133: Chapter 133 Danger on the Way Home

The ice crystal held the water bead as it hovered before her. Even separated by a faint glimmer, she could still feel that heart-palpitating dead silence and chill.

"This thing... is following us." Her voice was three degrees colder than usual, carrying a hint of gravity.

"Following us?" Tie Xin leaned in, his burly frame nearly blocking all the light in the forest.

He stared at the water bead, which was more viscous than ink, his brows knitted together. "What the hell is this? It looks ominous just by looking at it."

Lin Haoyu's heart sank.

He certainly recognized this aura. In the Secret Realm, those corrupted creatures and the Ink Abyss Qi that surged from behind that giant bronze gate all shared the same source as this.

He thought he had escaped that desperate land, but he never expected that this maggot-like curse would actually follow him out like a persistent ghost.

They were either tracking him, or they were tracking the Wu Earth True Source within his body!

"Don't touch it!" Seeing Tie Xin extend his finger, Lin Haoyu instinctively shouted.

Tie Xin paused, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "Brother Lin, don't be nervous. My skin is thick and flesh is rough; I'll just test its quality."

Saying this, he did not use his hand but instead lowered his giant hammer, which looked like a door plank, and used a corner of the hammerhead to carefully touch the suspended ink-colored water bead.

"Sss—"

After an extremely faint yet sharp sound that seemed capable of piercing the Divine Soul, a shocking scene occurred.

That drop of ink-colored water seemed to come alive, like a drop of boiling oil falling into water, instantly spreading across the surface of Tie Xin's dark, heavy hammer.

It was not merely sticking to it, but acting like the most potent acid, crazily infiltrating and eroding the interior of the hammer body.

In just a single breath, the corner of the hammer surface that had been touched revealed a dense, spiderweb-like pattern of cracks!

Those patterns were deep and ancient, carrying a deathly aura of decay that could rot all things, and they were identical to the patterns eroded by the Ink Abyss Qi on the Wutu Spirit Turtle's shell earlier!

"Damn!" Tie Xin let out a strange cry and yanked the giant hammer back.

He could clearly feel his life-bound Magic Treasure wailing, and the spirituality of the eroded area was draining away at an alarming speed.

He hurriedly channeled his own spiritual power, surging his robust earth-element spiritual power into the hammer body in an attempt to force out that corruptive force, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea—with little effect.

"This damn thing can actively erode the spirituality of Magic Treasure!" Tie Xin's expression turned extremely ugly. This door-plank giant hammer had followed him for many years, and their minds were long connected; now that the hammer was damaged, he felt the pain as if it were his own, a wave of heartache washing over him.

Yun Shang waved her hand to disperse the ice crystal, looking at the corrosion patterns on Tie Xin's hammer with a cold expression. She said slowly, "It is not following us; it is tracking. Its target is the aura of the Wu Earth True Source. As long as the Wu Earth True Source remains inside you, Brother Lin, no matter where we flee, it will follow like a shadow."

This single sentence caused the atmosphere, which had just recovered from the aftermath of survival, to drop to freezing point once again.

What to do?

Lin Haoyu instinctively clenched his right fist, feeling the heavy power deep within his arm that was connected to his own flesh and blood.

Did he have to do as he did before when swallowing the Wu Earth True Source—completely fuse it with himself to isolate the aura?

But the risk of doing that was too great; without the tempering of the Heavenly Tribulation, forced Fusion was no different from seeking his own death.

Just as the three of them fell into silence and the atmosphere became oppressively heavy, the void ring on Lin Haoyu's right index finger suddenly lit up without warning.

"Hum—"

A soft, earthy-yellow light projected from the ring, condensing into a semi-transparent phantom on the open ground in front of them.

It was a small turtle, with ancient Luo Shu patterns carried on its back; it was exactly the appearance of the Wutu Spirit Turtle.

But this was not a physical entity; it was composed of pure remnant willpower, its form flickering as if it would dissipate at any moment.

It seemed to have exhausted its final strength and could not speak, only using those eyes filled with vicissitudes and wisdom to look deeply at Lin Haoyu.

Afterwards, it moved its four limbs, walked to Lin Haoyu's feet, used its illusory mouth to gently bite his hem, and then tugged hard toward a secluded fork in the road leading deep into the dense forest.

"It wants us to follow it?" Tie Xin widened his eyes, looking astonished.

Lin Haoyu did not hesitate; he could feel the anxiety and goodwill transmitted from the Wutu Spirit Turtle's remnant willpower.

This was the final guidance left by the Senior who had guarded the Qingmu Sect for unknown years.

"Follow it!" Lin Haoyu made a prompt decision and, letting the Wutu Spirit Turtle phantom pull him, stepped onto the fork road covered by bushes and weeds first.

Tie Xin and Yun Shang exchanged a glance and immediately followed.

The speed of the Wutu Spirit Turtle phantom was not fast, but its direction was clear.

It led the three of them through the rugged mountain forest for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, finally stopping before an unremarkable cliff wall.

The cliff wall was covered with moss and vines, showing nothing unusual.

The Wutu Spirit Turtle phantom released Lin Haoyu's hem and slowly walked to the cliff wall. Its entire illusory body suddenly went "poof," transforming into a streak of pure earthy-yellow light that crashed into the cliff wall.

"Boom..."

A muffled sound came from behind the cliff wall. The entire rock wall trembled violently, and countless gravel and dust fell down with a rustle.

Immediately after, the seemingly intact cliff wall split from the middle, slowly retreating to both sides and revealing a pitch-black, deep cave entrance.

A wave of cold, damp water vapor, mixed with a rich earthy smell, rushed at them from the cave entrance.

Inside the cave, the sound of flowing water could be faintly heard.

The three of them exchanged glances, and all saw vigilance in each other's eyes.

Lin Haoyu walked in the lead, took a Moonstone from his storage ring, and its soft light instantly illuminated the scene inside the cave.

This was a naturally formed underground cavern, and an underground river about three zhang wide was flowing gurglingly from the depths of the cave, leading to unknown places.

The river water was crystal clear, yet it presented an eerie ink-green color, making one feel a chill in their heart just by looking at it.

"This place... how did I not know there was such an underground river behind the Qingmu Sect before?" Tie Xin muttered while vigilantly looking around.

Lin Haoyu did not speak; his gaze was already firmly attracted by the scene at the bottom of the river.

The light from the Moonstone penetrated the water surface, clearly illuminating the riverbed.

On that flat riverbed, over a dozen corpses were lying helter-skelter!

Those corpses were all wearing uniform black tight-fitting clothes; judging by their attire, they were not Disciples of the Qingmu Sect.

They maintained various eerie postures, their faces frozen with the terror and unwillingness of before death.

What made Lin Haoyu's scalp tingle the most was that these dozen corpses, without exception, were all tightly clutching a fist-sized black crystal with both hands!

Those crystals were pitch black throughout, with surfaces as smooth as mirrors, yet under the illumination of the Moonstone, they refracted a dim and profound light, as if they could suck a person's mind inside.

And on the surface of every crystal, an identical emblem was branded using an unknown method—a ferocious drop of blood that seemed to be burning!

True Blood Temple!

Lin Haoyu's pupils contracted suddenly.

He had seen this emblem countless times in the Sect's classics; it was the symbol of that Demonic Path Sect known for its secretive actions and cruel methods!

Yun Shang also recognized the emblem, and a trace of disgust and killing intent appeared on her cold face: "It is the remnants of the True Blood Temple. How could they have died here?"

"Something is wrong." Tie Xin pointed at the corpses. "Look, they have no obvious wounds on their bodies; it doesn't look like they died in a fight. It looks more like... they were instantly drained of their life force."

Lin Haoyu looked in the direction he pointed. Indeed, although the corpses' clothes were intact, they all presented an extremely shriveled state, as if all the vital blood in their bodies had been drained.

He remembered the ink-colored energy that polluted the Heavenly Tribulation when his father was Undergoing Tribulation, and he remembered the black crystal fragments hidden at the core of every wisp of ink-colored lightning.

A bold conjecture emerged in his mind.

He took a deep breath, walked to the edge of the underground river, and channeled the Five Elements spiritual patterns on his right arm.

A flash of light appeared at his fingertip, and a drop of the Wu Earth True Source, only the size of a rice grain yet containing a vast and heavy aura, was forced out from his fingertip and dripped into the underground river below.

"Drip."

The Wu Earth True Source entered the water without making any sound.

However, in the next second, the entire underground river seemed as if it had been boiled, instantly churning violently!

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

Countless bubbles emerged from the riverbed, and the originally dark green river water became clear and pure at a speed visible to the naked eye.

That cold, damp water vapor was instantly purified and dispersed by an expansive and heavy aura.

What was even more startling were the black crystals at the bottom of the river!

After coming into contact with the river water purified by the Wu Earth True Source, they acted as if they were ignited charcoal; their surfaces hissed, emitting large plumes of black smoke.

The volume of the crystals rapidly shrank and dissolved.

As the crystals dissolved, the things that had originally been imprisoned inside them were finally exposed.

They were fist-sized, multi-colored masses of Bloodline essence that were writhing violently!

Some were crimson-gold, emitting a violent aura of flames; some were ice-blue, causing the surrounding river water to freeze; others were emerald green, filled with vigorous vitality...

These Bloodline essences clearly came from various powerful Yao Beasts, and even some human Cultivators who possessed special Bloodlines!

So that was it!

Lin Haoyu understood in an instant.

The so-called "Ancient True Blood" of the True Blood Temple was not a Legacy Bloodline at all; rather, it was an inferior product created by using black crystals as containers to plunder, imprison, and refine the Bloodline essence of other living beings through such evil means, and then fusing them together!

And these True Blood Temple cultists who died here were likely carrying out their assignment when an accident occurred with the crystals, causing them to be backlashed by the very Bloodline essence they had imprisoned, instantly draining their lives.

Just as Lin Haoyu's mind was shaken, a sudden change occurred!

"Splash!" The calm river surface suddenly exploded, and two black shadows shot out from the bottom of the water like ghosts. With poison-tipped daggers flickering with a ghostly light in their hands, they silently stabbed at Lin Haoyu's back and neck from left and right!

Too fast!

These two assassins had obviously been lurking at the bottom of the water for a long time, using the cover of the river water and the concealment of the corpses to perfectly hide their own auras.

The timing of their attack was exactly the moment when Lin Haoyu's mind was most agitated and his defenses were most lax!

"Watch out!" Yun Shang and Tie Xin exclaimed simultaneously, but the distance was too great, and rescue was already too late!

Just as those two daggers, soaked in corrosive venom, were about to pierce into Lin Haoyu's body, Tie Xin, who was standing beside him, showed not panic in his eyes, but a flash of ruthlessness instead.

He jerked his wrist holding the door-sized giant hammer!

"Click!" A crisp mechanical sound came from the end of the seemingly clumsy hammer handle.

A silver thread, thinner than a strand of hair, shot out like a viper flicking its tongue from the mechanism hidden in the hammer handle. It arrived before the attack, instantly wrapping around the wrist of the assassin on the left!

The assassin clearly hadn't expected this simple-minded big guy to have such an ingenious backup plan; with his wrist entangled by the silver thread, the trajectory of the dagger stabbing at Lin Haoyu immediately veered off course.

And at the very moment the silver thread made contact with the assassin, the void ring on Lin Haoyu's index finger seemed to be triggered by something, and it suddenly shone brightly!

A semi-transparent, earth-yellow protective shield covered in tortoise shell patterns was automatically activated from the ring, instantly enveloping Lin Haoyu's entire body!

The dagger of the assassin on the right stabbed fiercely onto the protective shield!

"Clang!" A crisp sound of metal clashing rang out.

The dagger failed to pierce the protective shield, but the corrosive venom smeared on the dagger, which was of the same origin as the previous ink-colored dew, acted like a living thing, crazily eroding toward the inside of the protective shield along the point of contact.

However, an incredible scene occurred!

The moment the tortoise shell protective shield made contact with the venom, the patterns on its surface suddenly lit up, and a powerful counter-shock force erupted.

Those corrosive venoms were as if reflected back by a mirror, and at a speed faster than when they came, they were all rebounded onto the assassin's own face!

"Aaargh—!" A scream so shrill it didn't sound human rang out.

The assassin's half-face, the moment it touched the venom, began to rot and melt at a speed visible to the naked eye, revealing ghastly white bones; the scene was extremely terrifying.

On the other side, the assassin entangled by Tie Xin's silver thread hadn't even managed to break free before Lin Haoyu had already reacted.

He didn't turn around, but instead threw a back elbow, carrying the heavy force of the Wu Earth True Source, and slammed it backward!

"Bang!" With a dull thud, the assassin was hit as if by a giant hammer; his sternum collapsed instantly, and he flew backward, crashing heavily back into the underground river, splashing up a large amount of water, and immediately fell silent.

In the blink of an eye, two assassins at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage who had been plotting for a long time were one dead and one severely injured.

The assassin backlashed by the venom rolled wildly on the ground clutching his face, soon losing his breath, and his entire body, under the effect of the corrosive venom, turned into a puddle of foul-smelling black water.

The battle was over.

The cave returned to silence once more, with only the murmuring sound of the underground river remaining.

Tie Xin retracted the silver thread, panting heavily with lingering fear: "Damn, that old dog Venerable Xueli really sent people to intercept and kill us. Good thing I kept an ace up my sleeve."

Lin Haoyu looked at the puddle of black water on the ground, then looked down at the void ring on his index finger, but his heart was surging with turbulent waves.

That automatically activated protective shield from just now, as well as the ability to rebound the venom, were clearly new changes produced after the Wu Earth True Source combined with the ring!

With a thought, he tried injecting a trace of spiritual power from his body into the void ring.

The stone patterns on the surface of the ring shone brightly, and a brand new, complete tortoise shell pattern, identical to the one on the back of the Wutu Spirit Turtle, clearly emerged, replacing the previously blurry mark.

This void ring... had evolved!

As spiritual power continued to be injected, the Wu Earth True Source in Lin Haoyu's right arm seemed to be called upon, beginning to echo with the tortoise shell pattern on the ring, forming a marvelous circulation of spiritual power.

A heavy, solid, and protective power flowed out from within his body along the circulation, covering the surface of his skin.

"Click, click, click..." Amidst a series of fine sounds, a layer of earth-yellow horny layer, thin as a cicada's wing yet incomparably tough, quickly condensed and formed on his body surface.

This horny layer was covered with mysterious tortoise shell patterns, and its defensive power was not inferior in the slightest to a High Grade defensive magic robe of the Golden Core Early Stage!

Temporary Armor!

This was the brand new ability brought to him after the Wu Earth True Source combined with the void ring!

And just as this armor was fully formed, a strong Bloodline resonance exploded in his mind without warning.

Lin Haoyu's vision instantly went black, and an incomparably clear image crossed endless space and was imprinted directly into his Sea of Consciousness.

It was on the mountaintop where his father was in seclusion; his father, Lin Chen, who had just passed the Lightning Tribulation, was sitting cross-legged, his whole body shining with golden light. A dazzling, flawless Golden Core was slowly rotating within his Dantian, emitting a terrifying pressure that suppressed everything.

Father had successfully achieved Core Formation!

However, what shocked Lin Haoyu even more was the background of the image!

Behind his father, Lin Chen, in that golden phenomenon of Core Formation, there were actually three phantom images of stone rings identical to the void ring on his own hand floating there!

One main ring and two secondary rings, arranged in a triangular shape, exuding a vast aura that was vast, ancient, and of the same origin as heaven and earth.

A single Golden Core had actually triggered the splitting mechanism of the stone rings?!

This... how was that possible?!

Lin Haoyu suppressed the shock in his heart and slowly retracted the temporary armor on his body.

The crisis was temporarily resolved, and his father had also successfully broken through the realm; it seemed everything was moving in a good direction.

He helped up the exhausted Tie Xin, and together with Yun Shang, walked out of the cave that hid an earth-shattering secret.

The sunlight outside the cave was somewhat blinding, and the feeling of surviving a disaster made all three of them breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, home!" Lin Haoyu looked toward the direction of the Lin family's encampment and said in a deep voice.

However, just as he took a step, an extremely faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation of spiritual power came from the direction of home, making his heart skip a beat.

It was not a signal of danger, but a kind of... feeling of weakness.

Just like a lamp that was originally bright and brilliant, its light had quietly dimmed a fraction in an imperceptible way.