Chapter 375 - 248: Like Crushing a Chicken, Information Convergence

Chapter 375: Chapter 248: Like Crushing a Chicken, Information Convergence

A sharp CRACK echoed as the Bone Shield let out a pathetic whine.

Its Spiritual Light dimmed in an instant as it was sent flying, fine cracks spiderwebbing across its surface. The man in black, who had just scrambled to his feet, was also slammed down by this Giant Strength; his body buckled, and his feet plunged directly into the ground!

In that split second, with his momentum broken and his body locked in place—

SHK!

The flash of light from the Cyan Gold Flying Sword, though launched second, struck first. It unerringly exploited the opening the man had revealed while defending against the massive seal, piercing his Magical Power Shield in an instant.

The man twisted desperately to dodge, but it was too late. The Flying Sword plunged into his back and burst out through his chest!

A spray of warm blood blossomed in the air!

"Argh!"

The man in black let out a piercing scream. His body convulsed, and the Magical Power he had gathered instantly dissipated.

Almost simultaneously, the Ice Spears, Fire Snakes, and Vines from the Tier Two Talismans were upon him! Stripped of any effective defense, he was instantly engulfed by the frenzied Magic Energy!

RUMBLE!

Ice Crystals shattered, Flames raged, and Vines coiled!

A chain of explosions and shockwaves tore through the area. Dust and smoke, shot through with Spiritual Light, billowed into the air, obscuring all sight.

Lin Changheng had already retreated to a safe distance. He watched the center of the explosion, his expression unreadable. With a flick of a Technique, the Black Seal Platform whizzed back to him, hovering and spinning in the air before him, poised to counter any last-ditch struggle or deliver the coup de grâce.

The dust slowly settled.

A sizeable crater had been blasted into the ground. The surrounding vegetation was obliterated, leaving a scene of utter ruin.

The man in black lay slumped at the bottom of the crater. His body was charred, his clothes shredded, and his skin covered in a latticework of frostbite, burns, and constricting marks from the Vines. The sword wound in his chest was a gruesome sight, blood still trickling out. His aura was almost nonexistent; he was breathing out, but no longer breathing in.

His eyes, full of horror, indignation, and utter disbelief, were locked on the slowly approaching Lin Changheng.

"Lin... Lin..."

’He couldn’t understand. He was a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, a master of Concealment and assassination. How could he have fallen so easily to an Alchemy Cultivator? He hadn’t even managed a proper counterattack.’

’The hunter had become the hunted.’

He was filled with utter shock, his body trembling violently—whether from the pain or the terror of impending death, he didn’t know.

Lin Changheng walked to the edge of the crater and looked down at him, his eyes as cold and still as ice. He formed his fingers into a sword and pointed.

ZING!

A thin but exceptionally sharp line of fire shot into the man’s forehead, right between the eyes.

The man’s body went rigid. The light in his eyes faded completely, and he was dead.

From the start of the ambush to the target’s death, the entire process had taken but a few moments.

And so, this Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who hadn’t even had a chance to use his skills, fell ignominiously to a perfectly calculated, lightning-fast ambush.

After quickly looting the corpse and performing a Soul Search, Lin Changheng flicked a spark of fire to reduce the body to ashes before quietly flying back to Moonrest Island.

Looking at the Storage Bag in his hand, Lin Changheng sat for a while in the pavilion, bathed in the moonlight.

His brow was slightly furrowed, however, clearly lost in thought.

The information from the Soul Search was incomplete. He couldn’t tell if the man had intentionally used a Secret Skill to Seal parts of his memory, or if there was some other reason, but the memories were unusually fragmented.

He couldn’t get the full picture.

But from the fragments he could piece together, he knew the man was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Yunhuang Lake Wang Family.

They were one of the three clans besieging the Huang Family.

The assassin’s objective had been him.

’After all, I’m a Tributor for the Huang Family. I have a considerable reputation, and I’ve been supplying them with Elixirs. For them, this was a new approach to their long, unsuccessful siege of Spirit Dome Mountain, one they hoped would speed things up.’

’And Chef Zeng’s frequent trips to Jade Belt Lake had convinced the Wang Family that I was providing significant support.’

’But they didn’t dare launch a reckless attack on the Jade Belt Lake Spiritual Land. It was, after all, territory belonging to the Purple Extreme Sect, merely leased out for the time being.’

’Of course, if they could have broken in, finished the job quickly, and gotten away clean, that would have been a different story.’

’No witnesses, no evidence.’

’But if things went wrong and they attracted the attention—and retaliation—of the Purple Extreme Sect, it would be disastrous.’

’It would have a devastating impact on their grand plan to annihilate the Huang Family. They were clear-headed enough about this fact, so they wouldn’t dare risk it.’

The result of their caution, however, was the silent loss of a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment combatant.

’Serves them right. They were asking for it.’

Lin Changheng sneered.

Then, he opened the Storage Bag to inspect its contents.

At the same time, he scanned for any suspicious items.

Any item that seemed to bear a tracking sigil, a clan mark, or a locating function was immediately incinerated by his Red Sky Profound Flame.

Watching the nearby flames dance, he noted they were now noticeably hotter, their power more palpable. A flash of satisfaction appeared in Lin Changheng’s eyes.

’The Molten Fire Crystal I got from Ye Wuji back in the Jiazi Secret Realm has now been fully absorbed and refined.’

’Combined with feeding it the Red True Essence from my own Cultivation, the Red Sky Profound Flame’s evolution progress is now at about eighty-five percent.’

’That’s a sharp increase of fifteen percent from the previous seventy.’

’Now it only needs another fifteen percent to be complete, then I can look for an opportunity for it to evolve to Tier Three.’

...

Tearing his gaze from the flames, Lin Changheng turned his attention back to the other items he had taken from the Storage Bag.

He swept his Divine Sense over them, taking in every minute detail.

Aside from a pile of Spiritual Materials for Artifact Refining and Alchemy, there were also items beneficial to Cultivation, such as Spirit Tea, Spirit Fruits, and Spirit Wine.

There were also a few Tier Two Talismans, a bottle of Tier Two Middle Grade Elixirs for advancing one’s Cultivation, and several auxiliary pills.

The value of these items was decent, worth several thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

In addition, there were over eighty Middle Grade Spirit Stones.