Chapter 425 Ambush

A few hours passed in the blink of an eye. The journey was swift, facilitated by the combined power of three Jindan cultivators flying on their spirit swords. Luo, at the peak of the Jindan realm, led the charge, his mind still chewing on the calculated risk he had taken with Wang Yi. The towering mountain range of the sect, shrouded in ethereal clouds and radiating an ancient, formidable spiritual pressure, dominated the northern horizon.

As they neared the highest peak, where the main protective formation of the sect was located, Luo abruptly sensed a shift in the ambient qi… a profound, cold fluctuation that was entirely foreign. He instantly pulled his spirit sword to a halt. His two followers, less perceptive, crashed to a stop behind him.

Before Luo could issue a warning, the space around them fractured. Three dark swords, radiating the menacing aura of peak Jindan artifacts, materialized silently from the void, aiming for the heads, hearts, and dantians of his two subordinates. The disciples didn't even have time to scream.

Pffft… Pffft… Pffft!

The sound of spiritual weapons piercing flesh was sickeningly muted. The disciples' bodies, still suspended on their spirit swords, were immediately riddled with fatal wounds, their life force extinguishing almost instantly, their faces frozen in expressions of utter shock.

Luo, who had already summoned his own Dark Star sword in defense, was too late to save his men. The powerful array of killing intent, clearly intended for him as well, was narrowly averted by his superior reaction time. He spun on his heel, his eyes blazing with incandescent fury, and immediately scanned the air for the ambushers. There were none, save for a single figure who seemed to have materialized from the air itself.

The figure attacked releasing a flying slash, while Luo deflected it using his own spirit sword.

Swish!

The chaotic force from Luo's deflected attack scattered trees and grass in a wide circle, followed by the sound of metal sword collision spreading, razing the ground around the peak. Luo glanced at the corpses of the two disciples behind him and then tightened the sword in his hand. He turned and glanced at a boy the same age as him standing in front of him. The boy's aura was the peak of Jindan and his eyes held an ancient, boundless chilling depth.

"Who are you? Do you know the consequences of attacking us?" Luo's voice was harsh, a low roar of suppressed Peak Jindan power.

The boy in front of him is no other than Lin Lee. He regarded Luo with a chilling, faint smile, and raised his hand toward Luo. "I don't care about the consequences…" Lin Lee's voice was calm and steady, utterly devoid of emotion.

The next moment, he activated the technique,

Boundless Heaven Art, Steal Heaven!

Luo standing vigilantly in front of him was startled and then his expression changed as a huge loss surged through his soul. As if something important has been forcefully shredded and taken away from him. The feeling was profound, as if a vital piece of his spiritual identity, a core talent that defined his existence, had been violently amputated. The next moment he glanced at Lin Lee in horror and said, "What have you done to me?"

Lin Lee, on the other hand, was also startled and then his mouth curved, saying, "I didn't expect it to be successful in the first try…"

He lowered his hand slightly as he observed the new memory in his mind and something mysterious and specific surged through his soul, as if a new kind of mysterious ability was added to it.

'Finally, I now know everything about the Origin Point system, and gained a Source Talent… perfect.' Lin Lee thought with a flash of satisfied, cold greed. He dismissed the thought of observing it now, as he glanced at Luo, who was on the verge of going berserk.

"Give it back to me…" Luo roared. He raised the sword toward Lin Lee and waved it, releasing a heavy slashing energy toward him.

Swish!

The energy wave was dense, thick with the power of a cultivator desperate to regain what was lost.

Lin Lee's expression also calmed down. He lifted his hand slightly. "I need the final thing from you, before that you can go peacefully," he stated, his voice a profound, dismissive judgment. And then he raised his finger and activated the technique,

Boundless Heaven Art, Piercing the Heaven!

The next moment, the slashing energy wave scattered and disappeared as if it were never there. At the same time three clear holes appeared on the forehead, dantian, and heart of Luo, amidst his wide eyes… The attack was invisible, silent, and defied all conventional defensive techniques.

Next moment with a burst, chaotic energy surged through his whole body, destroying his remaining spiritual essence. Blood emerged from his eyes, mouth, nose, and other body parts, all the meridian and veins in his body were destroyed.

Luo raised his head in horror and glanced at Lin Lee in front of him, not understanding how someone with the same peak Jindan strength as him can kill him so devastatingly. On top of that, how can his attack ignore the protection weapons and affect him… Luo's dying thoughts were filled with desperate, horrified incomprehension.

"Y-you will be chased to hell by my clan…" Luo choked out, his voice already fading. With a thud, his corpse fell on the ground beside the shattered trees.

Lin Lee walked toward him and stopped beside his corpse, looking at his rapidly cooling body and muttering, "Such thing won't happen…" He then sat down, grabbed the Luo skull from the back and activated the technique.

Boundless Heaven Art, Heaven Change!

Next moment, if someone sees this scene they will be horrified, as a visible change appeared on both Lin Lee and Luo appearance. The Lin Lee face and physique, including clothes and aura, changed to that of Luo and the Luo corpse changed into the appearance of him… The transformation was agonizingly fast, the shifting of bone and sinew accompanied by a low, profound spiritual grinding sound.

Just as everything settled down, a few air scattering sounds flashed and a few figures appeared floating behind him in the air. Lin Lee, now wearing Luo's pristine white robe and exhibiting his Peak Jindan aura, slowly opened his eyes, his cold gaze fixed on the new arrivals.

The three figures materialized from the air scattering sound and came to an abrupt halt, hovering a few dozen feet away from the ground. The front figure was an old man, his white beard flowing gently in the high-altitude wind. He radiated an unfathomable aura that spoke of a power far beyond the Jindan realm, easily reaching the peak of Yuan Ying stage. The other two were middle-aged; one had a clean, stern face, and the other wore a dark, light beard. All three of them immediately focused their inquiring gaze on Lin Lee, who was now standing next to the three prone bodies.

"Luo Shen, what happened here?" the Great Elder, the white-bearded man, demanded, his voice carrying the calm weight of absolute authority. Simultaneously, their gazes fell upon the corpses of the two sect disciples Luo had been leading, along with the third, unknown corpse lying on the ground near Lin Lee.

Lin Lee, perfectly embodying the shock and weariness of a core disciple who had just survived a brutal ambush, raised his hand and saluted. "I have seen Great Elder, Elder Yao, Elder Lin". He paused, letting his voice deepen with the appropriate measure of sorrow, then spoke, gesturing toward the corpse of the original Luo (labeled as the rogue cultivator). "This unknown rogue cultivator ambushed and attacked us. Although I got rid of him, I am sorry, I couldn't protect my companions". He spoke with a deep voice, then took a sharp, deep breath, and fell silent, letting the grief and exhaustion show in his posture.

The Great Elder turned and briefly glanced at Elder Lin, the middle-aged man on his left. "Bring out the jades," he commanded. Elder Lin immediately nodded, releasing four life jades from his spatial storage and passing them toward the Great Elder. The Great Elder grabbed them, his eyes instantly focusing on the four small artifacts. Three of the jades were completely cracked from the middle, signifying the death of their owners, but the fourth one... Luo's jade… had only minor cracks along the edges.

Lin Lee watched the Great Elder observe the artifacts. 'Huh, my Boundless Heaven Art can dictate time, space, life, death, cause, effect, destiny and fate, let alone replacing the mere mark of life on these jades,' he mused internally, a flash of cold confidence in his soul. 'You can't find anything'.

The Great Elder silently observed the intact jade with the minor cracks, then raised his gaze to Lin Lee (Luo). "Are you injured?" he asked.

Lin Lee nodded, pulling back the pristine white robe from his left chest. A clearly visible sword slashing mark, still wet with a little solidified blood, was revealed.

The Elder nodded to himself, a silent conclusion forming in his mind. 'An injury to the heart… that explained the cracks on the edges of the jade,' he thought. He then glanced in the direction of Elder Lin. "Elder Lin, heal him and take care of these dead disciples. Send their corpses back to their families and pay some rewards and compensation as they died for the sect. Also, find the origin of this rogue cultivator".

... Chapter End ...