Chapter 85: Too Weak to Truss a Chicken

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Too Weak to Truss a Chicken

Lin Quan cried out in alarm, his face a mask of horror.

Not only that, but as the sun and moon began to overlap, an indescribable, sinister chill started to quietly spread.

It was as if the world’s yang energy was being suppressed by some invisible force, while the yin chill hidden deep within the earth and shadows began to stir and rise.

The sky darkened at a visible rate. The temperature seemed to drop, and even the wind blowing through the courtyard carried a bone-piercing cold.

A chill ran through Chen Yue as he instantly recalled the information he’d extracted earlier—the blood sacrifice required a special time and celestial alignment.

’So what the Divine Flame Cult and Youquan Prefecture were waiting for was this once-in-a-century total solar eclipse!’

’They actually managed to accurately predict that this celestial event would be visible in this region and used it to time the blood sacrifice. No wonder they’ve been lying low all this time. They were waiting for this opportune moment!’

’The celestial event has begun. The blood sacrifice is probably about to start. Youlin County is about to become a Purgatory!’

Chen Yue snapped his head down, looking again at Lin Quan, whose face was deathly pale. He, too, was scared out of his wits by the astronomical event.

"Master Lin, the heavens are in turmoil. A catastrophe is upon us! I have to leave immediately! Have you decided? Are you staying, or are you going?"

Cowed by Chen Yue’s urgent tone and the rare, harsh look in his eyes, Lin Quan glanced up at the sun being devoured by darkness. Panic finally overwhelmed all his hesitation.

His throat bobbed as he asked hoarsely, "After... after we leave Youlin County, where will we go?"

"Celestial State Prefecture!" Chen Yue spat out three words.

’Celestial State Prefecture?’

It was a State Capital far more prosperous and magnificent than Youlin County, but also much more distant and unknown.

A storm of emotions flickered in Lin Quan’s eyes, the struggle on his face deepening.

Finally, as if mustering all his strength, he asked the question that had been circling his mind, a question he hadn’t dared to dwell on. "Then... Chen Xuanli and the others... are they now..."

Chen Yue looked at him without any concealment. "They died by my hand."

Although he had long suspected it, hearing the confirmation from Chen Yue’s own lips still sent a violent tremor through Lin Quan’s entire body.

He stared at Chen Yue’s young, yet terrifyingly calm, face. He thought of Chen Xuanli’s unfathomable Cultivation, of the Chen Mansion being turned upside down in an instant...

After the boundless shock, Lin Quan felt a strange sense of relief, as if things were just as he had expected. His expression actually relaxed a little.

Lin Quan nodded heavily. "I’ll go with you!"

"Good!"

Wasting no more time, Chen Yue stepped forward and took Lin Quan’s arm. "There’s no time to lose. I need to go back to my place to grab some important things, then we leave immediately!"

He took Lin Quan and quickly returned to Tingzhu Pavilion. He packed the small bundle containing his remaining Elixirs and made sure nothing was left behind.

Then, supporting Lin Quan with one hand, Chen Yue said in a low voice, "Master Lin, hold on tight!"

Before his voice had even faded, Chen Yue had already activated his Vertical Cloud Thousand Layer Step. He pushed his Body Technique to its absolute limit, and despite carrying another person, his speed was still astonishingly fast.

Like two wisps of blurry smoke, they silently vaulted over Tingzhu Pavilion’s courtyard wall and sped toward Shen Dujiang’s hidden contact point in the slums of the western district.

Above, the sky was as dim as dusk. A sinister wind howled, its chill piercing to the bone.

Chen Yue, with Lin Quan in tow, landed in the secluded courtyard.

Inside, Shen Dujiang was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, his face etched with anxiety and unease.

Hearing the faint sound of someone landing from the wall, he spun around abruptly, his right hand already on the short blade at his lower back.

When he got a clear look at Chen Yue, who wasn’t wearing his usual bamboo hat and mask and was showing his real face, Shen Dujiang was visibly stunned for a moment, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.

This was the first time he had seen Chen Yue’s true appearance—a young face.

However, having navigated the black market for years, Shen Dujiang had a keen eye. He instantly confirmed Chen Yue’s identity based on his physique alone.

His gaze then fell on the still-pale Lin Quan beside Chen Yue, and he looked at Chen Yue questioningly.

Chen Yue cut to the chase and made the introduction. "This is Lin Quan, Master Lin. I was able to successfully practice Alchemy thanks to Master Lin’s initial guidance and teaching."

He didn’t elaborate on the specific situation with Huichun Hall, but he made clear the connection between Lin Quan and his Alchemy Skill.

Realization dawned in Shen Dujiang’s eyes. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that Chen Yue had personally admitted to being the one who refined the Elixirs.

In the past, whenever Chen Yue came to the black market to trade, the unique, lingering scent of mixed medicinal herbs on his body—a smell that couldn’t be washed off—had already given him a pretty good idea of the truth.

Now, hearing Chen Yue confirm it himself, the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished.

"So it’s Master Lin! A pleasure, a pleasure!"

An incredibly enthusiastic smile immediately spread across Shen Dujiang’s face. He hurried forward, cupped his fists in a salute to Lin Quan, his tone filled with unconcealed flattery and a desire to build a connection.

’In Shen Dujiang’s view, for a master to be able to teach a prodigy like Chen Yue, his own Alchemy Skill must be incredible, right?’

’He must be a hidden expert! I have to get on his good side!’

Lin Quan was caught off guard by Shen Dujiang’s sudden enthusiasm. Already shaken, he also noticed Shen Dujiang’s deep and steady aura, which clearly marked him as a martial artist. He quickly waved his hands.

"You’re too kind. I’m the one who will need your care. I don’t even have the strength to truss a chicken and possess no Martial Arts whatsoever. I’m afraid I’ll be a burden to you both on this journey."

Hearing this, Shen Dujiang laughed heartily and said reassuringly:

"Master Lin, what are you saying! Everyone has their own specialty. You’re a grandmaster of the Alchemy Dao, and refining Elixirs is a skill countless people envy! Not knowing Martial Arts? What could be more normal?

"In this world, where can you find a jack-of-all-trades who has mastered everything..."

Shen Dujiang was halfway through his sentence when he seemed to remember something. His voice abruptly cut off, and the smile on his face froze. The corner of his eye couldn’t help but dart toward the composed Chen Yue standing beside him.

’An Alchemy Master who doesn’t know Martial Arts is indeed normal. But the one next to him... isn’t he a freak who’s a master of both Alchemy and Martial Arts, and ridiculously strong in both?’

"We can chat later!"

Chen Yue pointed at the sky. The solar disk had grown even dimmer, and the world was shrouded in a dusky gloom, as if night had fallen prematurely. It gave off an ineffably sinister feeling.

Chen Yue said in a low voice, "The heavens are in turmoil. The hour the Divine Flame Cult and Youquan Prefecture have been waiting for is likely now. We must leave Youlin County immediately, without a moment’s delay!"

Hearing this, Shen Dujiang nodded heavily.

"I was just waiting anxiously for you. Regarding a guide, I contacted a man named Hu Shaoyu. They say he used to travel to Celestial State Prefecture in his youth, so he should be somewhat familiar with the route.

"But time is too short; I haven’t been able to fully vet his reliability. Given the current situation, though, we can’t afford to be picky. We’ll have to take a gamble! Let’s go find him now and leave the city at once!"

Chen Yue nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked toward the distant horizon.

He saw plumes of a spreading, grayish-black mist rising from several locations in the city center as if they were alive. They rapidly diffused, merging with the gloom of the sky and making the light over Youlin County even darker.

As the black mist spread, the sinister chill in the air suddenly intensified, becoming bone-piercing. Faintly mixed within it was a barely perceptible, strange odor—a mix of something cloyingly sweet and scorched.

"Not good! It’s the cult’s doing! They’ve started!" Shen Dujiang also saw the bizarre black mist, and his face changed drastically.

"Go!" Chen Yue made a snap decision, barking out the single word.

Shen Dujiang no longer hesitated. He turned, rushed into the house, and grabbed a pre-packed travel bag. In a flash, he was the first to burst out of the dilapidated courtyard gate, sprinting toward a certain direction in the west of the city.

Chen Yue supported Lin Quan with one hand and followed closely behind.

The three of them were like three arrows shot from a bow, speeding through the streets and alleys that were gradually descending into commotion due to the sudden change in the sky.

Panicked shouts from the common folk, the cries of children, and the sounds of sporadic, unexplained collisions and disturbances could already be heard in the streets, though large-scale chaos had not yet fully erupted.

The three ran without stopping and soon arrived at a dilapidated shanty town in the western district, stopping before a low, adobe courtyard gate.

Shen Dujiang went up and pounded on the rickety wooden door, which produced a dull THUMP THUMP sound.

"Who is it!" A hoarse voice, tinged with wariness and impatience, came from within the courtyard.

"Old Hu, it’s me, Shen Dujiang! Open up, quick!" Shen Dujiang urged in a hushed, urgent tone.

The wooden door opened with a CREAK, revealing a thin, gaunt face. It was Hu Shaoyu.

He squinted, warily sizing up Shen Dujiang outside the door, as well as the armed Chen Yue and the panicked Lin Quan behind him. His expression relaxed slightly.

"Boss Shen? What’s the rush? What’s going on?"

Shen Dujiang shoved the wooden door open and squeezed inside, speaking at a rapid-fire pace. "No time to explain! Pack your things immediately and come with us! We’re leaving Youlin County for Celestial State Prefecture!"

"Now? Go to Celestial State Prefecture?" Hu Shaoyu was stunned, his face a picture of bewilderment and disbelief.

"Boss Shen, are you kidding me? It’s pitch black, the sky looks so damned ominous, and we haven’t prepared anything. How are we supposed to go?"

Shen Dujiang pointed at the solar disk in the sky, then at the grayish-black mist beginning to spread in the distance, his voice both urgent and angry. "Look at the sky! Look at that mist! The cult is about to start the blood sacrifice! If we don’t go now, are we just going to wait here to die?!"

"Blood sacrifice?"

Hu Shaoyu’s brows furrowed tightly. "That’s just baseless gossip! Youlin County has so many great families, the County Yamen, the Garrison Soldiers... Don’t tell me those cultist fiends can really poke a hole in the sky?"

His words represented the mentality of the vast majority of commoners in Youlin County, and even many low-level Martial Artists.

’If the sky falls, the tall people will hold it up.’ And in their minds, the great families and the Government Office were those tall people.

However, Shen Dujiang, who had personally experienced being hunted by a Marrow Refining Realm expert from Youquan Prefecture and knew the true strength of the cult, felt a wicked fire rush to his head upon hearing this.

He knew that trying to explain things to someone like Hu Shaoyu, who lacked a proper understanding of the danger and was still clinging to wishful thinking, was a waste of time.

Chen Yue stood to the side, watching Hu Shaoyu.

He understood the man’s thinking. Ordinary people who have lived in a stable environment for a long time would indeed find it difficult to imagine a disaster that defied comprehension.

The black mist in the distance seemed to have grown thicker. The strange smell on the wind was also becoming clearer.

Shen Dujiang said in a low voice, "How much money will it take for you to leave right now!"

Hearing this, Hu Shaoyu’s eyes darted from side to side. "One hundred taels, and we leave right now!"

When Shen Dujiang heard Hu Shaoyu’s exorbitant, on-the-spot price, his face instantly turned as dark as water, and a flash of fury crossed his eyes.