Chapter 96 Undercurrents, the Impolite Behavior of the Heavenly Moon Sect Disciples

The day before the Secret Realm opened, Lin Yue and Ling Wei were ordered to head to a nearby market to purchase a batch of supplies.

Liu Qingyan handed a jade slip filled with writing to Lin Yue. Her fingertips brushed over the runes on the slip, and her tone was grave: "You must be exceptionally careful with this procurement. Unless absolutely necessary, do not get into conflicts with Disciples from other sects."

In her view, among all the Disciples, only Lin Yue was mature and prudent, making him the best candidate to carry out this mission.

Moreover, ever since their minds became linked, she no longer treated Lin Yue the same way she treated the other Disciples.

This ambiguous feeling was something only she herself knew.

Lin Yue took the jade slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense. It listed five types of supplies, each marked with special requirements:

Breath-Spirit Soil: Must be produced from the deep layers of Mist Ridge. It looks no different from ordinary dust, but it contains extremely profound Qi and can be used to cultivate High Grade spirit plants or rare spirit plants;

Tempering-Spirit Water: Must be raw natural spirit spring liquid that has not undergone any Qi purification. It is mild and has no backlash, and can be used to refine various Medicinal Pills and harmonize their medicinal properties;

Gathering-Spirit Gauze: Must be woven from thousand-year cloud silk. It is as thin as a cicada's wing and can be made into a Profound Spirit Feather Garment to conceal Qi, without attracting attention.

Besides these, they also needed to purchase some items like Dust-Severing Talismans to cover their tracks and Profound Iron Ingots for Artifact Refining.

"These supplies can likely be found at the 'Treasure Collection Pavilion' on the west side of the market. Remember, do not get into disputes with anyone, and return immediately after the purchase," Liu Qingyan added, then handed over a heavy Storage Pouch, "These are the High-Grade Spirit Stones needed to purchase the items; it is enough to cover the cost."

Lin Yue nodded in agreement, turned, and left the qinglan boat together with Ling Wei.

The Treasure Collection Pavilion on the west side of the market truly lived up to its reputation; it was filled with a dazzling array of supplies.

Lin Yue quickly found the required Breath-Spirit Soil, Gathering-Spirit Gauze, and Tempering-Spirit Water. Relying on her natural Wisdom Eye, Ling Wei picked out the Dust-Severing Talismans in the talisman paper section. The two worked with tacit understanding, and before long, only the Profound Iron Ingots remained to be found.

They consulted the shopkeeper, only to be told that only the Spirit Treasure Pavilion at the west end of the market had these Profound Iron Ingots.

The two left the Treasure Collection Pavilion and headed toward the Spirit Treasure Pavilion. Who would have thought that just as they were passing through a quiet, deserted alley, several frivolous laughs came from behind them.

"Yo, isn't this the little beauty from the Qingyun Sect? I didn't expect to run into you here." Three youths dressed in the attire of the Tianyue Sect surrounded them.

One of the Disciples' gazes was glued to Ling Wei, making no effort to hide his greed. When his gaze swept over the "senile" Lin Yue standing to the side, he sneered out loud: "Old man, you are at such an advanced age, yet you still bring such a delicate Dao Companion out to show her face. Aren't you afraid you won't be able to protect her?"

This Disciple was named Zhao Feng, a famous Sword Cultivator of the Tianyue Sect.

Another tall, thin Disciple chimed in: "That's right, little beauty, what's so good about following this old geezer? It would be better to come with our Senior Brother Zhao. We guarantee you'll eat well and live well, and we can even find you the best Formation classics."

Ling Wei's expression turned cold, and she quietly gathered Qi at her fingertips, but her wrist was pressed down by Lin Yue.

He remembered Liu Qingyan's instructions well; it was not the time to be conspicuous, so he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice: "We have important matters to attend to. Farewell."

As he said this, he prepared to pull Ling Wei away, but Zhao Feng blocked their path, reaching out to touch Ling Wei's cheek: "What's the rush? Little beauty, tell me, what benefits did this old geezer give you? Why not submit to me? I'll make you my tenth young mistress."

A cold light flashed in Ling Wei's eyes. She flipped her wrist, broke free from Lin Yue's hand, and Qi quietly flowed at her fingertips.

She cast a spell with her fingertips, moved her feet slightly, and in an unnoticeable manner, set up a Formation.

Zhao Feng, however, did not care, laughing even more lewdly: "What? You still want to resist? Just relying on a woman like you, and this old geezer?"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a powerful and mysterious force envelop his body, causing him to completely lose the ability to move.

The surrounding space seemed to become abnormally viscous, as if it were tightly bound by countless invisible threads. No matter how desperately he tried to mobilize the Qi within his body, he could not break through this restraint.

The tall, thin Disciple and the other round-faced Disciple on the side were shocked when they saw this. They hurriedly wanted to step forward to offer assistance, but just as they made a move, the same eerie force descended upon them like a shadow, trapping them firmly in place.

At this moment, the three people were like they had been hit by an immobilization spell; they couldn't move a single bit and could only stand there helplessly, letting out angry roars: "What kind of evil sorcery is this!"

Facing everything happening before him, Zhao Feng was extremely astonished, and at the same time, an inexplicable fire surged in his heart.

However, Ling Wei turned a deaf ear to their cursing; she unhesitatingly pulled the Lin Yue beside her and turned to leave.

As Ling Wei pulled Lin Yue and turned to leave, the last wisp of pale cyan Qi from her fingertips quietly injected into the Formation patterns on the ground.

The seemingly ordinary alley ground instantly revealed silver-blue patterns as dense as a spiderweb, which wound around the ankles of Zhao Feng and the other two like they had a life of their own, pinning them firmly in place.

Lin Yue did not stop her; these Tianyue Sect Disciples were so rude that, according to his true nature, he would have definitely killed them.

However, he also knew that in this market, no one dared to kill indiscriminately.

"Damn it! What kind of hellish Formation is this!" Zhao Feng struggled with all his might, the Qi in his body surging toward his limbs like a tide, but it was rebounded by the Formation patterns, shaking him until his blood and Qi surged.

Those silver-blue patterns suddenly tightened, like countless fine needles drilling into his flesh, spreading from his ankles to his heart. Every contraction brought a heart-piercing and bone-gnawing pain, making him unable to help but let out a shrill scream.

The tall, thin Disciple wanted to circulate his sword technique to sever the restraints, but as soon as the Qi reached his fingertips, it was dispersed by the airflow triggered by the Formation patterns.

What was even more terrifying was that pale cyan Spirit Blades emerged from the Formation patterns, drifting down like flower petals. They looked gentle, but they accurately slashed toward their robes.

"Rip" sounds rang out continuously. The Tianyue Sect's iconic green-patterned Dao robes were instantly cut into shreds, tearing sequentially from the shoulders, waist, and hem, revealing the inner lining, which was then also continuously cut by the Spirit Blades until it shattered into cloth strips and slid down their bodies.

The round-faced Disciple was so scared that his face turned deathly pale. He wanted to cross his arms to cover himself, only to find that his arms were firmly clamped by the Formation patterns and could not move.

When the Spirit Blades grazed their skin, they brought a slightly cool stinging pain, but they did not damage any vital points, only precisely destroying all their clothing. In a few moments, the three stood stark naked in the center of the alley, with the sunlight slanting in, exposing their embarrassment completely.

"Ah—!" Zhao Feng looked at his naked body, both shocked and furious, his cheeks flushed purple-red.

He was, after all, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Tianyue Sect; when had he ever been so humiliated? The stinging pain from the Formation patterns continued to intensify, and the fine spirit needles seemed to drill into his Meridians, causing his whole body to spasm. Cold sweat flowed down his forehead and back, mixing with dust and sticking to his skin, making him look even more wretched.

The tall, thin Disciple wanted to lower his head to hide, but his chin was forcibly lifted by the Formation patterns, forcing him to face the direction of the alley entrance.