78: Chapter 78 Xuanjing in White Robes? Lung Metal VS Lung Metal!

The rain was still falling.

At the end of the old alley in the west of the city, an abandoned bungalow was hidden behind the shadows of trees. The roof was broken in several places, and rainwater leaked through the gaps in the tiles, splashing into muddy ripples on the ground.

A dim, yellowish light was lit inside the room.

Three members of the Xuanjing Society were temporarily staying here, their expressions gloomy.

"Bad luck."

One of them leaned against the wall, his shoulder collapsed, half of his body soaked in blood, and his face deathly pale. His breathing was uneven, sometimes light, sometimes heavy. The other two sat cross-legged in front of him, following an obscure incantation, struggling to draw in that thin wisp of Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth.

In the rainy night, the Spiritual Qi was damp and scattered. That Spiritual Qi barely gathered into a thin, grayish-white thread, slowly seeping into the injured man's shoulder. A sizzling sound rang out, easing his expression slightly.

"It hurts, sss—" The injured man gritted his teeth, making a clacking sound, his eyes filled with venom. "I must make that brat pay!"

The person beside him still had a trace of horror in his expression. "Awakening both Outer-Aspect and Inner Scene simultaneously, such top-tier Materials are too rare. As long as we send the news back to the Society, Lord White Robe will definitely take action personally."

The other person licked his lips, his eyes flashing with greed and viciousness. "When that time comes, we'll peel off his Outer-Aspect and refine his Inner Scene into a potion. We might all be able to benefit from it."

The injured man snorted coldly, looking down at his collapsed shoulder. The flesh and blood were torn, and he could vaguely see the ghastly white bone beneath, causing him to gasp in cold air.

That brat's Phenomenon Technique was by no means simple. Although only one thumb carried the Outer-Aspect, the force unleashed by that Phenomenon Technique drilled into his bones, feeling like hundreds of steel needles exploding at once. If he hadn't retreated quickly, half his body would likely have been crippled.

"Simply put, he's just a college student. In a small place like Jiangcheng, there's nothing we can't afford to offend." His voice was hoarse. "When Lord White Robe arrives, I want to watch him be placed on the operating table with my own eyes."

The people in the room all laughed, their laughter cold and sinister, mixing with the sound of rain outside, making the dilapidated bungalow feel even more damp and chilling.

Just then, the three people's laughter stopped simultaneously.

"Who?"

The person near the door turned his head abruptly.

Outside the rain curtain, a figure slowly walked over, wearing a black raincoat with the brim of an umbrella lowered.

The person looked very young, with no Spiritual Qi leaking from his body at all. Standing at the doorway, he even looked like an ordinary person who had stumbled in by mistake, but the hearts of the three tightened simultaneously!

Wrong!

This was definitely not an ordinary person! Although their senses could not detect any Transcendent Aura on this mysterious person who had suddenly intruded into the room, their intuition told them that the person in front of them was incredibly dangerous!

They immediately tensed their bodies, beginning to be on guard.

Su Ye closed his umbrella and stood at the doorway. Rainwater dripped down from the tip of the umbrella. The light in the room fell on his face; his eyes were like deep, ancient wells, but his killing intent was like cold iron.

The leader slowly stood up, eyes filled with vigilance, a hint of killing intent flickering within. "Who are you?"

Su Ye did not answer. His gaze swept over the three of them, and he suddenly realized: black robes, abnormal Spiritual Qi states, that kind of Transcendent Aura pieced together by external objects.

The Xuanjing Society, huh.

If it was the Xuanjing Society, then things made sense. This organization was extremely vicious, and now that they had attacked Su Chen, they were likely targeting Su Chen's Outer-Aspect.

Upon thinking of the purpose behind the Xuanjing Society's search for Outer-Aspects, the killing intent in Su Ye's eyes instantly boiled over.

These people themselves had not truly awakened an Outer-Aspect; the Spiritual Qi within their bodies was crude and scattered. They merely used Spiritual Qi to enhance their physical bodies, and then, through so-called observation of the Outer-Aspect, forcibly learned some shadows of techniques.

The three Xuanjing Society members exchanged glances. A ruthless look flashed in the leader's eyes, and his voice exploded in the dark night: "Playing games."

As his voice fell, he violently drew the blade of his companion beside him.

Clang!

The long blade left its sheath, the blade light erupting with a line of cold radiance under the dim light, heading straight for Su Ye's throat.

Su Ye finally moved, reaching his hand forward. The speed was not fast, but when the long blade struck half a foot in front of him, it suddenly seemed to collide with an invisible wall. Su Ye slightly curled his fingers and flicked his finger.

Boom!

The force exploded, and the blade body trembled violently. The leader's pupils shrank sharply as he felt his tiger's mouth go numb. The next moment, the long blade actually snapped in two in his hand.

Clang!

The broken blade splashed, pinning into the wall.

"What?"

He had just spat out two words when Su Ye had already taken a step forward. A monstrous Aura erupted, his heart rate suddenly accelerated, and the blood in his body boiled.

Thump.

Thump-thump.

In that instant, the air in the room seemed to be squeezed by an invisible force, and the sound of rain seemed to fade away. The leader only felt that the young man before him had suddenly turned into a mountain flood, rushing towards him, magnificent and majestic.

Su Ye struck down with a punch, the Flower Picking force penetrating through his body.

Pow!

The man's chest did not explode exaggeratedly; rather, his entire body stiffened violently, his back robes instantly bulging. However, his internal organs were shattered into pieces by that force. Blood gushed from the corners of his mouth. He staggered a step; the ferocity in his eyes had not yet dissipated, but his body had already gone limp.

The room was quiet for a moment.

The injured man leaned against the wall, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. The other Xuanjing Society member felt cold all over, his expression full of fear. Who on earth was this person? He didn't remember them offending such an existence!

"Who exactly are you!" His voice had changed.

That was definitely a technique, and a very high-ranking one at that—fully mastered, with terrifying, penetrating force.

But this person in front of them had no Outer-Aspect traits. Most Outer-Aspect Users they had seen were unable to control themselves; their bodies would twitch, their Aura would leak, and there would even be obvious traces before and after the activation of a technique.

This person did not.

It was as if he had practiced a Phenomenon Technique for a long time and had already fully mastered it, like a Grandmaster in ancient martial arts.

Cold rain hit the roof, the broken tiles leaking water. The smell of blood in the room grew heavier. Su Ye stood there, his black raincoat still dripping. Even though he hadn't released a very exaggerated Aura, it made it difficult for the remaining two to even breathe.

"Attack together!" The injured man suddenly roared lowly.

The person beside him gritted his teeth and lunged forward. He knew he couldn't escape; at a time like this, he could only fight for his life. A short blade slid out from his sleeve, and with an explosion of Spiritual Qi under his feet, he dashed along the ground, faster than the person who had used the sword just now.

Su Ye merely raised a finger and pointed it out silently.

Pfft!

A bloody hole exploded on the man's shoulder, and the force drilled into his body, tearing all the way along his shoulder blade, collarbone, and ribs, like a thunderbolt rolling deep within his flesh and blood.

"Ah!" He screamed, his entire arm hanging down on the spot. His body knocked over the table and fell to the ground, twitching.

The last injured Xuanjing Society member was completely terrified.

He tried to stand up by leaning against the wall, but found his legs were incredibly weak. The little bit of Spiritual Qi they had drawn in earlier now felt dead and heavy within his body; he didn't dare to move at all.

"Don't kill me." His voice trembled. "Please, don't kill me. I don't know where I offended you."

But suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.

He finally saw Su Ye's face up close. The outlines of two faces in his mind overlapped—the young man who had evolved an Inner Scene and whom they had just fought in the factory had features somewhat similar to the person in front of him.

In that instant, it felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him.

The young man who had been severely injured by them in the factory and consequently evolved an Inner Scene had a Bloodline connection with this terrifying existence before him. No wonder that young man dared to snipe at Xuanjing Society members; it turned out he had such backing!

Crack.

Su Ye stepped down, directly snapping his legs. The man screamed and fell to the ground, cold sweat instantly breaking out.

Su Ye looked down at him. "Tell me about the situation of the Xuanjing Society."

The man's face twisted in pain, but he suddenly laughed again. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

As he spoke, he violently spat out a mouthful of blood. Before the blood could get near Su Ye's face, it was dispersed by an invisible force, splashing onto the wall nearby.

Su Ye's eyes did not change. The next moment, his Mental Energy crashed down.

This was the first time Su Ye had used Mental Energy to launch an attack.

Boom!

The Xuanjing Society member felt as if his mind had been struck by a giant hammer. Everything before his eyes turned white instantly, and all his thoughts were scattered. Fear, pain, resentment, and the desire to survive all shattered into a chaotic mess of light spots.

His body stiffened, his eyes quickly glazing over, as if he had lost all ability to think, leaving only a shell.

Su Ye leaned down slightly. "Where is the stronghold?"

The man's lips trembled, his voice intermittent. "South of the city—Old Mountain Forest—Cave—Third fire marker—"

"How many people?"

"Black Robes—twenty-seven—one White Robe—"

"What is a White Robe?"

A look of pain suddenly appeared on the man's face, as if some thought was trying to struggle, but it was quickly suppressed by the Mental Energy. "Lord White Robe, Inner Scene, Orthodox—"

Su Ye did not continue to ask, but instead stared into his eyes for a moment. After the direct impact of the Mental Energy, this person's mind had been scattered, his consciousness like a broken mist, yet his mental core had not been completely pulverized.

As long as the mental core remained, Mental Energy had elasticity and possessed self-healing capabilities. The blow he had just dealt had scattered the outer layer of thinking, but it had not completely shattered the mental core; otherwise, the person in front of him would likely have been nothing more than a breathing husk.

Su Ye withdrew his Mental Energy.

That was enough.

He slowly stood up. The person on the ground had glazed eyes, still unconsciously muttering a few fragmented words. Su Ye reached out, grabbed his collar, and dragged him out of the bungalow. The rain immediately poured down on both of them.

In the bungalow, only the broken lamp remained swaying, and the smell of blood was gradually pressed back into the darkness by the rainy night.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but the Xuanjing Society member woke up from his daze.

What exactly had happened just now? He felt as if his brain had been smashed by an invisible heavy hammer, leaving it blank. Now, it felt like thousands of needles were stuck in his head; every breath made him feel like he was about to pass out from the pain.

He opened his eyes.

Before him was not the abandoned bungalow, but a narrow cave tunnel. The stone walls were damp, the water underfoot was cold, and the air had a smell of rotten wood mixed with soot.

He was being carried by Su Ye, like a dead dog.

In the pitch-black tunnel ahead, there was a faint flickering of firelight.

He shuddered violently, a chill shooting straight to his crown.

This was the stronghold where the Xuanjing Society was temporarily stationed. This cave was hidden deep in the mountain forest, with cover outside the entrance; even if ordinary people passed by, it would be impossible to discover. How did he find this place? Strangeness, fear, and absurdity—various emotions surged into his heart instantly.

Could it be that I told him?

He tried hard to recall, but only remembered a sharp pain, his mind a blank slate.

Su Ye ignored him and walked into the narrow tunnel. The sound of rain gradually faded away, and the firelight became clearer.

The end of the tunnel suddenly opened up.

A natural cave appeared before him.

Bunches of torches were inserted into the stone walls, their flames burning with eerie green edges. The light fell upon the damp stone walls, resembling twisted human faces.

Several stone tables were placed in the center of the cave; some were covered with black cloth, while others held bottles and jars. A faint, fishy stench emanated from within, making one's stomach tighten.

Dozens of black-robed figures were originally busy with their own tasks.

The moment Su Ye walked in, all eyes fell upon him in unison.

Confusion, followed suddenly by cold, dangerous intent.

"An outsider?"

Bang.

Su Ye threw the Xuanjing Society member in his hand onto the ground. The person rolled a few times, hit a rock, and let out a painful groan.

The cave fell silent for a moment.

Soon, someone spoke coldly: "Who dares to trespass into the Xuanjing Society?"

"There really are people who think they've lived too long."

The black-robed figures stood up one by one. Waves of Transcendent Auras surged like lights suddenly igniting in the dark night. The flickering firelight reflected on their faces, causing their killing intent to gradually rise.

Su Ye brushed the rainwater off his hands, scanned the cave, and suddenly smiled.

He looked at those people, his voice not loud, yet it drowned out all the noise in the cave: "As expected, you are all just trash who have ascended to Transcendent status through sinister means."

In an instant, the eyes of all the black-robed figures changed. Killing intent surged, and angry voices rang out uncontrollably: "Who exactly are you?"

Su Ye pondered for a moment and said nonchalantly: "There is no need to ask about my identity or name. The Xuanjing Society has committed countless evils and harmed countless innocents; I should indeed clear away this tumor for Jiangcheng."

As these words fell, the last bit of noise in the cave died down.

Dozens of black-robed figures looked at Su Ye simultaneously, and the atmosphere inside the entire cave turned gloomy. In Su Ye's Heavenly Eye perception, the Auras on these people were all very cold. That coldness was not like water, nor did it have the clean sharpness of the nascent ice-type on He Qingqing; rather, it was a strange, sinister chill.

Everyone was entangled with chaotic blood-Qi, like old wounds, but to Su Ye, they were one blood debt after another.

Most of these people had previously lived on the fringes of society. Before the Great Mist, they hid in the city's gutters, surviving on ruthlessness and malice. After the Great Mist, the Xuanjing Society took them in and gave them a path that was even more evil, cruel, and bloody, allowing them to possess power that should not have belonged to them.

Su Ye foresaw that today would inevitably be a bloody disaster, yet he felt no significant psychological pressure. As a doctor, he had seen too many necrotic tissues; the Xuanjing Society was like a tumor hidden deep within Jiangcheng, and all Su Ye had to do now was excise it.

"You are courting death!"

A black-robed figure could finally no longer contain his killing intent and lunged forward violently.

Whoosh!

The stone ground beneath his feet exploded into a circle of debris. His black robe billowed from the force of the wind, and the joints inside him cracked and popped. His shoulder blades tensed backward, his chest expanded abruptly, and a terrifying surge of airflow erupted, suddenly striking towards Su Ye.

He was extremely fast. Almost before the sound had faded, he had already rushed to Su Ye, his right hand forming a claw, aiming directly for Su Ye's throat.

Su Ye didn't even look, landing a palm strike on the man's chest.

The momentum of the man's charge came to an abrupt halt.

Crack!

The sound of a collapsing sternum and breaking ribs rang out clearly in the cave. The black-robed figure's back arched violently, and he was pinned as if by an invisible iron stake. The stone surface beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb, and gravel jumped up and fell along the cracks. His eyes widened, and terror and excruciating pain exploded.

The next moment, his body flew backward, slamming heavily into the stone wall. As he slid down, he left a trail of blood, and he stopped moving completely.

The man's flesh burst open, his bones and tendons were shattered, and blood flowed. His life force had not yet completely extinguished, and his throat emitted a creaking sound.

Everyone's expression changed drastically.

Since its establishment, the Xuanjing Society had always been a shadow in the darkness of Jiangcheng. They captured Outer-Aspect Users, stripped, observed, and bestowed techniques, moving silently through the urban darkness. Anyone who knew even a little bit of the inside story was terrified of them, but tonight, someone had actually broken into their stronghold.

"Kill him," someone said through gritted teeth, their voice venomous.

Su Ye took out a white bone blade from his bosom. The blade was not long and was polished very thin. He held it between two fingers of his right hand, pressed against his knuckles. It was a bone Material left behind after the Cat Demon evolved, which he had ground into a small blade little by little. He usually kept it hidden and had not used it for a long time.

Now, it was hidden in his knuckles, erupting with bitter killing intent.

Su Ye moved.

He just tapped his foot lightly, yet the entire cave seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer. Dust fell from the stone walls in rustles, and the eerie green firelight all bowed backward. After two Marrow Cleansing sessions, his Physical Body had undergone a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering change. In reality, Su Ye had never seriously tested the extent of his body's power, because it was inconvenient anywhere; any movement would cause a huge noise and attract unnecessary trouble.

At this moment, inside this Xuanjing Society stronghold, Su Ye felt relieved, and the power within his body, which he had compressed to the limit, was now fully unleashed.

Dozens of black-robed figures felt their scalps tingle.

Where did this monster come from?

"Surround him!" someone shouted sharply.

The next moment, people lunged at him from all directions simultaneously. On the left, a short, thin figure rushed along the ground; his leg muscles were abnormally developed, and the fascia on his lower legs bulged into two hard lines, his speed so fast it was like sliding along the ground. However, Su Ye was faster. He turned to the side, and the bone blade slashed out suddenly.

Puchi!

The man maintained his forward-charging posture, rushing out three steps before clutching his neck and kneeling on the ground.

Two people on the right swung their blades at the same time, one hacking at Su Ye's shoulder and neck, the other slashing at his waist and abdomen. Su Ye flipped his wrist, the bone blade clashing against the blade edges with a short, crisp sound. Lung Metal breath followed his breathing and pressed into his knuckles, and a faint thread of golden light suddenly appeared on the edge of the white bone blade.

Clack!

The blades snapped. Su Ye stepped close, his elbow strike landing on the first man's chest, and the bone blade used the momentum to pierce into the second man's ribs. In and out, clean and decisive, blood droplets splattered on the stone floor.

He did not stop.

More and more black-robed figures surged forward, and the fishy wind in the cave was stirred up, swirling everywhere. Some had greenish skin, with hard, scale-like horny layers growing on their shoulders and backs. Some had swollen arms with bulging blood vessels like black lines wrapped under their skin. Some spat out grayish-white Spiritual Qi from their mouths, and the short blades in their hands emitted faint vibrations. These techniques were all crude and chaotic.

Su Ye wove between them. Every time he stepped, the stone floor would crack with fine lines, and every time he raised his hand, someone fell.

He saw everything too clearly. His Heavenly Eye-level Mental Energy expanded, and every move of everyone around him was revealed in detail under his perception. Every vulnerability was precisely grasped by him, resulting in a fatal blow.

Like a god of slaughter.

The impact of the blood did not cause Su Ye any physiological discomfort. As a medical student, seeing blood was merely a basic skill.

At first, the black-robed figures were still roaring, but soon fear overwhelmed their anger. Since when had the Xuanjing Society offended such a terrifying existence?

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

A voice with a changed tone rang out, but unfortunately, it was too late.

Su Ye had already reached the man. As his pupils contracted and he was about to swing his blade, his chest was struck by a punch. This punch relied on the Flower Picking force; the force penetrated the chest wall and exploded inside the body. The man's back bulged violently, his black robe tore, his internal organs were shattered, and he fell straight down, shaking the ground.

"My Xuanjing Society has no grudge against you. We will pretend we didn't see anything today. The Xuanjing Society also has Transcendents of your level. Making things ugly is good for no one. Perhaps we are not enemies, but friends?"

A middle-aged man tore off his face mask, his expression fearful, his voice trembling slightly.

They were afraid.

Su Ye was disdainful and just about to respond when his gaze flashed.

"There is still some scum hiding in the shadows!"

A glimmer of cold light suddenly shone from the depths of the cave.

The cold light arrived soundlessly, skimming past the firelight and stabbing directly at Su Ye's brow. Su Ye flipped nimbly in mid-air, the hem of his raincoat brushing past the cold light. When he landed, his toes tapped onto a protruding stone surface, his figure steady without the slightest sway.

The cold light sank into the stone wall behind him with a hiss, piercing a deep hole in the wall, with faint golden cracks radiating from the edge.

"Such a powerful Physical Body; I never expected there to be a Marrow Cleansing-level Transcendent like you in Jiangcheng."

The voice came from the depths of the cave.

Upon hearing the word "Marrow Cleansing" from the other party, a strange feeling suddenly rose in Su Ye's heart.

This level was a judgment he had made based on his own changes and medical perception. After all, his understanding of the general structure of the Transcendent circle was limited, and he had to figure out many things on his own. Yet now, he had received the same level description from the Xuanjing Society.

Marrow Cleansing is only the beginning of entering the door of the Transcendent.

Footsteps sounded.

A white-robed figure walked out of the shadows. The moment he appeared, all the black-robed figures fell silent. Even those who had been retreating just a moment ago stopped in their tracks, lowered their heads, and dared not make another sound.

The white-robed figure was not tall, but he gave people a very heavy sense of oppression. His breathing was extremely steady; with every rise and fall of his chest, a wisp of pale golden mist flowed along his mouth and nose, like a thin layer of gold sand wrapped between his lungs and viscera.

Su Ye saw the clue at a single glance: a Lung Metal Inner Scene evolver. He was not comparable to these so-called black robes.

The white-robed figure looked at the corpses all over the floor, his eyes turning cold: "A Marrow Cleansing Transcendent dares to provoke the Xuanjing Society? Your Excellency is too arrogant and short-sighted. The Xuanjing Society is far more powerful than you imagine. If those monsters in the provincial capital find out, Your Excellency's fate will be incomparably miserable."

As he spoke, a faint clanging sound emitted from his chest.

The next moment, he struck directly. His white robes billowed, and pale golden mist erupted from his mouth and nose, condensing in mid-air into several sharp Qi blades. The Qi blades swept along the stone wall; wherever they passed, the rock surface was cut with fine cracks, and the torches were all snapped in two.

Seeing this, Su Ye smiled disdainfully. He took a breath, and deep within his lung lobes, Gold Breath was stirred.

At that moment, the white-robed figure's expression suddenly changed. He felt a thicker, heavier, and sharper Lung Metal Aura rising from Su Ye's chest, and his heart trembled violently. Lung Metal, just like his?

No!

That Lung Metal was more condensed than his!

Like a divine sword piercing the air.

Hiss!

A golden thin blade erupted from between Su Ye's lips and teeth. The white-robed figure's gold mist Qi blade was cut off on the spot, and the thin blade, its momentum undiminished, instantly pierced through his shoulder, forcing him to stagger back half a step. Blood seeped out from under the white robe, quickly staining a dark patch.

The white-robed figure looked down at the blood hole in his shoulder, fear appearing in his eyes for the first time, his voice tight: "How is this possible? Are you also an Inner Scene orthodox?"

Su Ye looked at him, his tone very flat, with a hint of disdain: "Inner Scene also counts as orthodox?"

The white-robed figure's pupils contracted violently.

The next moment, Su Ye had already reached before him. The white-robed figure roared, his chest heaving violently, and pale golden mist poured out frantically, attempting to weave a layer of golden barrier in front of him. But Su Ye's Lung Metal was more condensed, compressed and exploded with Heavenly Eye-level Mental Energy, its power unimaginable.

Sss, sss, sss!

Fine golden threads pressed down with Su Ye's exhalation, like needles sharpened to the extreme, piercing into that bank of mist.

The White-Robed Person's golden mist broke apart inch by inch, the outer layer collapsing, and the middle section fracturing, like cooking smoke scattered by a gale.

Finally, that layer of Lung Metal Qi protecting his chest was smashed through by Su Ye with a single punch.

Bang!

The White-Robed Person's chest caved in, and he slammed into the stone pillar behind him, causing it to crack. Just as he tried to raise his hand, Su Ye had already seized his wrist bone.

Crack.

His wrist bone was twisted and broken, and a muffled groan escaped the White-Robed Person's throat. Just as his other hand was about to form a seal, Su Ye's knee strike had already driven into his abdomen.

His stomach cramped, his diaphragm convulsed, and the Gold Breath in his chest was immediately disrupted.

For a Lung Metal evolver, once the breathing is disrupted, half of their offensive power is severed.

"This young man's understanding of the Transcendent realm far exceeds my imagination; how can there be such a troublesome person!"

Su Ye raised his hand, and the white bone blade pierced into the White-Robed Person's chest, grazing his knuckles.

The White-Robed Person's body stiffened, and he opened his mouth. The fear in his eyes had not yet dissipated as pale golden mist spilled from his mouth and nose, but it could no longer coalesce.

Squelch.

Su Ye pulled out the bone blade.

The White-Robed Person slid to the ground, his white robe stained with blood, dying in front of the group of Black-Robed People.

The cave was terrifyingly silent, and someone's knife fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

The White-Robed Person was dead. That was a White-Robed Person, someone in the Xuanjing Society who truly mastered observation, bestowing techniques, and potions, someone even ordinary Black-Robed People had to bow their heads to upon meeting.

An Inner Scene orthodox practitioner is dead?

The color drained from the Black-Robed People's faces bit by bit. The look in their eyes as they gazed at Su Ye no longer held killing intent, only the fear of being driven to a dead end.

Su Ye stood beside the White-Robed Person's corpse, blood staining his raincoat, the white bone blade hanging from his fingers, its tip still dripping blood.

He looked up at the remaining people.

"All of you, go to hell."

As his words fell, his Heavenly Eye opened.

Invisible Mental Energy spread from between Su Ye's brows, instantly suppressing the entire cave.

Those Black-Robed People only felt a roar in their minds, the firelight before their eyes distorted, and their bodies seemed to have suddenly lost control of their limbs.

Someone wanted to flee, but their legs went soft, and they knelt directly into the blood; someone wanted to scream, but their throat only squeezed out broken gasps.

Su Ye's heart beat vigorously—once, twice.

The power of Red Glow surged through his blood, Lung Metal rose with his breath, and he stepped forward as his Gold Breath exploded.

It was as if a sharp gale had swept through the cave; the eerie green torches on the stone walls were extinguished in swaths, then buffeted about by the blood Aura and the fierce wind. Bone blades, knuckles, Gold Breath, and mental suppression intersected and descended within the narrow cave, and screams rang out quickly, only to vanish just as fast.

By the time the last Black-Robed Person fell, only the sound of water dripping from the stone crevices remained in the cave.

Drip.

Drip.

Blood flowed toward the lower areas along the uneven stone floor, and a foul wind swirled in the cave, causing the black cloth to flap loudly. Broken implements on the stone platform rolled to the ground with a clatter, like the final tolling of a bell for this absurd evil gathering.

Su Ye stood amidst the corpses covering the floor and slowly retracted his Mental Energy.

The Xuanjing Society, eradicated.

In the corner, the member of the Xuanjing Society who had been thrown in by Su Ye at the very beginning was now completely overwhelmed by fear. Previously, his legs had been broken by Su Ye, and he had been thrown onto the stone floor, leaving him dazed and confused. Now, his face was pale, and he was trembling all over.

Today, the most terrifying event of his life had occurred.

The Xuanjing Society, destroyed?

That was the Xuanjing Society.

Even if this was just a small stronghold in Jiangcheng, in his understanding, it was already a place that would make ordinary Transcendents flee upon hearing its name. There were so many Xuanjing Society members here, and even a White-Robed Lord!

A Xuanjing Society White-Robed Person had at least fully mastered one Phenomenon Technique, and the Jiangcheng White-Robed Person was even an Inner Scene orthodox Transcendent with formidable Lung Metal strength. If they, the Black-Robed People, were under a White-Robed Person, they would be crushed to pieces in an instant by that wisp of Lung Metal.

But just now, the White-Robed Lord died.

Died cleanly and swiftly.

That man had used even more powerful Lung Metal to crush him directly, then killed him outright, and the entire Xuanjing Society stronghold had been wiped out—

His lips trembled, and he squeezed out a gasp from his throat: "No—"

Su Ye heard it and turned his head to look.

That Xuanjing Society member stiffened, and the last shred of luck in his eyes shattered.

Su Ye picked up a sharp shard of porcelain and flicked his finger. Squelch. The porcelain shard pierced the Xuanjing Society member's forehead. The man's head tilted back, his eyes still open, but his body went completely limp.

The cave was finally quiet.

Su Ye stood in place and looked around: corpses everywhere, broken stone platforms, overturned bottles and jars, eerie green torches burnt down to halves. Rainwater seeped in from the entrance, flowing inward along the stone crevices, finally mixing with the blood and turning a dirty, blackish color.

This cave must have been excavated at a Late Stage; there were many chisel marks of varying ages on the stone walls, and some places still retained rough fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.

The people of the Xuanjing Society had evidently used Transcendent power to expand the cave, and used fire markers and scents to conceal the entrance, which was why it was hidden so deeply.

Su Ye walked a few steps inside.

On a stone platform, he saw several special vessels. The vessels were covered with black cloth, and after lifting it, he found a mass of pale-white tissue inside. The thing was soaking in a pale yellow medicinal liquid, its surface covered in fascia-like textures, and its edges still connected to several thin, nerve-like fibers. It twitched, the movement very light, yet it still retained some kind of vitality.

Su Ye's expression darkened.

This was the Xuanjing Society's so-called live Phenomenon Technique for observation, stripped from the human body by them, kept alive by medicinal liquid to maintain the last bit of function, and then used to let newcomers observe, imitate, and learn.

Su Ye's Mental Energy slightly covered it, and he immediately felt the residual trajectory within. It was a technique, incomplete, yet it could be captured by him. As long as he was willing, relying on the observational ability of his Heavenly Eye and Kidney Water, he could follow this incomplete trajectory, break it down bit by bit, and master this Phenomenon Technique.

Su Ye suddenly stimulated himself with his Mental Energy, and a needle-prick-like clarity spread from the center of his forehead.

He looked down at the vessel and whispered: "If I were to do this, would I not be no different from these people?"

He had his bottom line; although he longed for the Transcendent, he sought it in the right way.

That Phenomenon vessel was still twitching gently, pale and bloated, having already departed from the scale of the technique that originally resided within the human body, completely alienated into something else.

The residual resentment was entangled deep within the fibers, and its function was severely weakened. Even if one were to force an observation, what one would obtain would mostly be incomplete shadows, with even the possibility of falling into madness.

Su Ye was silent for a moment, then sighed.

He reached out his hand, and his Mental Energy slowly descended. The water essence gently covered that Phenomenon vessel, as if soothing a pain that hadn't yet dissipated. The frequency of the thing's twitching slowed down, and the tiny ripples on the surface of the medicinal liquid smoothed out bit by bit.

"The Xuanjing Society has committed too many sins. I have killed them all, which can be considered avenging you. Rest in peace."

The last trace of vitality dissipated, and the Phenomenon vessel quieted down.

Su Ye found a mound of dirt in the corner of the cave, dug it open with a broken blade and stone shards, and buried the vessel along with the tattered cloth.

After doing this, he continued to inspect the cave.

Behind the White-Robed Person was a stone chamber stacked with several wooden boxes. Inside the boxes were medicine bottles, old, tattered atlases, and several ancient books. The pages were damp and soft, the edges stained with black ash, and upon opening them, there was a musty smell of herbs. Su Ye flipped through a few pages casually; the content was very rudimentary, and rather than being a technique, it was more like a clumsy set of guiding incantations.

As he looked, Su Ye frowned.

Trash.

Compared to the Breathing Technique he had deduced from the rhythm of his heartbeats, this thing was far too inferior—at least five Ranks lower.

A rare sense of self-satisfaction arose in Su Ye's heart.

Just then, his ears twitched slightly.

There was still sound from deeper within the cave, very faint.

Someone else?

The sound was like rope rubbing against an iron frame. Su Ye put away the ancient books and walked in, following the sound.

Further in was a small cave chamber, lit by an oil lamp that was about to go out, the wick burnt black, casting light onto an iron bed.

A young man, sixteen or seventeen years old, was tied to the bed. His face was pale, but his features were cold and hard. His lips were bitten slightly. His eyes were fixed on the entrance, and even though he heard footsteps, he did not immediately beg for mercy, but instead watched Su Ye vigilantly.

After Su Ye approached, his gaze fell on the young man's back.

The young man's shirt had been torn open, and a shallow line of blood had already been traced along his spine. From below the cervical spine to the junction of the chest and waist, along the arrangement of the spinous processes, there was a dark, dull pattern lurking beneath the skin. The pattern followed the direction of the paraspinal fascia and the erector spinae muscles, appearing and disappearing, as if some kind of force was hidden on both sides of the spine.

Su Ye touched it, and a terrifying force transmitted back, causing him to show a look of surprise.

The Outer-Aspect is in the spine!

This was also a young man kidnapped by the Xuanjing Society. Su Ye's intrusion into the Xuanjing Society could be considered as saving his life. A little later, and the young man's back skin and flesh would have been opened, the fascia stripped, the paraspinal tissues exposed, and finally, that Outer-Aspect would have been forcibly extracted by them.

The young man saw that Su Ye was not a member of the Xuanjing Society, and his voice carried a plea: "Save me."

Su Ye didn't ask much, used the bone blade to cut the bindings, and pressed down on the young man's shoulders and back to simply check the wound. Hmm, it hadn't damaged the deep muscles, at most there was just a little pain.

"Can you walk?" Su Ye asked.

The young man sat up, bracing himself against the iron bed. His face was extremely pale, but he still nodded. Su Ye glanced at him. His endurance was quite strong; he had almost had his Outer-Aspect stripped just now, yet he could still get out of bed and walk, his legs weren't weak, he could still speak, and his eyes hadn't collapsed—his willpower was very firm.

The young man caught his breath and bowed seriously to Su Ye: "I will remember this life-saving grace today."

He paused and added: "I will definitely repay you heavily in the future."

Su Ye was taken aback. This sounded a bit old-fashioned, and in this damp, cold cave, it actually seemed quite sincere.

He waved his hand: "Go back. Your Outer-Aspect is very special. Grow up as soon as possible, and then you will have the capital to contend with these guys."

The young man glanced at the blood covering the floor, his throat moved, but in the end, he asked nothing and walked out, leaning against the stone wall.

When that figure disappeared in the direction of the entrance, Su Ye couldn't help but chuckle: "Not very old, but quite a lot of Jianghu air."

People who can have an Awakening of an Outer-Aspect are indeed not that simple.

Su Ye turned around, preparing to check this cave chamber again, when suddenly, he saw an ancient-looking book pressed beside the iron bed where the young man had just been tied.

The book cover was dark brown and felt like some kind of tanned leather; the edges were heavily worn, but it wasn't moldy.

Su Ye bent down and picked it up.

On the cover were four characters: 《Dragon Snake Spinal Exchange》.

He opened the first page, and a line of ancient ink characters came into view: "Spine exchanges for Dragon Snake, force penetrates to the tips—Great Dragon shakes its scales, Long Snake coils its body, all bones fire in unison, bone and flesh resonate together—"