Spirit Tool

The sudden turn of events left Lin Xuan dumbfounded. Zhang Yu's voice came in fits and starts. "Fine... fine, I misjudged you. You want to keep the treasure all to yourself?"

"That's right." Zhou Yan's voice remained sweet and seductive, but it now carried a trace of grim venom. "Master, you treated me well, but you should understand that a man is guilty for possessing jade. For the sake of our past bond, I'll leave you an intact corpse."

Listening to their exchange, Lin Xuan was consumed by curiosity. Zhou Yan had dared commit the outrage of murdering her master, all to swallow the treasure whole. What sort of treasure could hold such allure? Though he desperately wanted to know, he did not dare act rashly.

This senior sister was ruthless, and her cultivation far surpassed his own. Lin Xuan had no desire to plunge himself into danger over a bit of curiosity.

"Ah!"

A grief-stricken scream rang out as blood sprayed. Through a gap in the grass, Lin Xuan saw that Zhou Yan had already pierced her master's chest. A yellow ball of light emerged from Zhang Yu's body, desperately trying to flee.

"Primordial Spirit leaving the body? Don't even think about it!" Zhou Yan had been prepared. She stretched out her right hand, her jade-like fingers slender and delicate, and seized the ball of light in one grasp.

The ball of light struggled desperately, crashing left and right, but to no avail. Left without a choice, it began to beg. "Yan'er, for the sake of how well I treated you as your master in the past..."

Yet Zhou Yan remained utterly unmoved. With a slight squeeze, she crushed the ball of light, which dispersed into the air. A chill ran through Lin Xuan. This Senior Sister Zhou was truly vicious. It was common knowledge that all living things were made up of body and soul. When the body died, the soul could still be reincarnated, but if the soul was scattered to the winds, it could never enter the cycle of reincarnation again. Even when cultivators fought to the death, they generally would not destroy another's soul, no matter the enmity. Yet Zhou Yan had dealt such a poisonous hand to her own master.

After murdering her master, Zhou Yan's expression remained unchanged as she began searching Zhang Yu's body. After a while, wild delight appeared on her face. "Found it!"

Though he knew it was dangerous, Lin Xuan could no longer resist the pull of his curiosity. He cautiously poked his head out and saw a fist-sized box in Zhou Yan's hand. It was carved from fine sandalwood with exquisite workmanship. Zhou Yan gently caressed it, her face brimming with joy.

"Who's there?" Zhou Yan's expression abruptly changed as she glared over with a vicious look. Lin Xuan cried out inwardly. It was not that he had accidentally made a sound; a wild rabbit had happened to pass by, drawing Zhou Yan's attention in his direction.

Man proposes, Heaven disposes. He could only say that his luck was truly terrible!

Thoughts raced through Lin Xuan's mind, and his face darkened. Having just witnessed Zhou Yan murder her master, begging her for mercy or trying to talk his way out would be useless. Making a snap decision, Lin Xuan leaped up from his hiding place, flicked his right hand, and sent several points of cold light shooting toward Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan snorted and formed a hand seal. A red barrier appeared around her body. With several bangs, a few ice pellets fell to the ground.

After blocking the attack with a spiritual power shield, Zhou Yan revealed a cold smile and relaxed. From that attack, she had already deduced that her opponent's spiritual power was weak—merely at the early Spirit Movement Stage.

After attacking with water-attribute Ice Bullet Arts, Lin Xuan did not linger for even a moment. He turned and fled. The gap in strength between them was enormous; in a head-on clash, he had no chance of victory.

He cast the wind-attribute Light Body Technique on himself. In just a few seconds, he had run nearly a hundred meters. Moreover, Lin Xuan did not run in a straight line, since that would make him easy to catch. He made several turns, using his familiarity with the terrain to delay for as long as possible. Even if she could track him with divine sense, finding him would take considerable effort due to her unfamiliarity with the paths.

After running some distance, Lin Xuan suddenly stopped. Rather than continuing to flee, he surveyed his surroundings, then crouched down and began feeling around on the ground.

Without question, this was a strange and baffling action. Zhou Yan was about to catch up, yet Lin Xuan was wasting time here.

But he clearly had a purpose. After searching carefully for a moment, he muttered softly, "It's still here." The furrow in Lin Xuan's brow relaxed, replaced by a calm expression.

Footsteps reached his ears. Zhou Yan had already chased to nearby. Lin Xuan rose to his feet, his face full of panic... but this time, it was an act.

"Trying to run?" Zhou Yan's sweet voice drifted over, laced with viciousness and mockery. A glance at Lin Xuan's clothes told her he was indeed a disciple of their sect. But this junior brother's cultivation was far too weak—second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage. Once she saw through Lin Xuan's cultivation, Zhou Yan's expression immediately relaxed. Killing someone like him to silence him would take hardly any effort.

Seeing the contempt in her eyes, Lin Xuan felt joy rather than anger. If she looked down on him, she would let down her guard, and his plan would have a better chance of succeeding. Naturally, he did not reveal any of his feelings on the surface. He still looked deeply worried. "Senior Sister, d-don't kill me!"

His stammering plea, paired with his panicked expression, made Lin Xuan's performance absolutely flawless. Yet his feet quietly shifted two steps to the left.

"Hmph. You saw my secret and still want to live?"

Zhou Yan could truly be described as having a heart like a snake and scorpion. Since she could even murder her master for treasure, how could she possibly spare a fellow disciple she had never met before? With a flick of her left hand, she activated a Little Sword no more than an inch long. It swelled in the wind, becoming several zhang long in the blink of an eye. Wrapped in dazzling sword light, it flew toward Lin Xuan.

A Spirit Tool. Lin Xuan's expression immediately became incomparably solemn.

A Spirit Tool was, in essence, a simplified Dharma Treasure, intended for use by low-level cultivators. But one must never underestimate its power. Though it could not overturn rivers and seas, it still possessed immense Supernatural Power, able to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth with marvelous effects.

Once one cultivated Spirit Movement Stage techniques to the fourth layer, one could wield a Spirit Tool. But that was only in theory. The reason was simple: although Spirit Tools were far inferior to Dharma Treasures, they were still exceedingly precious. Generally speaking, only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could possess them. Newcomers at the Spirit Movement Stage could not possibly own a Spirit Tool, except for the rare few who inherited relics from their predecessors or were gifted one by their masters due to exceptional talent.

Zhou Yan struck ruthlessly. Though she had seen that Lin Xuan's cultivation was weak, she still used a killing move from the very start and brought out her Spirit Tool!