At His Door

Chen Lin's expression shifted as he stared at the Dark Red Pill in his hand.

Yu Yuehai had said he needed to take one every ten days to feed the Melanin Insect inside him. Apparently, the time had come.

Yu Yuehai had refined these pills using his own blood essence, and Chen Lin found them deeply repulsive.

After receiving them, he had taken one look and left them in his Storage Bag ever since, thinking that if the Melanin Insect's backlash was not too severe, he could grit his teeth and endure it without taking any.

Now, however, he had no choice.

At that thought, Chen Lin closed his eyes, stuffed the pill into his mouth, and swallowed.

It was pungent, with a bloody tang somewhat similar to the smell of a Blood Demon Pill.

The instant the pill reached his stomach, the pain in his abdomen stopped, and the discomfort throughout his body vanished with it.

It really was like planting a pole and seeing its shadow at once.

With a gloomy expression, he capped the bottle and put it away. No longer in the mood to practice spells, he turned to head back inside.

"Heh, so this is where you live-and you're a man, too. You certainly made me work to find you!"

An angry voice sounded from above, and a figure drifted down into the courtyard.

Chen Lin swiftly backed against the wall, his Flying Sword ready to activate at any moment.

Anyone who could descend from the sky had to be at least in the mid Qi Refinement realm.

But when he saw the newcomer's face, he froze briefly. He immediately recovered, putting on a puzzled expression. "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

The newcomer was none other than Lu Li, the Lu Lineage's third young master, who had commissioned the Soul-Detaining Talisman!

Chen Lin did not know how the man had found him, or whether he was merely bluffing, so he pretended not to recognize him.

At the same time, he inwardly wondered how this had happened. After leaving the inn where he had crafted the talisman, he had changed his disguise twice in succession and even abandoned a hideout he had prepared beforehand. Yet he had still been found.

Besides, so much time had passed. Why had the man come looking for him now? Did he want to take back the spirit stones he had paid as a reward?

Lu Li still wore the arrogant air of a pampered young master. He glanced at Chen Lin and chuckled. "It seems those fifty medium-grade spirit stones of mine were quite useful. They actually helped you break through to the mid Qi Refinement realm. All the better!"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand. You must have the wrong person, fellow Daoist. Four people live in this courtyard, but the other three are all out. If you're looking for them, you can come back tonight or tomorrow."

Chen Lin continued playing dumb.

Seeing that he stubbornly refused to admit it, Lu Li sneered. "Stop pretending. I left a mark on you. Never mind dressing as a woman-even if you turned into an animal, you couldn't get away!"

Then his aura changed, and he gave Chen Lin a sidelong look with a cold sneer. "Anyone I, Third Young Master Lu, want to find, I can drag out even if they crawl into a rat hole!"

Chen Lin remained silent.

He had previously thought the man was an upright gentleman who acted openly and honorably. He had never expected him to tamper with his body. If he had not been cautious, Lu Li would probably have come knocking long ago.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand."

No matter what, he would not admit it.

The man had most likely come to have him craft another Soul-Detaining Talisman. But all Chen Lin wanted now was to wait quietly until Yu Yuehai left, without any complications cropping up.

He was not afraid of being forced, either. With the talismans Yu Yuehai had given him, the man could not kill him instantly, and he could call for help at any time.

Besides, Ye Jingyun was very likely watching from the shadows.

Seeing Chen Lin's refusal to shed tears until he saw the coffin, Lu Li's gaze turned cold.

He was a direct descendant of the Lu Lineage, a cultivator in the Qi Condensation late stage. What rogue cultivator did not bow and scrape to please him? Yet this man dared ignore him. If he had not needed him, he would have cut him down with a single stroke.

Even so, he would have to put Chen Lin in his place, lest he refuse to obey.

At that thought, Lu Li slapped his Storage Bag, and a Black Little Sword appeared, hovering before him.

"You refuse the wine offered in respect and insist on drinking the wine of punishment. Then I'll grant your wish!"

The sight of that Flying Sword gave Chen Lin a fright, instantly reminding him of the scene at the inn when it had killed the Old Talisman Master in a single instant.

He immediately cast Vajra Cover on himself, then prepared to activate his Transmission Talisman.

But Lu Li did not strike immediately. Instead, he watched Chen Lin's actions like a cat toying with a mouse.

A mid Qi Refinement cultivator, and a rogue cultivator at that-even if he brought out everything he owned, he could never block a single strike from Lu Li's High-grade Flying Sword!

Once he had been thoroughly taught a lesson, he would naturally obey.

At that thought, Lu Li formed a Sword Formula hand seal and prepared to attack.

But a moment later, he darted aside and looked into the distance.

A streak of light shot toward them and landed in the courtyard in the blink of an eye.

"What an imposing display, Third Young Master Lu. With your status, don't you find it shameful to treat a mid Qi Refinement rogue cultivator like this?"

It was Ye Jingyun. She glanced at Chen Lin first, then addressed Lu Li with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Seeing her, Chen Lin put away his Transmission Talisman.

With Ye Jingyun here, he did not need to waste a talisman summoning Yu Yuehai.

"Pavilion Master Ye, why are you here? Do you know each other?"

Ye Jingyun had run Shuiyue Pavilion for several years and was fairly well known in Kaiyuan City. Naturally, Lu Li recognized her.

Still, he did not particularly care.

Although this woman from Shuiyue Pavilion had some connection to the Han Family, she was not actually one of them. And the present circumstances were unusual. Whatever relationship these two had, he had to take this fellow Chen away today.

Ye Jingyun was highly skilled at dealing with people. She saw through Lu Li's attitude at a glance and understood why he had come. She and Yu Yuehai had thoroughly investigated Chen Lin's previous crafting of the Soul-Detaining Talisman.

Unfortunately for him, before Yu Yuehai's advancement, she might have been wary of the Five Major Families. Now, however, his status was not enough to intimidate her.

After a moment's thought, she smiled faintly. "We do more than merely know each other. He is my Accepted Disciple. May I ask how he offended you, Young Master Lu? If he has been remiss in any way, I will apologize on his behalf as his master."

"Your Accepted Disciple?"

Lu Li opened his mouth, then let out a cold laugh.

"Do you really take me for an idiot, Pavilion Master Ye? Someone of your status would accept a cultivator in his forties as a disciple? Besides, doesn't Shuiyue Pavilion only accept female cultivators? Since when did you have male disciples?"

Ye Jingyun slowly walked over to Chen Lin, her smile unchanged. "That was before. Fellow Daoist Lu, you should understand the current situation better than I do. Traveling through the wilderness is arduous, and having male disciples makes things more convenient. Besides, my own cultivation is only at the Qi Refining Stage. Being able to accept a disciple like Fellow Daoist Chen, who is in the mid Qi Refinement realm, is already quite good. How could I be fussy about anything else?"

"You intend to take him along when you leave?"

This surprised Lu Li even more.

As a direct descendant of the Lu Lineage, he had initially been kept in the dark, but several months ago he had been informed of the situation. He knew this place had already fallen under a monstrosity's control, and the lineage's Ancestor was preparing to lead its core members away.

Although he could not sense anything unusual about himself or see the so-called red lines, he believed the Ancestor's words.

That was precisely why he had spared no expense commissioning the Soul-Detaining Talisman last time. He wanted to refine a mystic treasure to use during their escape.

Unfortunately, that mystic treasure had been damaged a few days ago, and he needed another Soul-Detaining Talisman to refine it anew.

He had sought out quite a few talisman masters, but none had managed to craft the Soul-Detaining Talisman. Only then had he thought of Chen Lin, and it had taken considerable trouble to find him.

Lu Li looked at Ye Jingyun and hesitated before saying coldly, "My apologies, Pavilion Master Ye. Whether he is your disciple or not, I must take him away today. But I don't intend to harm him. I merely want him to craft a talisman for me."

Just as I thought, Ye Jingyun mused. At the same time, she inwardly criticized Chen Lin for his lack of caution. Casually revealing such an ability outside-he truly had no idea how treacherous the Immortal Cultivation World was.

Someone like him would never survive three months in their Black Demon Sect.

What she did not know was how loudly Chen Lin would protest his innocence if he learned what she was thinking.