The spiritual vein had been stolen, and the entire Jingyun Sect was thrown into turmoil, filled with cries of grief.
East Sun Hall.
Meng Tangtang emerged from seclusion. After learning what had happened, she wasted no time and hurried to the Library Pavilion.
She had to see her master!
Even the Grand Elder had been injured. The thief had to be incredibly powerful. The only thing they could do now was ask her master to step in!
Hopefully, she wasn't too late!
After fleeing, Elder Earth and Elder Jue immediately went into hiding.
"Hmph, those Jingyun Sect fools would never guess that instead of escaping the sect, we did the opposite and snuck deeper inside. This place is remote, so we'll stay here for the night. Tomorrow, once they fail to find us and let their guard down, we can take the opportunity to leave!"
Elder Earth gave himself a thumbs-up for his cleverness.
Elder Jue nodded in agreement.
"Third Brother, it looks like you really called it this time. I never thought that old hag Xu, on the brink of death, could unleash such terrifying power. We almost got ourselves killed! Good thing we ran fast!"
Now that they were safe, Elder Earth had plenty to say, but he got no response.
He turned and asked in confusion, "Fourth Elder, Fourth Elder, why are you shaking?"
Elder Earth's voice rang in his ears, but Elder Jue didn't seem to hear him. He only felt more and more agitated, like a small animal sensing an earthquake before it struck, certain that disaster could befall him at any moment.
"Third Brother, I sense danger!"
"Danger?"
Elder Earth was baffled. Had Old Lady Xu come after them?
He immediately grew a little more alert.
Knowing that Fourth Elder was timid, he didn't forget to reassure him. "Don't panic. We have a precious treasure with us. Even if that old hag Xu really finds us, we can still put up a fight. There's nothing to be afraid of! You're a dignified ninth-rank expert, so pull yourself together!"
"No, it's not Old Lady Xu!"
Elder Jue shook his head at once, certain the danger wasn't coming from her. Though Old Lady Xu was in the Innate Realm, she still couldn't make them feel this overwhelmingly threatened. "I sense a great terror descending. Don't you think it's too quiet here?"
It was a little quiet all around.
There wasn't a soul in sight.
There were hardly any buildings, either. The vast empty grounds held nothing but the dilapidated Library Pavilion in the distance.
If they hadn't known this was the Jingyun Sect, they might have thought they'd come to some remote, poverty-stricken backwater.
They looked around.
The only thing that stood out was that shabby-looking Library Pavilion.
"As expected of the Jingyun Sect, still so miserly. They can't even be bothered to repair their library. It's in ruins—what a joke!" Elder Earth hadn't noticed anything amiss, so he relaxed, thinking Fourth Elder was making a fuss over nothing.
"Oh?"
"I think so too!"
"Who could disagree?" Elder Earth had only just finished speaking when he sensed something was off.
When he first heard those words, Elder Earth thought nothing of them. But just a second later, his blood began to race, and his hair stood on end in fright!
He glanced at Fourth Elder.
Fourth Elder shook his head in terror.
Don't look at me—it wasn't me!
At that moment, the hairs on both their bodies suddenly stood on end.
Elder Earth even jumped, his scalp prickling. "Who's talking? Stop playing tricks and show yourself!"
"Heh. I also think the Jingyun Sect is a bit stingy. Your words made a lot of sense, so I thought I'd come say hello." A gentle, mellow voice rang out of thin air, so soft and warm it felt like a spring breeze.
"Who?!"
"Who's talking?"
Elder Earth and Elder Jue looked around. The voice seemed to come from every direction, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.
Had they run into a ghost?
"It's me."
Out of the corner of their eyes, they were horrified to see a white-robed youth standing before them, hands behind his back and a smile on his face. He had appeared without a sound, like a ghost.
"An ordinary person?"
"No, he must have cultivated some kind of spell to conceal his aura."
Elder Earth quickly reached a conclusion. He couldn't see through the youth's cultivation, which could only mean one of two things: either the youth's power far surpassed his own, which was obviously impossible, or he was just a Jingyun Sect disciple. He was very young, after all.
Even if he was a genius, sixth rank would be an overestimate, right?
If not, then seventh rank!
There was no way he could be stronger than Elder Earth.
That left only one explanation.
The youth wasn't very powerful. He had appeared to bluff them and scare them off, using some kind of sound spell to play tricks. And he still hadn't attacked!
That was it!
At the thought, Elder Earth's eyes lit up!
If the youth really were powerful, he would have attacked outright.
Why waste time talking?
His guess had to be right. The youth was definitely weak!
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The unease he'd felt vanished in an instant. He relaxed, and his gaze turned hostile as he looked at the youth.
He'd nearly scared the life out of him!
"Hmph, you've got no strength, yet you're playing the hero. I nearly fell for your bluff, but you didn't count on how resolute I am! I saw right through your little trick." Elder Earth suddenly sneered and lunged forward.
"Don't attack!"
Elder Jue, standing beside him, suddenly yelped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Elder Jue paid him no heed.
Stop?
As if!
After the way this brat had played tricks and scared him, Elder Earth was going to kill him if it was the last thing he did!
"Brat, remember in your next life not to provoke the strong!"
BOOM!
Elder Earth's pupils contracted. His full-powered palm strike hadn't even touched the youth's clothes. It was as though he'd struck an invisible wall, raising not the slightest ripple.
Cold sweat began to roll down Elder Earth's head in great drops.
He realized what this meant.
This time, he'd really kicked an iron plate.
He roared inwardly. Hadn't the Jingyun Sect fallen into decline? Its only Innate Realm expert was half dead. How could there still be such a terrifying figure guarding it?
Why hadn't anyone told him?
If he'd known, he never would have dared come looking for trouble with the Jingyun Sect!
Why hide such a powerful expert away? Wasn't that a waste of his talent? Were the people of the Jingyun Sect all fools?
Didn't they know that a powerful expert in the open was far more useful than one hidden in the shadows?
Elder Earth felt utterly aggrieved!
He couldn't even vent his anger!
It was over!
"Th-Th-Th-Third Brother, y-your f-feet..." Elder Jue's trembling voice came from behind him.
Elder Earth nearly cursed him out. How could he still make a sound at a time like this? Did he want to completely enrage this senior and get them both crushed with a single slap?
He had a feeling.
This person's strength far surpassed Old Lady Xu's. Even if the two of them used their precious treasure, they wouldn't last a single move!
"My feet? What about them?"
Though displeased, Elder Earth instinctively looked down at his own feet. There was nothing there.
He looked down at the white-robed youth's feet.
Still nothing. They were just...
Wait!
Nothing?
Elder Earth's soul nearly fled his body. He began shaking like a sieve as he finally realized that the young man in front of him had never touched the ground. He was standing in midair as casually as if on solid ground.
"F-F-F-Foundation Establishment... V-V-V-Venerable!"
Elder Earth stammered, too.
Walking through the air was a legendary ability possessed only by Foundation Establishment Venerables!
"Heaven means to destroy me!"
Cold sweat poured down Elder Earth's forehead, yet he remained frozen in the pose of his punch, not daring to move a muscle. It was as if his body had stopped obeying him. His eyes were tightly constricted.
Elder Jue was shaking so badly he couldn't speak, either.
After a long while, a hoarse, halting voice finally emerged. "Senior, we were blind to your greatness and offended your sect. We deeply regret it and are willing to pay any price to make amends. We beg you to spare our lives..."
Regret?
As if he expected anyone to believe that!
If they weren't outmatched, and their lives weren't in danger, where would this regret have come from?
Lin Cheng shook his head and slowly raised his hand.
"Run!"
Elder Earth was horrified and shouted for them to flee, not to fight!
There was no fighting back!
Who would dare risk their life against a Foundation Establishment Venerable?
Who could possibly fight one?
"Futile struggle. A mayfly shaking a tree."
Watching the two men desperately urge their spirit weapons to carry them away, Lin Cheng casually pointed. The two Blood-Oath Sect elders were horrified to discover that they could no longer sense the power of heaven and earth!
Their escape slowed at once!
"Die."
Lin Cheng spoke one more word. An invisible wave of divine sense swept over the two men like a gentle breeze. The light suddenly faded from the elders' eyes, and their lifeless bodies fell coldly to the ground.
One finger, one word.
Two ninth-rank experts had been executed!
Lin Cheng looked at the dead men, feeling nothing. The Blood-Oath Sect was guilty of heinous crimes. Dying so easily was letting them off lightly.
Ever since he'd broken through to Foundation Establishment, the divine abilities he'd obtained earlier had been enhanced. Now, with divine sense alone, he could kill anyone below the Innate Realm from a distance. Only those in the Innate Realm could resist.
Just then, a faint sound came from far away.
Lin Cheng sensed it at once, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"So the little one has arrived."
Before you continue