4: Chapter 4 Who is the real victim?

Before Shen Xiao's mental "WTF" could even settle, the spirit boat jolted violently, having already broken through the clouds above the North Sea Ice Abyss, speeding off in the direction of the Qingming Sect.

The bone-chilling wind was blocked outside by the spirit boat's protective light barrier, leaving only the low hum of the engine, like a monotonous lullaby.

He was "unconscious" peacefully, but his mind had already sunk into that void space within his consciousness.

On the System panel, the icon for [Supreme Sword Fetus (Fragment 1/3)] was flickering with a faint, eerie light.

You're the one.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Xiao's consciousness tapped lightly on the icon.

[Confirm activation of Fusion? The Fusion process will guide the heterogeneous energy within the host's body to counteract each other, which may cause unpredictable risks.]

Risk? The biggest risk I have right now is not being strong enough!

"Fusion!"

In an instant, an indescribable sense of sharpness exploded deep within his Dantian!

If the millennium cold marrow was an abyss of extreme cold, then this sword fetus fragment was the light of creation that could cleave through the abyss!

It was neither hot nor cold, but a feeling of "severing" that was pure to the extreme, as if it wanted to grind his Soul into powder.

Two completely different yet extremely high-ranking powers, inside his Dantian, were like two primordial beasts locked in the same cage, instantly beginning the most primitive and savage tearing!

"Hiss..."

Intense pain! An indescribable, intense pain!

Shen Xiao almost couldn't hold it together and nearly jumped right out of Xia Lengbai's arms.

His body twitched uncontrollably, his teeth chattering and clicking.

"What's wrong with him?"

Xia Lengbai's cold, clear voice, tinged with a hint of nervousness, came from above.

Immediately after, that large, calloused hand belonging to Zhao Dezhu once again rested on his wrist.

A thick and majestic Spiritual Qi cautiously probed inside, attempting to soothe the rampaging energy within his body.

Here it comes!

Shen Xiao's mind raced; enduring the pain of his Meridians being torn apart, he deliberately drew out a strand smaller than a hair from that violent sword fetus energy and accurately struck the Spiritual Qi that Zhao Dezhu had probed in with!

It was like using an embroidery needle to poke a fully inflated pig bladder.

"Ngh!"

A suppressed grunt escaped Zhao Dezhu's throat, and his large hand recoiled as if it had been electrocuted!

Shen Xiao could even "hear" the faint sound of his teeth clicking as he gasped in cold air.

It worked!

Shen Xiao sneered inwardly.

Zhao Dezhu, that old stick-in-the-mud, certainly couldn't understand why there would be such a weak yet condensed, overbearing, and destructive Sword Qi inside Shen Xiao.

The rank of this Sword Qi was so high that it even made him, a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, feel terrified!

And in the entire Qingming Sect, whose sword was the most famous?

Lin Yun! Born with a sword bone, the Sect Master's Personal Disciple!

If this insidious and vicious Sword Qi wasn't left by him, then who else could it be?

This was clearly a contingency plan left specifically because he was afraid that he would wake up and report him; he wanted to completely cripple him!

Look, the logical chain is now closed, isn't it?

"You beast!" Zhao Dezhu's roar almost tore the roof off the spirit boat. "With death at your doorstep, you still dare to launch a sneak attack!"

At the stern of the boat, Lin Yun, who was tied up like a rice dumpling with Spiritual Qi ropes, was completely stunned.

Sneak attack? What sneak attack did I launch? I can't even move a single finger, damn it!

"Elder Zhao! I didn't! I've been wronged!" Lin Yun roared unwillingly, his eyes bloodshot. "You've all been deceived by him! I want to prove my innocence!"

Resisting the layers of restraints, he began to frantically circulate the natal Spiritual Qi within his Dantian.

He wanted to use the Lin family's secret technique—the Haoran Sword Qi—in public!

This Sword Qi was upright and honorable, brilliant as the sun, and the nemesis of all insidious and evil things in the world.

As long as he could use it, he could prove that he was definitely not an insidious villain!

However, he forgot that his destiny value had just dropped by another 10 points.

Luck is a very mysterious thing.

Just as that "Haoran Sword Qi" struggled to rush out of his Dantian, surging along his Meridians, and flowed past his sleeve that had been torn by the Black Crow's wings—a sudden change occurred!

"Sizzle!"

A trace of imperceptible Spiritual Qi spark accidentally ignited the residual beast-attracting powder!

But it didn't burn; instead, it instantly turned into a small wisp of pitch-black smoke that emitted a strange, foul odor, rising in curls.

"Spirit-dispersing smoke?! You still dare to use poison!"

Xia Lengbai's voice was like ice from the Nine Netherworlds; she reacted almost instantly.

Silencing the witness!

He wanted to use this insidious spirit-dispersing smoke on this spirit boat to completely destroy Shen Xiao's Foundation!

How could this man be so vicious!

"Swish!"

A blood-colored thread shot out from Xia Lengbai's wrist like lightning, so fast it was invisible to the naked eye.

It accurately wrapped around Lin Yun's neck, then yanked him backward violently!

"Ugh—!"

Lin Yun only felt a huge force coming; his entire body was dragged forcibly from the stern and then slammed heavily onto the cold deck.

"Bang!"

That muffled thud made even Shen Xiao feel pain in the back of his head.

"I didn't... that wasn't..." Lin Yun was thrown into a daze, his throat making wheezing sounds; he couldn't say a single complete sentence.

Zhao Dezhu couldn't be bothered to even look at him again; he simply took out the broken porcelain bottle containing the residue of the "spirit-dissolving powder" from his Storage Pouch and threw it onto Lin Yun's face from above.

"Explain this as well."

Lin Yun looked at those familiar porcelain shards and felt the residual medicinal power fluctuations unique to the "spirit-dissolving powder" on them, feeling as if he had fallen into an Ice Cave.

A trap, this was a huge trap!

He went completely insane and decided to throw caution to the wind, pointing at Shen Xiao and shrieking hysterically, "It's him! The millennium cold marrow must have been swallowed by him! Otherwise, as a piece of trash at the Qi Refinement Stage, how could he have survived under the Black Crow! Elder Zhao, search his body, search his Storage Pouch!"

This was his last hope, and also the most fatal accusation.

However, this was exactly the opportunity Shen Xiao had been waiting for.

"Ah—!"

A shriek so miserable it didn't sound human erupted from Shen Xiao's throat!

Under the shocked gazes of Zhao Dezhu and Xia Lengbai, blood beads mixed with ice crystals seeped out from every pore of his body simultaneously!

His skin turned pale and stiff at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a layer of white frost quickly condensed on his eyebrows and hair; his whole body seemed to be completely frozen and destroyed from the inside out by a cold air from the Nine Netherworlds!

[Ding! Preliminary Fusion of the millennium cold marrow complete! Part of the energy has been converted into the host's Foundation, and the remaining energy is controllable!]

The System notification sounded, and Shen Xiao felt reassured.

His current appearance perfectly verified Lin Yun's accusation—he had indeed come into contact with the millennium cold marrow.

But at the same time, it also perfectly displayed the tragic end of a "low-level Cultivator who, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth, foolishly tried to covet a Heaven And Earth Treasure, only to be backlashed by the treasure and was about to explode and die."

Who was the victim was clear at a glance!

"Junior Brother Shen!" Xia Lengbai's face paled, and she wanted to use her Spiritual Qi to protect him, but she was forced back repeatedly by the bone-chilling cold.

Zhao Dezhu's expression was also ugly to the extreme.

It's over! This seedling that was so hard to save was about to be completely crippled by this cold poison!

In the midst of this chaos, the spirit boat suddenly slowed down and stopped.

The Qingming Sect's towering mountain gate, which reached into the clouds, was already right before their eyes.

On the plaza in front of the mountain gate, a team of Cultivators dressed in black, tight-fitting outfits with a murderous aura had been waiting there for a long time.

The person in the lead was a cold-faced young man, whose cultivation was shockingly at the Foundation Establishment Perfection.

"Elder Zhao." The young man stepped forward and slightly cupped his hands at Zhao Dezhu, but his tone was indisputable. "The Sect Master has ordered me, the Law Enforcement Hall, to take custody of Lin Yun, and... this severely injured fellow Disciple."

Zhao Dezhu frowned. "Mo Feng? Why would the Sect Master..."

"The Sect Master is brilliant and calculated long ago that a strange treasure would emerge in the North Sea Ice Abyss." The young man called Mo Feng expressionlessly displayed a purple-gold token. "Lin Yun is suspected of harming a fellow Disciple and should be interrogated by my Law Enforcement Hall. As for this Junior Brother Shen..."

Mo Feng's gaze fell on Shen Xiao, and deep within his cold eyes, a flash of undisguised greed flickered.

"...He is carrying a heavy treasure and has strange injuries, so he also needs to be taken back to the Spirit Locking Pavilion to be personally cared for and treated by the Sect Elders."

Shen Xiao's heart sank to the bottom instantly.

He had captured that trace of greed.

He understood immediately.

What kind of bullshit Child of Destiny Lin Yun was; from beginning to end, he was just a tool, a "porter" selected by the Sect Master!

The Sect Master's goal was that millennium cold marrow!

In the original novel, Lin Yun successfully brought back the cold marrow, presented it to the Sect, exchanged it for a large amount of resources, and rose to prominence from then on.

But now, he, this cannon fodder who had intercepted the treasure, had become the new "porter," and an disobedient one at that.

Now, there was big trouble.

[Ding! Detected that the Child of Destiny Lin Yun has lost the Sect's protection and is regarded as an abandoned pawn, destiny value -10!]

[Plunder successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a random reward: Soul Searching Technique (Incomplete Manual)!]

The cold System notification sounded like the final verdict on this farce.

Mo Feng waved his hand, and two Law Enforcement Hall Disciples immediately stepped forward, roughly hoisting up Lin Yun, whose face was ashen, and dragged him away like a dead dog.

Others brought a stretcher, preparing to carry Shen Xiao away.

"No need."

A cold, clear voice rang out.

Xia Lengbai actually stepped out, facing Mo Feng directly, her tone firm: "I am the Sect Master's Personal Disciple Xia Lengbai. Junior Brother Shen was severely injured while saving me; by reason and logic, I should personally care for him. I am willing to give up my Personal Disciple resources for this month and apply to enter the Spirit Locking Pavilion to serve as his temporary caretaker."

Mo Feng looked at her deeply, seemingly a bit surprised, but finally nodded: "Agreed."

Shen Xiao was carried off the spirit boat by the two Disciples; he "weakly" drooped his eyelids, but in the moment he passed by Mo Feng, the corner of his eye was locked tightly onto Xia Lengbai.

He saw it.

Her hand, hidden beneath her wide sleeve, was clenching tightly.

Because of the excessive force, her neatly trimmed fingernails had dug deeply into her own palm, gouging out three bloody holes.

The positions of those three bloody holes: one in the palm, one near the Meridians at the wrist, and one on the knuckle.

They were exactly the same as the positions of his own three most serious "wounds"—his back, wrist, and Dantian.

She was actually using this method of self-mutilation to feel his pain.

Shen Xiao only felt a chill, colder than the millennium cold marrow, rushing straight up his spine to his crown.

A lunatic.

This woman is a complete and utter lunatic.