Lin Does Not Bully the Young or Old

Lin Shu silently calculated the number of Evil Coins consumed.

From the entry-level Bright Moon Claw Technique to the sixth-grade perfected Ghost Moon Bone-Splitting Hand, the total consumption had only been eighteen Evil Coins.

Yet after that, merely raising it by one more grade had consumed thirteen coins.

The amount consumed now had already far exceeded the previous instance.

[Consumed twenty-one Evil Coins; Evil Immortal not yet formed; technique undergoing transformation]

[Qi Refining Grade 4. Ghost Moon Bone-Splitting Hand: Perfected]

Finally, two notifications leaped into Lin Shu's line of sight.

At the same time, his consciousness was violently dragged by an invisible giant hand into the Ghost Moon Lone Wolf Painting.

That full moon, so massive it inspired fear, was already dark and treacherous.

At this moment, black mist was actually spreading out from its edges, flowing down to the mountain peak and gradually wrapping around the lone wolf's body.

"..."

Before Lin Shu could even feel joy, he was startled to realize that this change had not yet stopped.

The Evil Coins in his palm were still vanishing rapidly.

On the notification, the name of the immortal technique began to distort.

"Wait."

Seeing this familiar scene, Lin Shu suddenly realized something, and his expression shifted slightly.

He did indeed want more powerful methods, but the Evil Coin consumption was simply too exaggerated.

Did Tian Jingyuan know his wretched life was worth that much?

A fifth-grade Ghost Moon Bone-Splitting Hand would easily consume nearly ten wisps of Lin Shu's spiritual power every time it was used in a fight.

Now that it had reached the fourth grade, it showed faint signs of transforming and breaking through toward the upper three grades.

If it really broke through, given his own meager spiritual power, it would be far too strenuous to use.

More importantly...

Lin Shu clutched his chest, his breathing labored, as he felt all the spiritual power in his body begin to riot.

Although he was somewhat curious about what this technique would evolve into.

The suppression effect of the Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art was already on the verge of failing.

Thinking of this, Lin Shu gripped the remaining twenty or so Evil Coins in his palm and stopped the feeding process immediately.

At the same time, the bedding in the corner of the bed trembled slightly.

A soft cry of someone waking up in a sudden panic sounded, followed immediately by a milky, fearful voice.

"You bandit, what kind of ghost thing are you doing!"

"Your killing intent is disrupting your mind; your spiritual energy will surge and rupture your meridians, and you'll die! I gave you my lifeblood, and you still want to get me killed!"

"Stop practicing—"

The cub, who looked like a Porcelain Doll, still had her eyes closed, but her delicate face twitched slightly, as if she were somewhat bewildered and at a loss.

Soon, a wave of warmth was transmitted into the young man's body along with the lifeblood.

"Hm?"

Lin Shu was stunned for a moment, though he didn't know why the cub had suddenly woken up.

But given the changes in his body and the meaning behind those words.

If something happened to him, it seemed the other party would lose her life as well, so she was trying to find a way to resolve this agitation?

If that was the case...

Lin Shu felt the agitation in his chest being rapidly suppressed by the warm current.

He pondered for a moment, tried tossing in one more Evil Coin, and didn't even bother to lift his eyelids: "I'm going to practice."

"I told you to stop practicing!"

The Sha Qi rising once again from the young man clearly startled the cub, her childish voice becoming increasingly tense and sharp.

Following her words, a warm current was immediately sent into Lin Shu's body.

"Just practicing."

"Don't practice!"

After repeating this a few times, Lin Shu finally calmed his mind and returned to the Ghost Moon Lone Wolf Painting.

The black mist flowing down from the full moon grew increasingly dense, to the point that it spread beyond the peak of the lone mountain.

They drifted and swayed, transforming into human shapes, wailing across the fields and emitting a thick, resentful aura.

Crack, crack!

Just then, a continuous, crisp sound began to ring out from within the black mist, inexplicably sending a chill down one's spine.

The next moment, sharp, stark-white finger bones suddenly drilled up from below.

Pairs of skeletal claws swayed upward, covering the entire mountaintop.

They pierced through the black mist, seemingly imbued with infinite rage, and ferociously tore the clamorous wandering souls on the ground to shreds!

[Consumed forty-seven Evil Coins, Evil Immortal not yet formed, technique has changed]

[Qi Refining Grade 4. White Bone Soul Burial]

The name of the immortal technique on the prompt had changed into something entirely new, and even the proficiency level had vanished.

Lin Shu's mind slowly withdrew from that image.

He looked up with a complex gaze, staring at those soul-stirring words, knowing full well the reason for this.

Because White Bone Soul Burial was a genuine top-three-grade cultivation technique.

It was just that the Evil Coins were insufficient, allowing it to only take a rudimentary shape, making it impossible to call it a complete immortal technique.

Thus, there was no proficiency to speak of.

Terrifying.

Recalling the image of those ghastly white bones in his mind, Lin Shu realized it had clearly transcended the scope of fists and palms, fitting more into what he understood as a "technique."

This was the kind of method a cultivator should use!

That man surnamed Tian was merely a cultivator who had just stepped into the middle stage of Qi Refining. If others knew that his life could be traded for half a top-three-grade immortal technique, that fatty wouldn't even be able to run down the street before being hacked into pieces.

"Hoo."

Lin Shu withdrew his gaze in satisfaction.

For him, this was already the best possible outcome.

Any stronger, and he might not have been able to use it due to insufficient spiritual power; it was positioned exactly at his limit.

The way these Evil Coins were spent—tsk, tsk—was truly masterful.

"So, why did you wake up?"

This sentence was not waiting for an answer, so Lin Shu did not look toward the corner of the bed, instead sinking his consciousness directly into the drop of essence blood within his body.

He used it to investigate the cub's condition.

After sensing carefully for a long time, he finally understood what was going on.

When the Immortal Scion was in deep slumber, she was similar to an egg.

She needed to accumulate enough energy to let her body grow to the point of breaking out of the shell.

The cub had not yet fully grown but had been forced awake, which was equivalent to breaking the shell prematurely; her physique was indeed much weaker than her peers.

But out was out; there was no such thing as going back.

Her falling asleep after exhausting her strength was completely different from her initial deep slumber; she was simply tired.

"You... you robber..."

The Porcelain Doll weakly pried her eyelids open. She had finally managed to save up a little bit of stock over the past two days, only for it to be eaten and wiped clean again.

If this continued, she would never grow up in her entire life!

"..."

Lin Shu savored the lingering warmth and had no intention of refuting her.

He actually didn't have the habit of bullying the old or the young.

Unfortunately, the cub was not old.

Since she could restore his spiritual energy, suppress his restlessness, and even provide quite a bit of information about the Immortal Sect now that she was awake, there was no need to drain the pond to catch the fish.

Thinking of this, Lin Shu casually picked up the cub and flicked her on the forehead.

He raised an eyebrow and said indifferently, "It was one thing for you to call me a robber before, but now that your essence blood is with me, what should you call me?"

"Huh?"

The cub widened her eyes in disbelief, her two little legs suddenly struggling.

She was indeed afraid of death, but had the other party never heard the principle that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated?!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

While she struggled, she received seven or eight more flicks to her forehead.

Her cries now carried a hint of sobbing.

"Call me Master Lin."

"Ma, Master!"

Two voices sounded at the same time.

Lin Shu frowned, looking at the humanoid creature in his hands with a slightly strange expression.

The cub's face also stiffened; so that was... that was what he meant?

"You're quite quick on the uptake."

Watching this Immortal Scion suddenly squeeze his eyes shut and start playing dead, Lin Shu tossed him back onto the bed.

Since the essence blood truly could restrain the other party, there was no need to go out of his way to intimidate him.

He stood up and looked out the window.

The first light of dawn appeared; another night had passed.

Was it time to go check on that Four Directions Street that belonged to him?