Chapter 16 of 100

Chapter 16

14 min read3,541 words

"Huh?" Ximen Shuai was taken aback. What’s going on? Why are you pretending to be dead at a time like this?

Suddenly, he felt something unusual above his head, and the Qiankun Ring gave a warning. A crimson blood arrow shot from the rock wall, and Ximen Shuai was greatly alarmed. Oh no, he had forgotten about the master's female disciple. Ximen Shuai, well-versed and knowledgeable, knew that although this blood arrow looked ordinary, it was refined by the user's heart and soul. Once it touched him, it would seep into his bloodstream, with unimaginable consequences.

Better to let a fellow Taoist die than to let oneself die. Ximen Shuai hurriedly used the Qiankun Ring to block the blood arrow, which then sank into the ring. A graceful woman fell from the cliff. Since the blood arrow could not be retrieved, her cultivation was somewhat damaged. Ximen Shuai smiled bitterly in his heart. The ancient sword was dormant, and now the Qiankun Ring was also out of commission. Although this woman's cultivation was only slightly stronger than Lin Fan's, she was from the Blood Shadow Sect, and their various evil treasures and spells were hard to guard against.

Looking at Lin Fan again, he was still maintaining the posture of a corpse, clearly not wanting to participate in this battle. Ximen Shuai had a thought and took out a red gemstone. The woman was greatly alarmed: "Blood Sunstone, the thief is killing and robbing..."

Ximen Shuai corrected her: "I am merely repaying them in their own coin. This Blood Sunstone was obtained after you ambushed the Northern Sea True Person."

"Hmph!" The woman prepared to attack.

Ximen Shuai flicked his wrist, and the Blood Sunstone flew out and landed beside Lin Fan. Then he smiled: "The green mountains remain, and the clear water flows." He floated away.

Damn it, Lin Fan made a quick decision, grabbed the Blood Sunstone, and ran. The woman spat out a mouthful of blood and used the Blood Escape technique to appear beside Lin Fan. Lin Fan was greatly alarmed and prepared a talisman in his hand, which he threw out: "Body Restraining Talisman."

This Body Restraining Talisman was too low-level, mainly used against ghosts and mortals, and was not very effective against cultivators. However, in one situation, it was very useful. For example, when the man was casting a spell, a Body Restraining Talisman could forcibly interrupt his spell. The woman was momentarily restrained, then reached out to grab Lin Fan. Lin Fan stuck a talisman on himself, and his body was enveloped in a layer of rock. The woman broke through the rock with one hand, and Lin Fan smiled bitterly. Too brutal, right?

He could only flick his finger and throw the Blood Sunstone away. The woman reached out again, but Lin Fan had already shifted his position, swapping places with a rock. The woman's attack missed, and she didn't have time to play games with Lin Fan. She turned and pounced on the Blood Sunstone. Ximen Shuai hadn't run far. When Lin Fan threw the Blood Sunstone, he appeared and caught it.

Ximen Shuai clearly knew a lot about the Blood Shadow Sect and understood that the Blood Escape technique had a time limit. Now that the distance had been increased, Ximen Shuai easily took the Blood Sunstone and floated away: "Little fellow Taoist, thank you."

"You're welcome." Lin Fan ran away.

The woman was about to chase after them, but a voice came from above. Clearly, with no one controlling the formation, the pursuers had broken through and were chasing down. The woman had no choice but to give up on Ximen Shuai and flee.

Ximen Shuai had already run far away. He took out the Blood Sunstone and was proud of his quick thinking, but suddenly a cold sweat broke out. He used his true qi to refine it, and the Blood Sunstone turned into a small rock. Ximen Shuai was furious. An illusion! He had been deceived by the most basic illusion. A genius who appears once every three thousand years had been tricked by an illusion? This must be a misunderstanding... but it was really just a rock. Ximen Shuai gritted his teeth and said in the direction Lin Fan had disappeared: "The green mountains remain, and the clear water flows."

Lin Fan quietly flew back to Lotus Mountain, took out the Blood Sunstone, and examined it from all angles. What is this thing used for? True qi couldn't be channeled into it, and when he looked at it in the sunlight, a drop of blood could be seen moving inside the gemstone. He raised a rock and smashed it against the Blood Sunstone, but it remained unscathed. On Lotus Mountain, Bai Mu had already set up the formation. Lin Fan called out: "Everyone, take a look. What is this thing?"

Ye Wushuang and Gu Yan examined it for a while and shook their heads. Bai Mu looked at it for a while and said, "Could this be the Blood Sunstone?" The Qingyuan Sect disciples knew many things without leaving their doors.

Lin Fan asked while drinking water, "What is the Blood Sunstone?"

"According to legend, when the world was first created..."

"Be more direct," Lin Fan said.

Bai Mu nodded, "There are five Sunstones, which should be called Keystones. They are said to be necessary to open a certain place. Besides the Blood Sunstone, there are the Sun Sunstone, Star Sunstone, Moon Sunstone, and Water Sunstone. The Blood Sunstone has always been the Blood Shadow Sect's most treasured possession. Three hundred years ago, during the great battle of the evil sects, it is recorded that the Northern Sea Sect killed the Blood Shadow Sect's treasure guardian, but it is unclear whether they obtained the Blood Sunstone. However, there are suspicions in the records. The Moon Sunstone is the treasure of the Demon Sect, and the other three are missing. The seventh Demon Lord once secluded himself for three years, trying to refine the Moon Sunstone, but failed. Therefore, it is recorded that the five Sunstones cannot be refined and are only keys. However, the Demon Sect has been searching for the other four Sunstones for a thousand years, hoping to solve the mystery once they have all five."

Gu Yan was surprised by the origin of the Blood Sunstone and said, "This item should be handed over to the sect as soon as possible. Lin Fan, how did you get this thing?"

"In the chaos at Cloudy Peak, a Blood Shadow Sect evil person appeared, and I gave him a hit, then picked up the Blood Sunstone." Lin Fan didn't want to explain too much.

Bai Mu asked, "Why would a Blood Shadow Sect person bring the Blood Sunstone to Little Dongzhou?"

Lin Fan said, "I heard they killed the Northern Sea True Person and obtained the Blood Sunstone."

"Oh, the Northern Sea True Person has been at Tianyin Temple in Little Dongzhou for the past six months." The evil sects stole the Blood Sunstone and encountered a treasure, so they wanted to take advantage of the situation, but they were tricked by Ximen Shuai and Lin Fan.

Gu Yan asked, "Why has the Northern Sea True Person been staying at the Buddhist temple for so long?"

"The previous Northern Sea True Person is dead. The current Northern Sea True Person is the son of the former sect leader, who has very poor talent and is fond of women. The Northern Sea Sect expelled him. The father of the Northern Sea True Person, the former sect leader, had a private friendship with the abbot of Tianyin Temple. I think this is why the Northern Sea True Person went to Tianyin Temple," Bai Mu answered.

Ye Wushuang said, "Why is there still a hereditary succession in sects?"

Passing the position from father to son is a common practice, but the cultivation sects soon saw the drawbacks. A hero father and a dog son is too common. Therefore, most cultivation sects choose their leaders from the most outstanding disciples. On Qing Mountain, there are also the Immortal Sect elders. If everyone believes the leader must step down, the elders will make a public judgment. As a leader, one cannot have direct disciples and is in a position of power but no influence.

However, many cultivation sects still rely on hereditary succession. If the talent is a bit poor, everyone can still tolerate it, but if they are too foolish, greedy for women, or violent, it is a major taboo. Morality is not hereditary. But it is a double-edged sword. Once a sect has a capable heir, it can quickly flourish. The reason is that a father will leave everything to his child, while a master will not leave everything to a disciple, at least not to just one disciple. Disputes among disciples are also a root cause of internal strife.

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