Chapter 374 - 247: Ever-Changing Situation, the Taisui Makes a Move (2)

Chapter 374: Chapter 247: Ever-Changing Situation, the Taisui Makes a Move (2)

He had brought part of the news, with the rest pieced together from what he’d heard from two neighboring Fellow Daoists.

According to him, the reason for the last incident was that there was indeed a traitor within the family.

The defector was a high-level elder. It took several difficult, elaborate traps to finally root him out; he had been hidden quite deeply. In the end, he was executed in public.

It was a deterrent against similar acts of treason.

Especially at such a critical juncture of life and death, the entire clan had to be united as one.

Furthermore, what Chef Zeng found strange was that the enemy did indeed have a plan to make a move against Lin Changheng.

But for some unknown reason, it was either postponed or canceled.

Chef Zeng and Lin Changheng discussed this point for a long time but couldn’t come to a clear conclusion.

They had no choice but to let it go.

Lin Changheng also gave him the newly refined Elixirs.

He hoped the Huang Family would be able to hold on and overcome this calamity. At the very least, their cooperation was currently quite pleasant; for both sides, it was a relationship of mutual trust and benefit.

But the final outcome was not something he could control.

He could only let things run their course.

...

「Another half year passed.」

A Dharma Ship appeared on the horizon.

This was Chef Zeng’s fourth visit to Jade Belt Lake.

He was here for Elixirs again.

But this time, it was completely different.

As Lin Changheng welcomed Chef Zeng inside, his vast, spreading Divine Sense picked up something. He casually glanced toward a spot behind them before turning away, feigning ignorance as he led the chef onward.

Clearly, Chef Zeng had no idea he had a tail.

’As for why they haven’t made a move yet, they must have some other objective.’

...

The number of Elixirs he needed this time was significantly greater; it would take Lin Changheng at least a full month of continuous Refining.

Furthermore, three or four of the batches were Elixirs specifically for healing and detoxification.

This was a clear reflection of how dire and precarious the current situation had become.

The Magical Combat had grown more intense.

After a brief inquiry into the situation, Chef Zeng once again departed in a hurry.

This time, Lin Changheng didn’t have him leave discreetly from a different spot on the island’s edge, as he had on the first visit.

Instead, he escorted him directly to the same place he had entered.

An open, unconcealed departure.

Chef Zeng was surprised but didn’t think much of it. He probably assumed Lin Changheng felt that since there had been no trouble for so long, such precautions were no longer necessary.

WHOOSH!

Chef Zeng shot through the air like a rainbow-hued streak of light and quickly vanished from sight.

The gap in the Array slowly closed, concealing the island once more. Yet Lin Changheng remained inside, standing motionless in mid-air like a wooden statue.

But his Divine Sense had already surged outward, blanketing the entire area.

’He’s gone?’

Lin Changheng was surprised.

’One possibility is that he’s already left.’

’But that’s unlikely.’

’Besides, I didn’t detect the slightest movement when Chef Zeng flew away. After all, I sensed this person when they first arrived.’

’It’s not as if I’d be completely unaware of their departure.’

’It doesn’t make sense.’

’That leaves only one explanation.’

’The person didn’t follow Chef Zeng. Or perhaps Chef Zeng was never the target to begin with...’

"Open,"

he muttered. Lin Changheng’s eyes, which had narrowed to slits, suddenly snapped open.

Instantly, streams of pale gold, cyan, and gray light swirled in his eyes, projecting like Divine Light toward the distant mountains.

As his head slowly turned, the Divine Light began to scan the area.

Several minutes later.

Lin Changheng’s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixing on a specific spot.

A figure was deeply hidden there, within the verdant woods.

It was like a silent, unmoving boulder, or a formless black shadow.

Truly remarkable.

There was not the slightest sound, nor any sign of life.

If not for Lin Changheng’s Triple Technique Superposition, which allowed him to see through Spiritual Power, he wouldn’t have detected a thing.

’Very good.’

A cold glint flashed in Lin Changheng’s eyes. His suspicions were confirmed.

’I just don’t know what their Cultivation level is. Otherwise, I could make a move.’

’For now, all I can do is wait.’

...

「Deep in the night.」

An entire day had passed, during which Lin Changheng had observed the person.

They hadn’t moved an inch, lying in wait like a venomous snake.

’Patient, aren’t they?’

But Lin Changheng had no intention of waiting any longer.

’I’ve figured it out,’ he thought. ’A Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be needed to devise strategies, command the clan, or preside over a battlefield. They wouldn’t have time to waste here.’

’Even in the slight chance this person is a true Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, I can withstand their attacks at this short distance and escape back into my Array.’

’And if they’re careless, I might just be able to tear them apart with my bare hands.’

’So, no matter how I look at it, the risk is manageable, and the potential reward is immense.’

...

Having made his decision, Lin Changheng inspected the contents of his Storage Bag and made his preparations. He slipped out through the secret exit of the second cave-dwelling on the rear of the island and submerged himself in the water. Surfacing some distance away, he circled around wide before activating the Concealing Breath Demon Technique and slowly approaching his target.

With no one alerted to his presence, Lin Changheng had already become one with the environment.

He was like a whisper of wind gliding over the lake, like a single leaf drifting down through the woods. His aura, body heat, and even the faint fluctuations of his Spiritual Power were perfectly suppressed, allowing him to merge completely with the surrounding mist and the vitality of the trees.

Even if a Cultivator were to sweep the area with their Divine Sense, they would most likely overlook him, mistaking him for a slightly denser patch of fog.

He didn’t charge directly toward the lurker’s position. Instead, he used his Insight Skill to observe from a distance, watching the extremely faint flow of Spiritual Power around his target—a flow nearly indistinguishable from the natural environment—as he searched for the perfect angle and moment to attack.

Lin Changheng had tested it many times: the gaze produced by the Divine Light of his Three Techniques Combined didn’t create the sensation of being watched or spied upon.

It was less like a person’s gaze and more like a beam of natural light.

The fact that he had "watched" this person for the better part of a day without any reaction further confirmed this.

Meanwhile, he kept his Divine Sense reined in, not letting it spread, to avoid detection.

At the same time, Magical Power surged within him. One hand was poised over a Black Seal Platform, while hidden in his other sleeve was his Cyan Gold Flying Sword, its chilling intent contained.

Like the most patient of hunters, he silently closed the distance to his prey.

Five hundred zhang, four hundred zhang, three hundred zhang...

The lurking Cultivator remained as still as a stone, utterly motionless. They were clearly confident in their concealment technique and had not yet sensed the mortal danger silently closing in.

Two hundred zhang, one hundred and fifty zhang, one hundred zhang...

For a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, this distance was well within a range where an attack could be launched in an instant!

A cold light suddenly erupted in Lin Changheng’s eyes!

’Now!’

With a single thought, Wood Qi coiled around his hand as he cast Hallucinogenic Technique: Ascension, sending it forth with a wave.

Simultaneously, he dropped all pretense. His Magical Power surged, the Concealing Breath Demon Technique was instantly dispelled, and the Spiritual Pressure of a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator exploded outward like a waking tiger’s pounce!

His left hand slammed down.

BZZZZ—!

With a clear hum, the seal shot forward, growing larger and larger until it resembled a massive black millstone, descending on the target from above!

He flicked his right hand, and the Cyan Gold Flying Sword let out a sharp cry, transforming into a streak of lightning that tore through the air, aimed straight for the center of his opponent’s back!

Several Tier Two Lower Grade Talismans activated simultaneously. Ice Spears, Fire Snakes, and Vines rained down, sealing off every possible escape route!

Hallucination, Black Seal, Flying Sword, Talismans!

A four-pronged attack, one following the other, holding nothing back!

A sneak attack designed for a guaranteed kill!

Only then did the black shadow, which had been as still as an inanimate object, suddenly shudder, as if forcibly jolted awake from the Illusion Skill’s influence.

The Spiritual Pressure of a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, tinged with shock and fury, suddenly erupted. It felt like the Sixth Layer of Foundation Establishment. The figure tried to resist the sudden, deadly assault.

However, the killing blow Lin Changheng had so meticulously planned had given him too great an advantage!

First, the power of the Hallucination had silently invaded their Heart and Spirit. Though it failed to trap them in an Illusion Realm for long, it had succeeded in making them lose focus for a fatal instant at the most critical moment, disrupting their instinctual rhythm for counterattack and defense.

Immediately after, the Black Seal Platform, now the size of a millstone, came crashing down with unstoppable force!

"Who dares ambush me?!"

The Spiritual Light on a Bone Shield the shadowy figure hastily raised had just flared to life when it was crushed by the Black Seal Platform’s absolute power!

CRACK!