The Terrifying Temple, Part 1

Zhang Mu and the others by the carriage occasionally peered out.

"Congratulations, Lord Ling, on your great victory!"

As soon as Zhang Mu saw Ling Yun's figure, his eyes lit up, and he eagerly scurried over.

Xue Liu and the others followed behind, looking at him with fanatical adoration, as if they were gazing upon a god.

Revering the strong was an innate human instinct. Seeing those important figures they could only look up to in the past, easily crushed like chicks right before their eyes, they now saw the person before them as a connection straight to the heavens!

Ling Yun ignored them and casually flung the items he was carrying in front of them.

With a series of rolling sounds, several bloody heads tumbled to their feet. They were the heads of the Human Butcher, the Ghost Butcher, and Old Bloodrot.

Their severed heads were piled together, their eyes wide with terror and unwillingness, staring directly at the group as if silently recounting something.

Zhang Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed, asking with some confusion.

"Lord Ling, these are..."

Ling Yun glanced at him indifferently and casually pulled off a piece of the carriage curtain to wipe his palms.

"These fellows are all registered with the authorities. Take these heads and collect the bounties."

So that's how it is... Zhang Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His eyes then darted around, and he grinned, reaching behind his back to produce a Fish Gut Dagger and offering it obsequiously.

Ling Yun took the dagger and looked at it for a moment, recognizing it as the Spirit Artifact Old Bloodrot had used during their earlier fight.

After being knocked away by him, he didn't know from where this guy had picked it up.

However, now that he had Thousand Machines, he wasn't as interested in ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Tools anymore.

He tossed the dagger back, telling him to find an opportunity to dispose of it.

Watching Zhang Mu carefully put away the Fish Gut Dagger, Ling Yun looked up at the sky and said calmly.

"I will be going out for a few days. During this time, all matters, big and small, at the Ling Estate will be your responsibility."

"Continue gathering information on internal cultivation techniques. I hope to hear good news when I return next time."

Zhang Mu listened intently, engraving every word deeply in his mind.

When he looked up again, Ling Yun's figure had already vanished.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zhang Mu finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though he had been following Ling Yun for a while now, he still felt inexplicably nervous every time.

He then lowered his head to look at the heads piled before him and waved his hand dismissively with a hint of disgust.

"What are you three standing around for? Hurry up and find something to put these things in!"

Xue Liu and the other two finally snapped back to reality. They fumbled around to find a wooden box and began putting the heads into it one by one.

A moment later, with the crack of a whip, the carriage gradually drove off into the distance.

The entrance to the alley in the eastern district of Cloud City.

As the last ray of twilight was about to disappear into the horizon, Ling Yun's figure slowly emerged from the street corner.

"You're finally here, kid!"

As Qin Wei's somewhat displeased voice rang out, more than a dozen figures materialized before him, all wearing the distinctive dark black outer clothing.

Ling Yun smiled calmly and walked towards them.

"What's the rush? The timing is just right."

As he spoke, Ling Yun's gaze swept over the figures accompanying Qin Wei, and his brows furrowed slightly.

To be honest, he hadn't expected so many people to be involved in this mission before arriving.

Especially the two men and one woman standing beside Qin Wei, even he could faintly feel a sense of threat from them.

He wondered what kind of mission it was that warranted such a grand mobilization.

Judging by the situation, it looked like Qin Wei had gathered his entire team.

While he was observing them, the people opposite were also sizing him up.

Although they had been informed by their captain beforehand that a martial artist would be joining, seeing this young man, who looked no older than twenty, their expressions couldn't help but be a little strange.

After all, under normal circumstances, a martial artist's strength usually correlated with their age.

However, with Qin Wei present, they didn't dare to say much about it.

"Now can you finally tell me the specifics of the mission?"

Ling Yun withdrew his gaze and looked at Qin Wei indifferently.

"Of course, but time is of the essence. Let's talk as we walk."

Qin Wei grinned, glanced up at the sky, and waved for the people behind him to set off.

Watching him rush off, Ling Yun's eyes flickered, and he quickly followed.

And so, the group, bathed in the last rays of twilight, headed straight for the outskirts of the city.

Cloud City was located at the northernmost edge of the Great Radiance Dynasty's territory.

Although it was just an unremarkable border town, its defenses were quite robust. Not only did it have walls tens of meters high and several meters thick, but it was also guarded by heavily armed city guards.

Of course, how effective these defenses would be against Evil Spirits remained to be seen.

Outside the city walls lay vast expanses of rice paddies, which shimmered with a silvery-gray glow under the moonlight.

At this moment, in the whistling cold wind, over a dozen figures, like bats in the night, crossed the high city walls one after another, disappearing directly into the darkness of the wilderness.

Not only did the city guards on the walls refrain from raising an alarm, but they all displayed looks of envy and reverence.

An old soldier watched these dark figures and muttered to himself, "It's been so long since I've seen them act on such a large scale. The last time was the time before that!"

In this world ravaged by Evil Spirits, the wilderness, stripped of the city's protection, was undoubtedly a hunting paradise for all sorts of beasts.

As far as the eye could see, there was not the slightest sign of human habitation.

From time to time, sounds resembling wolf howls echoed from the surroundings, spreading far in the silent air.

And in this place, rarely trodden by anyone in normal times, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly broke the quiet.

Soon, bursts of firelight illuminated the darkness, completely shattering the tranquility of the area.

It was a group clad in black Xuan robes, holding torches, their faces stern. They were moving at full speed, without pause.

At the very front of the group were two imposing, tower-like figures.

In the torchlight, the faces of Ling Yun and Qin Wei were revealed.

At this moment, Ling Yun was listening to Qin Wei recount the details of the mission while curiously looking around.

Unlike the relatively safe official roads of his memory, this place was fraught with danger at every step.

With the harsh environment and ferocious beasts, ordinary people would likely not last even a day here.

Even now, around them, in the darkness beyond the reach of the torchlight, pairs of dark green eyes flashed intermittently.

The owners of these eyes were a species of gray wolf that inhabited the vicinity.

They were naturally fierce and had even attacked them not long ago.

Of course, the result was that the entire wolf pack had been more than half annihilated by them in one go.

Although the remaining wolves had scattered in fear, they still circled the group from a distance, watching them.

"So, that's roughly the situation. Do you have any other questions?"

After Qin Wei finished explaining the mission in one breath, he turned his head to look at Ling Yun beside him.

Ling Yun pondered for a moment, then shook his head, indicating he had no questions.

Qin Wei nodded slightly and then roared towards the people behind him.

"Pick up the pace! We must reach our destination within half an hour!"