Catching Cannon Fodder (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The single word "kill" made everyone's hearts clench violently, their breathing catching in their throats.

But under the indifferent gazes of the two great Foundation Establishment cultivators, who would dare voice even the slightest objection? They did not even dare breathe too loudly.

"Move out." The burly male Foundation Establishment cultivator waved a hand casually, but his gaze was fixed far off on the mountain range shrouded in black mist, a barely perceptible heat and anticipation flashing through his eyes.

"Abandon the horses! Proceed on foot and enter the mountain at once!" a Qi Refining cultivator barked.

The eight hundred-plus people did not dare delay. One after another, they abandoned their Flame Horses and broke into a run toward the mountain range.

Dozens of cultivators piloted their artifacts at low altitude, following behind at an unhurried pace, sweeping cold eyes over the crowd like overseers.

Under the cultivators' icy stares, no one dared hesitate or shrink back. Gritting their teeth, they plunged headfirst into the vast black-misted mountain forest that radiated an ominous aura.

The moment he entered the range of Four Underworld Mountain, Lu Lin immediately raised his vigilance to the utmost, his sharp gaze sweeping in every direction.

The scenery in the mountains was exceedingly strange. Towering ancient trees and thick old vines were everywhere, but they were pitch-black from top to bottom, as if soaked in thick ink; even the leaves were an ill-boding inky black.

The soil beneath his feet was black enough to make one's heart tremble, and faint wisps of black mist seeped continuously from the cracks in the earth, curling around his legs.

After confirming there was no obvious danger nearby for the time being, Lu Lin slowly advanced, cautiously observing his surroundings while searching for Underworld Iron Cardamom.

The so-called Underworld Iron Cardamom was a unique product of Four Underworld Mountain: a black fruit only the size of a mung bean, yet as hard as iron. It was said to be usable as a supplementary ingredient for certain spirit pills.

Lu Lin's luck today seemed rather average. He had searched the mountain for nearly two hours, yet had not even seen the shadow of an Underworld Iron Cardamom.

Hm?

Just then, Lu Lin keenly sensed a burst of hurried footsteps coming from behind and to the side.

He glanced slightly over and saw more than a dozen figures rapidly approaching him. They quickly spread out, forming a loose encirclement that surrounded him in the middle.

Lu Lin stopped and calmly looked at the newcomers.

Within the Body Tempering Realm, he asked himself and found no one to fear.

"Brother, you're alone?" The leader, a burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist and a face full of beard, strode forward, squeezing out what looked like an amiable smile.

"That's right." Lu Lin nodded faintly, his gaze sweeping over the distinctive pitch-black battle armor on the man's body.

The Blood Baleful Demon Sect Martial Army's standard-issue "Black Demon Battle Armor."

That meant the other party was at least at the seventh level of Body Tempering.

And within the other party's group, there were four more wearing the same battle armor!

"How about acting together with us? There's strength in numbers, and we can look out for one another," the burly man continued with a smile.

Lu Lin sneered inwardly.

With so many experts, why would they need him, a menial martial artist, to move with them?

Were they truly so kind as to bring along a "burden"?

"No need. I'm used to traveling alone." Lu Lin shook his head and refused outright.

The smile on the burly man's face stiffened slightly. Before he could speak, an arrogant-looking young man behind him was already snapping, "Kid! Do you know who we are? The Nine Layers Gang! This is Lord Yu Chong, the previous-previous leader of our Nine Layers Gang!"

Nine Layers Gang?

Lu Lin's heart stirred.

He had heard of this gang. It was one of the top powers in the Black Iron Vein, occupying several Rich Ore Zones, with strength far surpassing the former Blood Wolf Gang and Black Tiger Gang. It was said to have been established for several decades.

Its previous leaders, without exception, were experts who had broken through the seventh level of Body Tempering. They had either been selected by immortal masters to become exclusive guards, or had joined the Martial Army.

The bearded burly man before him was one of them.

"We invited you to act with us because we think highly of you. If you keep hemming and hawing, those men will be your example!" the young man continued coldly, pointing toward several others in the group.

Those men were deathly pale, each with an arm twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken by someone's brutal force.

Lu Lin understood at once. These people from the Nine Layers Gang were plainly seizing people by force to serve as cannon fodder to scout the way.

Refuse? Then they would beat you until you agreed!

"I said I'm not interested. Move." Lu Lin's tone was still calm, but it now carried a hint of coldness.

The young man's face darkened completely. Blood and qi surged around him as he said in an icy voice, "You don't know how to appreciate the face we're giving you. We could have minded our own business, but you just had to ask for suffering! Then I'll break one of your arms first and see if that mouth of yours is still so hard!"

Before his words had even fallen, he had already attacked.

His right hand curled into claws, bringing with it a sharp gust of force as he grabbed fiercely at Lu Lin's left arm.

This claw was powerful and heavy, vicious to the extreme. It was clear he had already made up his mind to cripple one of Lu Lin's arms first.

One only had to look at the miserable state of those martial artists with broken arms to know how venomous this man was when he struck.

Lu Lin's gaze instantly turned as cold as ice.

I only wanted to keep a low profile and survive while building myself up...

Why did you have to provoke me?

Crack!

A crisp sound of bone splitting rang out abruptly!

Yet it was not Lu Lin's arm that broke.

In the split second before the young man's clawing wind struck him, Lu Lin moved after him but arrived first. His right hand formed fingers like a blade, slashing out like lightning and chopping down on the other man's wrist.

Unmatched, ferocious strength erupted, and the young man's wrist bones shattered with a crack!

"Ah—!" He let out a shrill scream like a pig being slaughtered, clutching his wrist as he staggered backward. In an instant, all color drained from his face, which was filled with pain and terror.

"You little beast! I'll kill you!" In the group, an elderly man in Black Demon Battle Armor, his hair already streaked with gray, roared in fury at the sight. His figure was like an enraged lion as he lunged fiercely at Lu Lin.

His broad palm surged with qi and blood, carrying a sharp palm wind as it slapped straight toward Lu Lin's face!

Its might far surpassed that young man's.

Eighth level of Body Tempering! Demonic Ape Palm at major accomplishment!

Lu Lin instantly judged the other man's strength.

"Endless..." At that moment, Lu Lin's gaze turned utterly cold. The vast qi and blood within him rumbled into motion, and he struck out with a palm as well.

The same Demonic Ape Palm!

Smack! Crack!

The dull thud of colliding palms and the sound of splitting bone exploded almost at the same time.

One of the old man's arms twisted and deformed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Pale, ghastly broken bone even pierced through flesh and the battle armor's bracer, sending blood spraying.

The smug, savage smile on his face instantly turned into pain and horror, and his body uncontrollably retreated violently.

Lu Lin stepped forward in rapid succession, following like a shadow. His second palm was already close behind.

This palm contained his tremendous strength of ten thousand jin, far beyond others of the same realm, like thunder with the weight of ten thousand bolts, and it stamped solidly onto the old man's chest.

Bang!

The old man's heavy body, weighing over two hundred jin, flew backward off the ground like a torn sack, smashing hard into the giant tree behind him!

Boom!

The towering ancient tree, so thick it would take several people to wrap their arms around it, was struck into violent trembling, and pitch-black leaves rustled down from the sky.

The old man slid limply down along the trunk to the ground, blood gushing wildly from his mouth without stopping. His eyes were filled with terror and despair.

With difficulty, he lowered his head and saw, to his shock, that on the sturdy Black Demon Battle Armor over his chest, a clear palm-shaped dent had been deeply imprinted. The terrifying palm force had long since passed through the armor and shattered his internal organs to pieces.

He struggled a few times, then his head tilted, and he lost all breath completely.

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Everyone from the Nine Layers Gang sucked in a cold breath at that moment, their faces filled with horror and fear. Involuntarily, they all retreated seven or eight steps in unison, putting distance between themselves and Lu Lin.

The young man whose wrist had been crippled earlier was even more frightened out of his wits. As he retreated again and again, he tripped over a vine on the ground and fell onto his backside, his whole body trembling like chaff in a sieve.

Even Yu Chong, the former former gang leader of the Nine Layers Gang and the one with the highest cultivation present, had his pupils suddenly contract. His expression became incomparably grave as he stared fixedly at Lu Lin.

They had kicked an iron plate!

He had joined the Martial Army more than twenty years ago and had carried out no fewer than ten sect missions, large and small. Each one had been a nine-deaths, one-life ordeal, and he had survived until now entirely by relying on caution and a bit of luck.

He knew all too well the danger of the Demonic Sect's missions, so whenever there was a mission, as long as he had the chance, he would rack his brains to find cannon fodder to clear the way ahead, using other people's lives to fill in the dangers. He had long since become used to it.

This mission had left him restless, and he had been even more determined to "stockpile" plenty of cannon fodder.

But never in ten thousand thoughts had he expected that, in trying to casually grab an ordinary menial worker, he would run into a terrifying beast.

Who exactly was this person?

Could he be the personal guard of some immortal master, hidden among them? To kill an eighth-level Body Tempering expert wearing Black Demon Battle Armor in just two moves—this strength was something even he himself might not be able to do.

Hadn't they said that experts at the tenth level of Body Tempering would not take part in this mission? Why was this man's strength so terrifying?

But if he simply let this man leave like this, what prestige would Yu Chong still have in front of the Nine Layers Gang?

"Friend... weren't your attacks a little too heavy?" Yu Chong secretly drew in a breath, forcefully suppressing the alarm in his heart as he spoke in a deep voice, trying to recover a little face.

"You want to die too?" Lu Lin's icy gaze swept over him as if he were looking at a dead man, his tone without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

His strength had been exposed. He was considering whether he should silence them all.

Otherwise, if his true strength was exposed, it would definitely draw the scrutiny of immortal cultivators. If it alarmed a great Foundation Establishment cultivator...

The consequences would be unimaginable.

"You..."

Swept by Lu Lin's gaze, Yu Chong immediately felt a chill rise through him and his pores tighten, instinctively sensing danger.

Just then...

Rumble!

A deep, muffled roar suddenly came from the earth.

The sound did not come from the distance, but from... beneath the ground.