Chapter 156
Decaying World
Lin Wuhai was stunned, struggling to accept the reality before him.
In the past, he could have accepted that his Internal Force was inferior to his Master's. After all, his Master was a top-tier genius, a sect-founding expert brilliant enough to derive the Clear Wind Sword Technique and Wild Wind Sword Technique.
But now that he had broken through to the Circulation Realm himself, his Internal Force still couldn't withstand a single blow from his Master.
More terrifyingly, his Master hadn't even broken through to the Circulation Realm yet. They were separated by a whole realm, yet...
At this moment, Lin Wuhai's estimation of Lin Hui was once again shrouded in a new veil of mystery.
"Master, what exactly is going on with your Internal Force?! Did you increase the compression of your Internal Force?" he couldn't help but ask.
"I didn't add force. This is the natural change that occurs after the Body Tempering of the Clear Wind Sword and Wild Wind Sword reaches its limit."
Lin Hui was internally satisfied. Having verified that his Internal Force intensity far exceeded the Circulation Realm, he finally understood why he could previously slaughter Circulation experts like chickens, easily smashing through their Internal Force barriers. It seemed that while his weapon played a part, the quality of his Internal Force was also a major factor.
"Body Tempering...?" Lin Wuhai's pupils constricted. "Just Body Tempering can reach such a height!?"
"You and I cultivate the same sect's martial arts. If I can do it, sooner or later, you can too. Work hard." Lin Hui withdrew his Internal Force and patted his disciple's shoulder encouragingly.
He still placed great importance on Lin Wuhai, the only Circulation martial artist under his command. This fellow was hardworking and talented; he would achieve great things sooner or later.
"Disciple understands!!" Lin Wuhai underwent some unknown mental reconstruction; his expression instantly became more resolute. He nodded forcefully and bowed with clasped fists. "Disciple will continue cultivating now!"
He bid farewell, turned, and vanished with a swish.
Lin Hui exhaled, picked up the consolidated Mist Zone Handbook, and flipped through it gently.
Yes, he intended to enter the Mist Zone to improve himself. After realizing the Purgatory-aura corruption was spreading, he had formed this idea. Aside from simply tempering his body and taking medicine, he could also devour other Purgatory creatures to strengthen his physique. This was also a path of improvement.
At the same time, he could more clearly test where the limits of his strength lay.
Indirectly, through the Mist Zone monsters, he could compare himself with the other Martial Artist systems and Called One systems to determine which tier he currently occupied. This way, he would know himself and his enemy.
…
Inner City, Nine Dreams Sect.
Amidst green mountains, a gray-black stone tower, straight as a Moon Tower, stood silently in the gale.
The stone tower rose abruptly from the mountains, standing like a crane among chickens, almost piercing into the gray-white mist of the sky.
Atop the square tower body sat a complex of resplendent pavilions and sharp-roofed palaces. Every surface of these buildings was covered in a layer of gold plating. Under the hazy skylight, a golden glow permeated the air, radiating an aura of ethereal nobility.
At the peak of the tower, inside the highest and widest Old Dream Golden Hall.
In the empty hall, on golden stone bricks smooth and bright as mirrors, a white-robed man with black hair reaching his waist was slowly strolling, admiring the lofty and vast sea of pure white mist below the edge of the platform.
Throughout the ceiling of the great hall hung countless rod-shaped purple jade talismans. Buffeted by the wind, the mass of talismans collided, emitting crisp, wind-chime-like sounds.
The man's features were beautiful as a maiden's, and his temperament was pure. Looking only at his face, one could not distinguish his gender. If not for his chest being casually exposed, revealing flat, fair skin, no one would think he was male; they would instead believe him to be a pure, peerless beauty.
His white robe was embroidered with exquisite gold-thread diagrams. Some were phoenixes, some were dragon-headed human monsters, and some were simple flame patterns or lotus patterns. The long robe trailed on the ground like a lady's palace dress, harmonizing with the surrounding empty golden hall.
After admiring the scenery of the high mist sea for a while, the man turned around, revealing a strange face with a faint smile, the corners of his mouth seemingly permanently upturned.
"I didn't expect that someone could infiltrate my Old Dream Golden Hall—with its total of nine layers of protection—and reach me so silently. Interesting..."
His gaze swept across the room, landing precisely on the grand entrance far away in the hall.
Between the two thick golden pillars, a blurry, translucent human shape was rapidly assembling, taking form, and solidifying.
Two seconds later, the figure completely solidified, turning into a lithe female figure wrapped entirely in a black bodysuit, revealing only a pair of eyes.
The woman's black hair was tied high, her ponytail swaying in the wind. She wore two short sabers at her lower back, their sheaths crossed. She did not draw them, but instead looked straight at the white-robed man.
"Long time no see, Yun Xiazi. This habit of yours for liking gold is getting more and more severe..." The woman walked forward slowly, her figure flashing. In the blink of an eye, she appeared ten meters away from the white-robed man and stood still.
"It is you..." The white-robed man revealed a look of realization and smiled again. "We haven't met for more than ten years. How have you become so fond of hiding your head and showing your tail? Han Feng."
"I'm just used to concealing myself. After all, you know my current position," Han Feng said flatly.
"Speak. With your personality, you would absolutely never run over to find me without reason." Yun Xiazi smiled. His pure, pretty face held that faint smile with upturned lips, giving people an inexplicable, wondrous sense of beauty.
"Mn, I have a personal matter. I came to verify a thing or two with you." Seeing this, even Han Feng, as a woman, couldn't help but be momentarily dazed.
Yun Xiazi's reputation for beauty was famous in their era.
Back then, Yun Xiazi's suitors included both men and women, with the men being quite numerous. It wasn't until two Truebloods of the Moon Tower fought a duel over him—resulting in one's fall and the highest authority issuing words to forbid it—that the matter finally came to an end. It was said that in his grief, Yun Xiazi declared he would never seek a companion in his life. He lived alone on the Golden Peak of the Nine Dreams Sect, staying for eighty years.
Looking at it now, what grief was this guy suffering? He probably just found it annoying and lived here to avoid trouble.
"Speak." The wind lifted Yun Xiazi's long hair, revealing glimpses of a silver-white ribbon within, scattering wisps of elegant fragrance.
"Did you accept a disciple outside the city?" Han Feng asked in a deep voice.
"Accept a disciple?" Yun Xiazi smoothed his long hair, raising his sword-like eyebrows slightly. He was about to reply, but seeing Han Feng's solemn and formal gaze, a sense of mischief rose in his heart. "Interesting. What do you all know?"
"That Clear Wind Temple Master in the Outer City, whose movement speed is abnormally fast—he should be your disciple, right?" Although Han Feng phrased it as a question, her tone was affirmative.
"I know nothing. I am clear on nothing." Yun Xiazi lowered his beautiful eyes, smiling yet not smiling.
"Since you accepted him, given your status and strength, what need is there to cover it up? We only discovered something was wrong after tracking and monitoring Han Xiaoyue. Otherwise, you really might have covered it up. She has also targeted that child; presumably, it is also because of your side," Han Feng said gravely.
"Han Xiaoyue? Interesting. She is indeed a thorny opponent. But how are you certain it is directed at me?" Yun Xiazi laughed.
"They are unwilling to give up. Before leaving, they want to make one last desperate gamble. Han is one of the two strongest among them; she won't be willing to submit obediently. This is normal; wasn't it the same before?" Han Feng said.
"So she targeted my only disciple?" Yun Xiazi blinked.
"I can't think of any other reason," Han Feng said.
"How did you come to feel that the child is my disciple?" Yun Xiazi asked again.
"Because of the sword, and because of the movement technique. In all of Tuyue, only you can forge a weapon of that sharpness without it being an Imitation Evil Weapon. And that extreme speed movement technique—although I also cultivate speed-type Divine Methods, there is still a gap between mine and that martial art. I saw a trace of you in it..." Han Feng said in a deep voice.
"Is that so?" A glint of curiosity flashed in Yun Xiazi's eyes. "That's quite good."
"What do you mean by 'quite good'!? Since he is your disciple, you need to be careful. That kid provoked the Clear River Sect and has also been targeted by that freak under the government office. Now that he has chosen to join my Benevolent Heart Sect, I took the initiative to come find you and notify you." Han Feng spoke rapidly.
"Busy, busy, busy; how utterly boring. Han Feng, you've become boring..." Yun Xiazi smiled faintly. "Running around for worldly affairs... The current you is no longer the you in my heart. The you from back then—your skin was warm and moist, so beautiful, so pure..."
Yun Xiazi narrowed his eyes, as if recalling the beautiful memories of his intimacy with Han Feng in the past.
"Why are you saying all this!?" A trace of embarrassed anger flashed in Han Feng's eyes.
"Just reminiscing. Reminiscing about the past. If you had come with me back then... Uh, I'm hungry."
Suddenly, Yun Xiazi's words cut off abruptly, and the smile on his face vanished instantly. He gently stroked his stomach.
His gaze swept over Han Feng's face and soon landed on her right leg.
"You are no longer the 'her' in my mind..."
"Wait...!" Han Feng immediately sensed something was wrong and retreated at extreme speed.
"Therefore, you are no longer fit to be called Han Feng... No longer fit to occupy my beautiful memories..."
Hiss.
He slowly drew his sword.
"Just let your beauty remain forever in the depths of my memories."
"Wait, Yun Xiazi, don't have an episode yet; I still have words to say!"
"Time Sense · Thousand Origins Myriad Phenomena." Yun Xiazi pointed his blade flatly.
In an instant, the area spanning several kilometers around the Golden Peak of the Nine Dreams Sect twisted and blurred.
Both the rosy clouds and the retreating Han Feng vanished simultaneously. In the entire empty Golden Hall, only the woo-woo sound of whistling wind remained.
…
Mist Zone.
Lin Hui bowed his body, moving rapidly through the mist alone.
The Tranquil Incense carved out a spherical cavity in the mist around him.
Chi!
A crimson monster resembling a rhinoceros lunged from the front. Before it could completely emerge from the Mist, a sword light flashed past. It was split in two from the head down, brushing past Lin Hui's side before crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud.
This heavy Mist Zone monster, weighing at least two tons, was called a Blood Rhino. In the Mist Zone Handbook, it was listed as a Dangerous level creature with an extremely hard hide. This hide had extremely high resistance to Internal Force.
According to the handbook's records, the Inner City's Cleanup Squad had once tested it: to completely kill a Blood Rhino, it required a Perfection-stage Circulation expert to attack the same spot consecutively more than thirty times to breach its defense.
But such a Blood Rhino was finished in a single strike under Lin Hui's Ruyi sword.
The Circulation Realm offers no challenge anymore. Time to go look at High-Threat level monsters and see where my own limits lie.
Lin Hui had a plan in mind. He didn't process the Blood Rhino's corpse; although the materials were precious, his primary goal now was not gathering materials.
Stepping over the Blood Rhino's carcass, his figure suddenly paused. Feeling an itch on his shoulder, he stopped and pulled open his robe to look.
The Spirit-Sealing Array's Nine Eyes on his shoulder, which hadn't shown activity for a long time, had suddenly gained an extra Green Eye, going from one to two.
?
Why did an extra Green Eye appear all of a sudden?
Lin Hui had been constantly trying to find ways to charge the Nine Eyes, as the Spirit-Sealing Array was obviously a powerful ability. But he had tried many methods, including killing Mist Zone monsters before, yet he hadn't found that it could increase the Green Eyes. He had eventually given up, letting nature take its course and waiting for Internal Force and mind-spirit to accumulate slowly.
He hadn't expected that killing just one Blood Rhino now would actually add a Green Eye.
….
[TN: Threat Level of Mist Monster:
Harmless level. Intrusive level. Dangerous level. High-Threat level. Destructive level.]