Lin Zhi Shan's head rolled to the ground, blood gushing from the neck of his headless body like a spring.
His eyes were wide open, staring toward the sky.
Until the moment of his death, he could not understand how he had been counter-killed by a mere ant-like medicine slave.
Su Hao put away the Soul Shaking Bell. This magical artifact could only be used once, and it had now become an ordinary object.
He had even wanted to activate another magical artifact, the "Soul Extinguishing Needle," just to ensure there would be no mishaps.
Now that he thought about it, Lin Zhi Shan had truly reached the end of his rope. He could have saved one magical artifact.
Su Hao glanced at the corpse and picked up the other damaged magical artifact, the "Tiger King Cone," from the ground.
This object's power was immense. It had broken through three low-grade magical artifacts in succession.
He had Liu Mei to thank for diverting the disaster eastward and having her and Lin Zhi Shan both suffer heavy losses.
Otherwise, if Su Hao had wanted to kill Lin Zhi Shan, his odds of victory would not have exceeded sixty percent.
The greatest troubles were, first, the cave dwelling's protective formation, and second, this Tiger King Cone.
And now, he had not even used the secret technique Extreme Intent True Art—he had gotten an enormous bargain!
"Discovered Talent Power: Wood Affinity (White)."
"Discovered Talent Power: Apothecary (Blue)."
"Discovered Talent Power: Hundred Profound Gang Body (Purple)."
When incomplete, Hundred Profound Gang Body had been a blue talent. Now that it was complete, it had become a purple talent.
Su Hao was extremely excited. With this, perhaps Hundred Profound Gang Body could evolve further!
"Absorb!"
Name: Su Hao Realm: Qi Refining Level 7 Talents: Hidden Kill (Purple), Hundred Profound Gang Body (Purple), Hundred Profound Gang Body (Purple), Apothecary (Blue), Fire Elemental Sword Physique (Blue), Sword Heart (Blue), Golden Spirit Body (White), Martial Artist (White), Initial Yang Qi (White), Water Spirit Body (White), Wood Affinity (White)
"Detected that the host possesses two identical talents: Hundred Profound Gang Body (Purple) ×2. They can be synthesized. After synthesis, Hundred Profound Gang Body (Purple) will evolve into Wood Emperor Physique (Orange)."
Hundred Profound Gang Body really could evolve further!
"Synthesize!"
"Consumed Hundred Profound Gang Body ×2. Generated new talent: Wood Emperor Physique (Orange)!"
Wood Emperor Physique (Orange): Top-tier wood-element talent. Immune to pill poison; possesses a special sensitivity to the spiritual energy of grasses and trees; top-tier wood-spiritual-energy affinity; spiritual power can transform into Wood Emperor Qi, nourishing spiritual plants and extracting and purifying medicinal pills.
"Wood Emperor Physique is the ultimate talent in the Hundred Profound Medicine Veins talent series and cannot evolve further.
Talents related to Hundred Profound Medicine Veins will automatically be converted into talent fragments of the corresponding quality. Talent fragments can evolve any talent of the corresponding quality."
The instant the new talent was generated,
Su Hao's sensitivity to the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth rose another level. Faintly, he could form a special connection with the grasses and trees around him.
His physique underwent a wondrous change. He suddenly felt refreshed and delighted, his pores opening as an indescribable comfort spread through him.
At this moment, unprecedented confidence filled his heart. The sensation of grasping Heaven and Earth left Su Hao utterly intoxicated.
Name: Su Hao Realm: Qi Refining Level 7 Talents: Wood Emperor Physique (Orange), Hidden Kill (Purple), Apothecary (Blue), Fire Elemental Sword Physique (Blue), Sword Heart (Blue), Martial Artist (White), Initial Yang Qi (White), Golden Spirit Body (White), Water Spirit Body (White), Wood Affinity (White)
At the same time, at the very center of the Golden Light Sect, a black giant pagoda floated in midair, surrounded by peaks and bound by a hundred thousand chains.
Bloodshed permeated the area around the giant pagoda, and mournful ghost wails echoed from time to time. Countless vengeful souls were trapped within.
The instant Su Hao's Wood Emperor Physique manifested, the Myriad Souls Pagoda shook violently. The many chains trembled along with it, producing spine-chilling clashing sounds, and several mountain peaks collapsed as a result.
The countless vengeful souls within the pagoda suddenly fell silent. Several seconds later, tens of thousands of dead souls erupted into a boiling frenzy.
The Myriad Souls Pagoda struggled violently, its densely packed chains connecting it to the earth stretching taut.
The rumbling continued for a long time.
Several breaths later, the Myriad Souls Pagoda fell silent again, as though nothing had ever happened.
The Golden Light Sect's many higher-ups hurried toward the Myriad Souls Pagoda.
At the head was a middle-aged man in a black robe trimmed with gold. Without hesitation, he ordered, "Immediately bring another thousand sacrifices! Calm the Myriad Souls Pagoda's disturbance."
After giving the order, the Sect Master furrowed his brows tightly. "The Myriad Souls Pagoda only swallowed dozens of exceptionally talented prodigies not long ago. Why did it suddenly run wild?"
"This is the Golden Light Sect's thousand-year effort. It is about to be successfully refined. We must eliminate every hidden danger. There absolutely cannot be any mishap!"
An old man rushed out of the pagoda, his face filled with wild joy. "It's a good thing—a heaven-shaking good thing! The Myriad Souls Pagoda has sensed a suitable Artifact Spirit! It must be within a thousand li of the Golden Light Sect. Sect Master, immediately send people to search!"
"Once we find the Artifact Spirit, we can suppress these sinister souls and make it their lord. At that time, even if the Myriad Souls Pagoda is only half-finished, it will be sufficient for use!"
The Sect Master and the other higher-ups were overjoyed upon hearing what the Great Elder said.
The thousand-year plan was on the verge of success!
"Third Elder, Fourth Elder, each of you will lead a thousand disciples. Expand the search area to five thousand li! Also, send people to investigate the records of teleportation formation usage in the nearby cities!
"It must be an outer-sect prodigy passing by who triggered the Myriad Souls Pagoda's reaction.
"Whether he belongs to the righteous path or the demonic path, once he is found, capture him alive at any cost!"
The entire Golden Light Sect mobilized, even the Outer Sect Disciples, all to search for this prodigy who could serve as the Myriad Souls Pagoda's Artifact Spirit!
Heavenly Medicine Mountain.
After mastering his new talent, Su Hao cleaned up every trace at the scene.
Then he carried Lin Zhi Shan's corpse into the cave dwelling.
He threw Lin Zhi Shan's corpse into the furnace beside the pill room, where raging flames blazed.
The furnace's effect was far more ferocious than any spell Su Hao could use. It was more than enough to burn the corpse into a pile of ashes.
He would scatter them all over the flower garden later. Su Hao refused to believe that any spell or wondrous object could still find traces of Lin Zhi Shan's existence!
"Lin Zhi Shan is dead, and not even his bones remain. But if the sect valued him and regarded him as an important figure, they might have kept his Life Token. Once the Life Token shattered, they would naturally know that Lin Zhi Shan had died."
"Escaping is impossible. Fleeing would make me easier to expose."
"Staying still is better than moving."
"I might as well continue pretending to be Lin Zhi Shan's disciple. After all, there is no evidence either way. Even Liu Mei of Joy Peak has already recognized me as his formal disciple."
"If the sect really sends people to investigate, at most it will be some Outer Sect elders or stewards. Many of them are only mediocre in strength. Foundation Establishment cultivators are unlikely to come personally."
"If something really happens, I'll push everything onto Liu Mei."
"Of course, if no one notices, that would be even better. I can simply replace the original with the fake and occupy all of Heavenly Medicine Mountain."
"In this crooked sect, everyone is selfish. Their execution efficiency can't be all that high. If those people still don't know about Lin Zhi Shan's death, then no one will covet this place for now. At the very least, I can enjoy two or three months of peace!"
Su Hao remained extremely calm.
He also had to thank Lin Zhi Shan for always being solitary and ruthless. Aside from Lin Miao, who had already been dead for a long time, there were no servants in the cave dwelling.
That saved Su Hao from getting too much blood on his hands.
A while ago, he had used his identity as Lin Zhi Shan's disciple to deceive quite a few people.
At present, the only unstable factor was the Life Token.
If the sect did not have a Life Token, then everything would be perfect. Aside from Liu Mei, no one else would know Lin Zhi Shan's circumstances, guaranteeing long-term peace.
If there was a Life Token, then he could gamble that those people would not waste time over a dead man. At worst, he simply would not be able to inherit some of Lin Zhi Shan's assets and would have to hand Heavenly Medicine Mountain over to someone else!
And Su Hao's greatest source of confidence was his talent now!
"Lin Zhi Shan's current status and position depended not on his cultivation, but on his attainments in alchemy. There are only a handful of alchemists in the Outer Sect, and everyone relies on him to refine pills."
"Whether Lin Zhi Shan is alive or dead is unimportant. Whoever can satisfy their needs can replace his position. Outsiders won't meddle."
"Everything depends on talent. Cultivation is like that, and alchemy is the same. With talent, everything naturally becomes smooth sailing!"
Su Hao thought to himself that with the two great talents of Wood Emperor Physique and Apothecary, his potential in alchemy would absolutely leave Lin Zhi Shan far behind!
His most urgent task was to take full control of Heavenly Medicine Mountain and quickly seize all of Lin Zhi Shan's assets!
That was why Su Hao was willing to take the risk of staying. Lin Zhi Shan's two or three decades of accumulated wealth had to be worth at least two or three thousand Spiritual Energy stones, right?
Just as Su Hao was about to explore Lin Zhi Shan's cave dwelling,
a wave of spiritual power suddenly came from outside.
Zhao Bai Jiang and several servants hurried into the courtyard, looking around. "Senior Brother Lin, are you all right?"
"Zhao Bai Jiang?!" Su Hao was lying low in the cave dwelling's loft. The moment he saw who had arrived, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
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