Illusory Sound

Boom—

Lin He had only just been struck when Mu Shan had already unleashed Segment Intent. A layer of fine green radiance shrouded his fist as it carried a fierce gust of wind, crashing with tremendous force toward a fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator of the Lin Family beside him.

How could the Lin Family cultivator have expected the demon hunters at his side to suddenly attack him? Caught utterly unprepared, he was blasted aside. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was already seriously injured!

It was like a chain reaction.

The instant Mu Shan made his move, the other six demon hunters almost simultaneously attacked the Lin Family cultivators beside them.

It turned out that, at some unknown point, these demon hunters had arranged themselves at intervals, each of them standing naturally right beside a Lin Family cultivator.

The demon hunters had originally been far stronger than the Lin Family cultivators, and with the added advantage of a surprise attack, most of the Lin Family cultivators suffered significant injuries in an instant.

"Lin He has already been captured by me! If you surrender, I can spare your lives!" Wu Xinyuan shouted at the crowd, slapping his spirit beast pouch.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Accompanied by an irritating droning, a dense swarm of yellowish-brown Gu Worms appeared beside Wu Xinyuan.

These Gu Worms resembled wasps, their bodies covered in thick fuzz. They had two pairs of jet-black wings, with the forewings larger than the hindwings, and waists shaped like the character eight. Most eye-catching of all were their sharp mouthparts, which reflected a dark golden gleam beneath the light.

Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu!

Unlike the Green Vine Gu, the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu were offensive Gu Worms. Their sharp mouthparts were like silver-needle Spirit Artifacts, capable of easily piercing through a cultivator's defensive spells.

Hearing Wu Xinyuan's threat, the demon hunters temporarily stopped their hand seals and did not continue attacking the Lin Family cultivators.

The Lin Family cultivators looked at one another.

—Lin He, the one with the highest cultivation, had already been afflicted by the Green Vine Gu and had no strength left to resist.

Meanwhile, every one of these demon hunters possessed considerable cultivation, and none present could withstand the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu.

Perhaps surrendering was the best choice?

Some people gradually began to waver.

"I surrender! I don't know anything! I have absolutely nothing to do with the Lin Family!" Just as the cultivators on the field fell silent, someone suddenly cried out in plea.

It was Liu Ai, the only demon hunter present other than Lu Qingshan who did not belong to Wu Xinyuan.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, I only wanted to earn thirty First-grade Spirit Stones. Let me leave, and I'll immediately flee to a faraway land. I won't set foot in Yuanshan City again, and I will never reveal what happened here." Liu Ai wore a fawning expression.

He was no fool. He swiftly made a promise that he would never return to Yuanshan City.

—Only by staying out of Yuanshan City could he ensure that he would not leak the secret to the Lin Family.

"Do you think Wu Xinyuan will spare you just because you choose to surrender without a fight?" The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted.

A woman's figure emerged from within, graceful and elegant, enveloped in an indescribable aura.

She wore a sky-blue long dress. Its narrow hem barely wrapped around her two slender legs, and though her graceful, curving figure was hidden beneath the gown, its exquisite contours could still be sensed as she swayed.

Higher up, a light veil covered her face, revealing only a pair of autumn eyes glistening with watery light.

It was Lin Yao, the mysterious daughter of the Lin Family's household head.

The cultivators present, including those of the Lin Family, all felt dazed and entranced.

It was not because of Lin Yao's beauty.

The claim that appearance alone could leave one stunned and lost in thought was too exaggerated and absurd. In reality, no matter how beautiful a woman was, how could she possibly make people so entranced that they could not speak?

The reason the cultivators stood frozen was Lin Yao's voice.

That voice had clearly come from Lin Yao atop the carriage, yet it sounded distant and ethereal, as though it came from all directions. It carried a strange magic that made people unable to help losing themselves in it.

Even the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu, which had been buzzing without pause, fell into a trance and went silent for a breath.

But it was only that brief instant. Wu Xinyuan quickly regained his senses and stared at Lin Yao warily. "What spell is this? A sound-wave attack?"

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

"Ma Yuan is skilled in Gu arts. That's right, it must be you! You actually came back!" Hearing his young mistress say this, Lin He finally recalled something and suddenly cried out.

Ma Yuan looked at Lin Yao's veiled face, his expression twisting savagely. "I didn't expect you to know so much. That's right, it's me. Didn't expect that I'd still dare to show myself, did you?"

"Back then, you violated Great Xia's prohibition and refined evil Gu. The Ma Family cast you out like a dog, and there had been no news of you since. Everyone thought you had already gone far away to another prefecture.

"Who could have imagined that all these years, you had not gone far at all? You had merely changed your identity in secret, remained in Yuanshan City, and continued keeping in contact with the Ma Family." Lin Yao's ethereal voice drifted forth.

Then Lin Yao's watery eyes flickered as she looked at the surrounding cultivators. "Ma Yuan refined evil Gu, something Great Xia cannot tolerate. To keep his identity from being exposed, how could he possibly let us go so easily?"

The expression on Ma Yuan's face kept changing.

Indeed, he had never intended to spare these people from the start.

His call for surrender had merely been to make the Lin Family cultivators abandon resistance and reduce his losses.

The Lin Family cultivators were not fools. Awakened by Lin Yao's words, they all brought out their Spirit Artifacts, preparing to fight to the death.

People all had blood in them. If there had been a chance to live on in disgrace, that would have been one thing. But since death was inevitable, the Lin Family cultivators instead threw all caution to the winds.

—No matter what, they had to peel a layer of skin off him.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, I will lend you a hand. I will surely help you capture every one of these Lin Family cultivators!" After a fierce struggle in his heart, Liu Ai, who had been begging for mercy moments ago, finally made his choice.

The disparity in strength between the two sides was obvious. Choosing the Lin Family's side meant certain death.

If he chose Ma Yuan's side, there was still a sliver of hope for survival.

—If he joined in killing the Lin Family cultivators, it would more or less count as presenting his pledge of allegiance. Once they were aboard the same pirate ship, perhaps Ma Yuan would spare him.

"Good! Fellow Daoist Liu truly is a smart man!" Ma Yuan laughed wildly at the sight.

"Miss Lin, you certainly have a silver tongue. Unfortunately, before absolute suppression by strength, all your efforts are nothing more than futile struggles!" Ma Yuan turned back and said smugly to Lin Yao.

As soon as he spoke, Ma Yuan's thoughts stirred. The Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu, nourished by his blood essence, surged under his command toward the Lin Family cultivators on the field, as well as Lin He, who was temporarily unable to mobilize his spiritual power.

Kill this old bastard first, lest the night grow long and dreams multiply.

At that very moment, crimson light erupted everywhere. A scarlet fire serpent appeared out of thin air, flicking its fiery tongue. With a flash of its body, it shot toward Ma Yuan's Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

A piercing sound of burning rang out.

Though the Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu were offensive Gu Worms and their shells possessed a certain degree of defense, the fire serpent's attack was simply too terrifying.

The Dark Sting Golden Bee Gu that Ma Yuan had painstakingly raised and accumulated over many years were roasted in an instant. More than half of them turned black all over and fell to the ground like chunks of charcoal.

"How is that possible?!" Ma Yuan's pupils contracted, his face filled with disbelief.