Illusory Sound

Boom—

Just as Lin He was hit, Mu Shan had already used his finishing move. His fist was covered in a layer of fine green light, carrying a fierce punch wind. With imposing momentum, he suddenly blasted towards a Qi Refining fourth-layer Lin Family cultivator beside him.

The Lin Family cultivator never expected the demon hunter beside him to suddenly attack him. Caught completely off guard, he was sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood and already severely injured!

It was like a chain reaction.

The moment Mu Shan made his move, the other six demon hunters also attacked the Lin Family cultivators next to them almost simultaneously.

It turned out that these demon hunters had, at some unknown point, spaced themselves out, naturally positioning themselves right next to a Lin Family cultivator each.

These demon hunters were already considerably stronger than the Lin Family cultivators, and coupled with the surprise attack, in just an instant, most of the Lin Family cultivators had sustained significant injuries.

"Lin He has been captured by me. If you surrender, I can spare your lives!" Wu Xinyuan roared at the scene, patting his spirit beast pouch.

Buzz buzz buzz—

Accompanied by an annoying buzzing sound, a dense swarm of yellowish-brown Gu worms appeared beside Wu Xinyuan.

These Gu worms resembled hornets, covered in dense fuzz, with two pairs of jet-black wings, the forewings larger than the hindwings, and a figure-eight shaped waist. Most striking were their sharp mouthparts, which reflected a dark golden light under the illumination.

[Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu]!

Unlike the Green Vine Gu, the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu was an offensive Gu worm. Its sharp mouthparts were like silver needle spirit artifacts, capable of easily breaking through a cultivator's defensive techniques.

Hearing Wu Xinyuan's threat, the demon hunters paused their incantations and stopped attacking the Lin Family cultivators.

The Lin Family cultivators exchanged bewildered glances.

—The strongest among them, Lin He, had already fallen victim to the Green Vine Gu and was powerless to resist.

And these demon hunters were all quite powerful, with the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu being something no one present could withstand.

Perhaps surrendering was the best option?

Some began to waver.

"I surrender! I don't know anything. I have absolutely no connection to the Lin Family." As the cultivators on the scene remained silent, someone suddenly cried out for mercy.

It was Liu Ai, the demon hunter who, apart from Lu Qingshan, was the only one not affiliated with Wu Xinyuan.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, I just wanted to earn thirty First-grade Spirit Stones. Let me leave, and I'll immediately flee far away and never return to Yuanshan City. I will absolutely not reveal anything about what happened here." Liu Ai said with a fawning expression.

He wasn't foolish; he quickly made a promise never to return to Yuanshan City.

—Only by not being in Yuanshan City could he guarantee he wouldn't leak information to the Lin Family.

"Do you think by choosing to surrender, Wu Xinyuan will let you go?" The curtain of the carriage was suddenly pulled aside.

A woman's figure emerged, graceful and elegant, exuding an indescribable aura.

The woman was dressed in a sky-blue long dress, its slightly narrow hem just covering her two slender legs. Though her tall, curvaceous figure was concealed by the dress, her graceful sway still hinted at her alluring form.

Looking further up, her face was veiled by a light gauze, revealing only her clear, water-like eyes.

It was the daughter of the mysterious Lin Family Patriarch, Lin Yao.

The cultivators on the scene, including those from the Lin Family, were momentarily dazed.

It wasn't because of Lin Yao's beauty.

To be stunned and lost in thought merely by appearance was too exaggerated and absurd. In reality, no matter how beautiful a woman was, such preposterous things as causing people to be dazed and speechless wouldn't happen.

The reason the cultivators on the scene were momentarily stunned was Lin Yao's voice.

The voice clearly came from Lin Yao in the carriage, but it sounded ethereal and distant, as if coming from all directions, carrying a peculiar magical quality that made people unable to help but lose focus.

Even the constantly buzzing Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu fell silent for a moment due to the distraction.

But it was only for that brief instant. Wu Xinyuan quickly regained his senses, looking at Lin Yao with a wary expression. "What kind of technique is this? A sonic attack?"

"Wu Xinyuan, or should I call you Ma Yuan?" Lin Yao quietly looked at Wu Xinyuan and said.

"Ma Yuan specializes in Gu techniques, that's right. It must be you! You actually came back!" Hearing his young lady say this, Lin He finally remembered something and exclaimed in surprise.

Ma Yuan looked at Lin Yao's veiled face, his expression contorted. "I didn't expect you to know so much. That's right, it's me. I didn't expect I'd dare to show myself again."

"Back then, you violated Great Xia's prohibition and refined evil Gu, resulting in your expulsion from the Ma Family. You disappeared afterward, and everyone thought you had gone far away.

Who would have thought that all these years you actually didn't leave, but quietly changed your identity and settled in Yuanshan City, and have maintained contact with the Ma Family all along?" The ethereal voice emanated from Lin Yao's mouth.

Then, Lin Yao's watery eyes flickered as she looked at the surrounding cultivators: "Ma Yuan refined evil Gu and is not tolerated by Great Xia. To prevent his identity from being exposed, how could he possibly let us go easily?"

Ma Yuan's expression shifted continuously.

Indeed, he hadn't planned on letting these people go from the start.

The reason he urged them to surrender was merely to make the Lin Family cultivators give up their resistance and reduce his own losses.

The Lin Family cultivators weren't fools. After being enlightened by Lin Yao's words, they all took out their spirit artifacts, preparing for a desperate fight.

People have backbone. If there was a chance to survive by compromising, that would be one thing. But since death was inevitable, it made the Lin Family cultivators go all out.

—They would at least take a layer of his skin.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, I'll lend you a hand and take down all these Lin Family cultivators!" Liu Ai, who had been begging for mercy, finally made his choice after a moment of internal struggle.

The gap in strength between the two sides was obvious. Choosing to side with the Lin Family meant certain death.

If he chose to side with Ma Yuan, there would still be a sliver of a chance to survive.

— If he participated in the attack on the Lin Family cultivators, it would be akin to presenting a letter of allegiance, making him someone on the same pirate ship. Perhaps Ma Yuan would then spare him.

"Good, Fellow Daoist Liu is indeed a wise man!" Seeing this, Ma Yuan let out a wild laugh.

"Miss Lin, you have a silver tongue, but unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, all of that is a futile struggle!" Ma Yuan turned back and said triumphantly to Lin Yao.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Yuan had a thought, and the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu, nurtured by his vital blood, was under his command, charging towards the Lin Family cultivators on the field and Lin He, who was temporarily unable to mobilize his spiritual power.

Let's kill this old scoundrel first, to avoid any unforeseen complications.

It was at this very moment that red light erupted, and a fiery red snake appeared out of thin air, flicking its tongue of flame. With a flash, it shot towards Ma Yuan's Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

Piercing burning sounds erupted.

Although the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu was an aggressive Gu Worm and its outer shell possessed a certain defensive capability, the fire snake's attack power was truly astonishing.

The Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu, which Ma Yuan had meticulously raised and accumulated over many years, was instantly more than half roasted by the fire snake. Its body turned black, like a piece of charcoal, and it fell to the ground.

"How is this possible?!" Ma Yuan's pupils constricted, his expression filled with disbelief.