field was in a remote location, right next to the edge of the Restriction at the back of the Sect; the Spiritual Qi was not very dense, but it had the advantage of being hidden, and its area was quite large.

Just as he stepped onto the ridge, Shen Xiao saw a young girl wearing coarse linen clothes, crouching in the field, carefully harvesting a cluster of half-person-tall plants with silver specks on their leaves.

Her movements were very skillful, but there was a hint of vigilance between her brows that didn't match her age.

Shen Xiao's gaze swept over her, his heart remaining calm.

The [All-Things Identification] System had long since provided a clear report.

[Character: Xiao Wu]

[Identity: Herb-gathering girl (fake)]

[True Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Stage]

[Status: Has cast "Shadow Sect Breath-Concealing Disguise Technique"]

A spy lurking within Lin Yun's sphere of influence.

Interesting; it seems Lin Yun has more enemies than just me.

Shen Xiao walked over calmly, deliberately making his footsteps heavier.

"Ahem."

The girl named Xiao Wu was startled, like a frightened rabbit, and stood up abruptly, nearly dropping the sickle in her hand.

When she saw clearly that the person coming was Shen Xiao, a strange Inner Sect Disciple,

"Senior... Senior Brother, who are you?" She lowered her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito's.

"From today on, this herb field is under my management." Shen Xiao's tone was flat, as if he were talking about a trivial matter. He pointed to the "Spirit-Attracting Grass" that Xiao Wu was harvesting and asked, "How is the yield for this kind of grass?"

"Replying to Senior Brother, the Spirit-Attracting Grass is growing normally; about... about three to five catties can be harvested per mu." Xiao Wu answered in a low voice, her eyes secretly observing Shen Xiao's reaction.

"Pull it all out."

"Ah?" Xiao Wu raised her head abruptly, her face full of shock.

Although these Spirit-Attracting Grasses were not very valuable, they were still Spirit Stones!

Shen Xiao ignored her surprise and took several bags of seeds from his Storage Pouch, throwing them in front of her: "From now on, we will change to planting 'Red Sun Flowers' and 'Moon-Viewing Grass' here. You look quite skilled, so you will be the temporary foreman, leading the others to work, and your wages will be doubled."

After speaking, he turned and left, seemingly completely unconcerned about the fate of this herb field.

Xiao Wu looked at the bags of seeds on the ground emitting rich Spiritual Qi, then at Shen Xiao's retreating figure, her eyes becoming incomparably complex.

Red Sun Flowers and Moon-Viewing Grass were Advanced medicinal herbs worth more than ten times that of Spirit-Attracting Grass!

What on earth is this new manager up to?

Late at night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

A sneaky figure, taking advantage of the cover of darkness, quietly crept to the edge of the Black Wind Mountain herb field.

It was Deacon Sun, who had suffered a great loss during the day.

He looked at the newly renovated field, his eyes full of resentment and pleasure.

Shen, don't you like to rob? Today I will make you lose everything!

He carefully took out a paper packet from his bosom, which contained a highly toxic powder bought at a high price — "Bone-Melting Powder".

This thing was colorless and odorless. Once sprinkled into the soil, it could make nothing grow within a hundred meters within three days, and its medicinal properties were extremely overbearing.

He grinned hideously, preparing to sprinkle the toxic powder toward the center of the herb field.

However, he did not know that at the top of a lookout stone tower not far from the herb field, Shen Xiao was standing with his arms crossed, watching him leisurely.

After activating the [Perspective Function], Deacon Sun's petty, underhanded actions were even clearer to Shen Xiao than in the daylight.

It's here, the delivery guy has finally come to deliver the goods.

Shen Xiao waited quietly.

Deacon Sun, feeling guilty, finished sprinkling the toxic powder, then proudly admired his own "masterpiece" before sneaking away.

After he had completely left, Shen Xiao leaped down from the stone tower like a falling leaf, arriving silently at the area that had been poisoned.

In the air, besides the fragrance of the soil, there was indeed a trace of an imperceptible aura belonging to Lin Yun's Cultivation Technique.

This was caused by Deacon Sun taking Medicinal Pills bestowed by Lin Yun all year round, and his aura leaking out due to nervousness.

That's enough!

Shen Xiao flicked his finger, and the Soul-Devouring Mechanical Beetle egg, which had been processed by the [Disguise Module], fell precisely into the soil where the "Bone-Melting Powder" was most concentrated.

In just an instant, a shocking scene occurred!

The egg, which had originally been in a dormant state, seemed to have been injected with adrenaline after coming into contact with that faint trace of Lin Yun's Cultivation Technique aura and the toxic powder, suddenly erupting with strong life fluctuations!

It was like a glutton that had been hungry for eight hundred years, crazily absorbing the surrounding "Bone-Melting Powder" as top-tier nutrients. The egg, originally the size of a grain of rice, expanded and hatched at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into hideous, pitch-black Mechanical Beetles the size of a fingernail!

"Very good."

Shen Xiao curled his lips, urged the Spiritual Qi in his body, and carefully guided these newly born, starving Soul-Devouring Mechanical Beetles according to a low-level insect-control technique taught by Xuan Chenzi.

These little things were not very intelligent, but their instincts were extremely strong, and they had a natural, indelible craving for the aura of "Lin's Cultivation Technique".

Under his guidance, the swarm of insects gathered into a thin black stream, not damaging a single blade of grass on Black Wind Mountain, but instead drilling mightily toward one direction along the crevices of the underground Spiritual Vein.

That direction was exactly Green Water Valley, the largest and most hidden Spirit Medicine production area under Lin Yun's name, which was connected to the Spiritual Vein of Black Wind Mountain!

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

"It's bad! Senior Brother Shen! It's bad!"

Xiao Wu rushed to Shen Xiao's residence with a panicked look on her face, her pretty face pale, "The herb field... something happened to the herb field! Many medicinal herbs have... have withered!"

Shen Xiao was "furious," pushed open the door, and followed her with quick steps toward the herb field.

Upon arriving at the scene, he saw that the Red Sun Flowers and Moon-Viewing Grass that had just been planted yesterday indeed showed signs of yellowing leaves and withering stems in several areas.

"What is going on!" Shen Xiao was "enraged," kicked over a water bucket nearby, "I told you to watch over it, is this how you watch it?!"

Xiao Wu and the other hired herb gatherers were trembling with fear, kneeling on the ground and not daring to speak.

Just as Shen Xiao was "throwing a tantrum" and the scene was in chaos, he quietly took out a sound-transmission Talisman from his bosom and crushed it with the back of his hand.

Almost at the same time, from the direction of Green Water Valley in the distance, several earth-shattering, violent explosions suddenly rang out!

Boom! Rumble!

The terrifying Spiritual Qi shockwave even reached Black Wind Mountain, shaking the ground until it was humming, mixed with the shrill screams and wails of countless Cultivators.

Xiao Wu and the others were stunned by this sudden change, all looking toward the direction of Green Water Valley.

And in Shen Xiao's mind, the most wonderful music in the world rang out.

[Ding! Host successfully transferred the fatal trap, the core herb field 'Green Water Valley' under the Child of Destiny Lin Yun has suffered more than 80% damage! Plundered 3 destiny points!]

[Current destiny points: 4 points.]

[Ding! Detected chain reaction, because Lin Yun's core industry was destroyed, his Luck is damaged, his Dao Heart is unstable, and his fiancée 'Nangong Li' has begun to doubt him.]

It worked!

Shen Xiao was ecstatic inside, but on the surface, he maintained that expression of both shock and anger.

However, just then, several Soul-Devouring Mechanical Beetles that had lost their way in the Green Water Valley explosion, their bodies covered in flesh and blood, came buzzing over, seemingly attracted by the presence of people at the scene.

The other herb gatherers fled in terror.

Those few Soul-Devouring Mechanical Beetles ignored everyone else, as if precisely attracted by something, and flew straight toward Xiao Wu, who was the only one still standing there in a daze!

The color drained from Xiao Wu's face instantly, and that powerful aura belonging to the Foundation Establishment Stage could no longer be hidden, erupting violently!

But it was already too late!

She watched helplessly as those few hideous black insects pounced in front of her, and that fear originating from the depths of her Divine Soul made her let out a shrill, distorted scream.