Chapter 87

Wang Lin stared at the cultivator holding the jade slip containing his soul, and the moment the three of them were about to crush the jade slip, he didn’t hesitate and spat out a green light. In an instant, the green light flashed and slashed toward the opponent.

As soon as the green light appeared, a bone-chilling cold immediately enveloped the surroundings. The blood-refined flying sword, which Wang Lin had cultivated in tandem with his life force, had undergone a transformation after the spiritual energy in his body changed due to his cultivation of the Netherworld Ascension Technique. A trace of the concept of "extreme" unknowingly manifested on the flying sword.

The cold emanating from the flying sword was extremely tyrannical. The surrounding flowers and grass, hit by the cold, instantly turned into ice crystals. Even the nearby Foundation Establishment cultivators all became stiff and numb in an instant, their skin visibly crystallizing.

The cultivator holding Wang Lin’s soul jade slip was immediately startled and, unable to crush the jade slip in time, hastily retreated. However, what he never expected was that the small green sword suddenly vanished in front of him. Startled, the cultivator hurriedly summoned his defensive magical treasure, but it was already too late.

The flying sword appeared a丈 away in front of the opponent, and with a flash of green light, it pierced through the cultivator’s throat, emerging on the other side. A jet of blood shot out far, and the cultivator, disbelieving, clutched his neck and slowly fell to the ground.

Wang Lin leaped forward, grabbed the soul jade slip from a distance, and casually tossed it into his storage bag.

Everything happened so quickly, it could be described as lightning-fast. At this moment, the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators had already crushed the soul jade slips, and a pink mist emerged from the broken jade slips, spreading out in a ring shape like a wave.

The coffins containing the corpse puppets of the Corpse Yin Sect disciples, upon coming into contact with the pink mist, simultaneously emitted a hissing sound, as if someone was lying inside the coffins, using their fingernails to continuously scratch the coffin wood.

The Foundation Establishment disciples, as if under a spell, stood motionless in place.

After crushing the jade slips, the two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators didn’t even glance at Wang Lin and rushed toward the giant gate that was about to dissipate.

The two figures flashed and entered, and then the giant gate completely vanished, turning into specks of crystal light that slowly disappeared without a trace.

Without a word, Wang Lin quickly retreated to a distance, gazing at the location of the Corpse Yin Sect disciples, silent.

At this moment, the hissing sounds grew louder, and suddenly, one of the coffin lids shattered. A pair of black, clawed hands emerged, accompanied by heavy breathing.

Slowly, a fully hairy, black, dried corpse sat up from the coffin, its eyes emitting a green light. It turned its head to survey the surroundings, and finally, its gaze landed on its closest master.

A bloodthirsty glint appeared in its eyes, and it leaped up, letting out a fierce cry, and grabbed its master. It inhaled sharply, and immediately, the body of the early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator trembled, his skin rapidly withering and turning into white gas that quickly entered the corpse puppet’s body.

At the same time, the dried muscles of the corpse puppet, as if infused with vitality, slowly swelled up.

Before long, the cultivator was reduced to skin and bones, only exhaling and not inhaling. The corpse puppet, on the other hand, had already regained its human form.

The corpse puppet inhaled again, and the cultivator let out a miserable groan, his body tilting and dying. A wisp of yellow gas slowly rose from the corpse and was grabbed by the corpse puppet’s large hand and stuffed into its mouth.

Soon, the body of the corpse puppet rapidly changed. Hair regrew, and the black fur on its body gradually fell off, and in the blink of an eye, it became identical to the cultivator it had just consumed.

One after another, the coffin lids continued to shatter, and more corpse claws emerged from the coffins. As soon as these corpse puppets appeared, they leaped up and rushed toward their respective masters.

Not all the corpse puppets behaved this way; about one-third of them, after crawling out of the coffins, looked around in confusion and stood motionless.

Wang Lin watched the scene in shock. All the corpse puppets that had consumed cultivators ultimately possessed late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. Looking at these more than ten monsters, Wang Lin’s scalp tingled, and he cautiously retreated.

At this moment, cries of agony echoed one after another. The corpse puppets that had completed their consumption, after transforming into the appearance of their masters, all turned their gazes toward the remaining Corpse Yin Sect disciples and rushed at them in unison.

Blood and flesh flew, and a pungent smell filled the air. Without a word, Wang Lin turned and quickly left.

After walking a considerable distance, Wang Lin stood outside a dense forest in the valley, his face dark. He had witnessed the viciousness of the Corpse Yin Sect. If he had not stopped the cultivator before he crushed the jade slip, he would have become the food of those monsters.

He chuckled coldly, knowing that the Decisive Valley was fraught with danger. The orthodox and demonic sects of the Zhao Kingdom had almost all gathered here. Wang Lin did not intend to get involved in the matters of the extraterrestrial battlefield and planned to find an exit and leave. His current goal was to find a cold place to seclude himself and cultivate, to improve his cultivation.

The more he delved into the cultivation world, the more Wang Lin felt the dangers around him. A single misstep could cost him his life. But since he had embarked on the path of cultivation, the only way to walk it safely was to become stronger.

At the same time, the wood-type materials needed for the Tian Ni Pearl were also a priority for Wang Lin.

As he was thinking, Wang Lin suddenly took a few steps back. A black light flashed past where he had been standing, and at the same time, a mocking laugh came from the dense forest.

"Kid, you dodged pretty fast," said a young man in fine clothing, slowly walking out of the forest, a smile on his face as he sized up Wang Lin. "Which sect are you from?"

Wang Lin remained calm and coldly replied, "Corpse Yin Sect."

The young man in fine clothing was taken aback and laughed. "Corpse Yin Sect? I’ve heard that Corpse Yin Sect disciples always carry a coffin with them. Where’s your coffin?"

Wang Lin glanced at him and frowned.

The young man snorted and pointed his right hand, a black light appearing at his fingertip. "Whether you’re from the Corpse Yin Sect or not, hand over your storage bag."

A cold light flashed in Wang Lin’s eyes, and he scanned the area with his divine sense, discovering three more people in the forest. He didn’t speak and took a few steps back.

Seeing Wang Lin retreat, the young man’s face showed a look of disdain. Although he and Wang Lin were both early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he had three senior brothers behind him, one of whom was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The four of them had not traveled with the other Heavenly Dao Sect members but had their own plans, intending to secretly act and take advantage of the opportunity to kill and plunder.

It was important to note that for this competition, each sect had distributed a large number of magical treasures to their Foundation Establishment disciples to enhance their strength.

Seeing that the opponent was alone, the young man’s thoughts turned to killing. Now, seeing Wang Lin retreat, he didn’t hesitate and tapped his storage bag. Instantly, an eight-inch-long ruler flew out.

The ruler was entirely emerald green and emitted a rich fragrance as soon as it appeared. The young man took a deep breath and, without a word, pointed at the emerald ruler. The ruler moved, and with a hum, a large black lingzhi mushroom emerged from it. As soon as the lingzhi mushroom appeared, it detached from the ruler and floated in the air.

The young man’s expression turned serious, and he quickly took something out of his storage bag and threw it. A red light flashed, and a completely blood-red venomous bee rushed toward the lingzhi mushroom at high speed. In a few bites, it consumed the lingzhi mushroom.

Its size immediately increased several times, becoming as large as a fist. It let out a fierce cry and rushed toward Wang Lin.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. A cold light flashed in Wang Lin’s eyes, and the small green sword appeared in front of him, rushing toward the venomous bee.

The venomous bee let out a hum and, with a sense of intelligence, dodged to the side as the flying sword approached. But at that moment, the flying sword suddenly vanished from its original position and reappeared close to the young man. In a flash, it pierced through his chest, spilling a gush of blood.

The young man in fine clothing didn’t even have time to react before he died.

As soon as the young man died, the emerald ruler in the air lost its luster and fell. Wang Lin’s gravitational force hand reached out, grabbed the ruler and the young man’s storage bag, and quickly left.

The venomous bee circled in the air and quickly flew in the direction Wang Lin had fled.

At the same time, three figures rushed out of the forest. Two men and one woman, one of the men had a dark expression, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and gritted his teeth. "Chase!"

At this moment, in a remote town in the northern part of the Zhao Kingdom, two unexpected visitors arrived. One of them had a gaunt face, wore a black robe, and had a sinister look in his eyes.

Beside him was a cultivator with a refined and ethereal demeanor. This cultivator was quite old, with many wrinkles on his face, but he exuded a graceful aura, forming a stark contrast to the dark and sinister aura of the black-robed old man.

He stood outside the town, holding an ancient mirror, constantly observing and calculating.

"Friend Qiming, have you figured it out?" The black-robed old man’s voice was filled with a killing aura, and he coldly asked.

The cultivator frowned and said, "Teng Huayuan, you don’t know the person’s name or appearance. How can I find them with just a trace of a curse?"

The black-robed old man was none other than Teng Huayuan. He stared at the cultivator and said, word by word, "Friend Qiming, I risked offending the Edgeless Valley to obtain the qualification token for the extraterrestrial battlefield, all for your Heavenly Calculation Technique. If you can help me find the person’s loved ones, any request, as long as I, Teng Huayuan, can fulfill it, I will not hesitate."

The cultivator was silent for a moment, sighed, and said, "Fine, I’ll do my best, but Teng Daoist, remember, there’s a head to every grievance and a master to every debt. I hope you will refrain from causing unnecessary bloodshed..."