"Mystic Xin Kingdom Demon-Slaying Order, Class A General File, No. 3 of Year 3021." "Name: Lin Rouniang." "Title: Blood Lady." "Identity: Daughter of Lin Hongxia, elder of Blood Spirit Hall on Ten Thousand Spirits Mountain of the Ghost Soul Sect, and Xiao Lin, elder of Origin Spirit Hall." "Note: Her mother, Xiao Lin, is a descendant of the Blood Sea Demon Venerable, a mighty figure of the Yellow Springs Sect. Though Xiao Lin did not inherit his gifts, Lin Rouniang gained her Dao Body aptitude through this lineage." "Age: Nineteen." "Cultivation: Late-stage Qi Refining." "Root bone: Blood Soul Dao Body." "Innate divine ability: Heart-Sensing Gift, a form of Mind-to-Mind Communication." "Primary cultivation method: Blood God Great Method." "Treasures possessed: High-grade magical artifact Wind-Thunder Wings, high-grade magical artifact Blood Spirit Garment, high-grade magical artifact Jade-Cleaving Blade." "Note: Suspected of possessing an additional magic treasure superior to magical artifacts. Unconfirmed."
What lay before Li Ling was a collection of records compiled by the Unusual Events Bureau. It brought together intelligence that needed to be circulated to every branch and hall, warning all personnel to remain especially vigilant.
That made things convenient for Li Ling. He would not have to search everywhere.
According to the prisoners' testimony, this woman possesses the Blood Soul Dao Body. She can naturally control blood and vital energy and merge them into spirit souls, which is why she was granted the Blood God Great Method. She has already successfully condensed the Eight Great Blood Spirits, all refined through sacrifices of young girls' souls.
Aside from her Blood Soul Dao Body, she also possesses a mind-related gift resembling Mind-to-Mind Communication. This Heart-Sensing Gift must have been what detected my presence that day.
She traveled all the way to the Mystic Continent to perfect her method and refine a blood god. She is suspected of deliberately suppressing her cultivation and could advance to Foundation Establishment at any time.
Advance to Foundation Establishment at any time... She's only the same age as Qing Si!
Senior Brother Zhu once mentioned geniuses who achieve Foundation Establishment in a hundred days. Those born with a Dao Body seem to be a cut above even them, since a Dao Body itself is one of the requirements for Foundation Establishment. And with her extraordinary background, she lacks neither guidance from her parents and elders nor resources to enjoy...
Her future prospects are probably limitless.
Li Ling analyzed it carefully. Identity, status, aptitude, cultivation... In nearly every respect, this woman can look down on the entire Qi Refining realm. She may even possess lifesaving measures bestowed by Core Formation elders. Killing her would be no easy task.
If she has any weakness, it's that she's young and inexperienced. Her character and wisdom probably haven't had time to mature.
He began to understand why such a favored daughter of heaven had left her parents and homeland to appear in a place like this.
To be honest, the reason given by the prisoners did not hold water. Did a descendant of a mighty demonic cultivator really need to come here to practice her method and refine a blood god?
But if this place offered unique resources to consolidate her foundations, along with opportunities to gain experience, then it all made sense.
Even geniuses needed tempering. Without danger, they might not have sent her here at all.
That day, my elusive attacks must have frightened her into fleeing. But I couldn't catch her either, much less find an opening to kill her.
Besides, someone like her is bound to be looked after by other demonic experts. Her current hiding place might be the lair of the demonic cultivators lurking here, guarded by several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, or even Foundation Establishment experts!
For the sake of those Core Formation elders, how could they not protect her with their lives?
Troublesome.
No matter how he considered it, it was troublesome.
If the intelligence was accurate, this Lin Rouniang really was not someone he could handle.
But after careful consideration, Li Ling did not belittle himself either.
He had yet to reveal his true capabilities. In his opponent's eyes, he was likewise an incredibly mysterious, even terrifying, existence.
This was what they called fighting a wolf with a hemp stalk: both sides were afraid.
The difference was that his advantage in intelligence utterly overwhelmed hers, leaving the initiative firmly in his hands.
Moreover, aside from devil finger wood, he now had something else to investigate: the secret of the Great Lin River God.
These demonic cultivators' schemes seemed connected to that god, and their strongholds also concealed various supplies and cultivation methods. He was quite interested in picking up some benefits while slaying demons and monsters.
So, however troublesome it might be, he still intended to give it a try.
I'd better wait until the Unusual Events Bureau moves the day after tomorrow, then seize an opportunity during their large-scale encirclement operation!
The Unusual Events Bureau has repeatedly clashed with the demonic cultivators lately and already gathered several leads. They're going to muster troops and launch an all-out assault on a demonic stronghold to the east.
Although their main target isn't where Lin Rouniang is staying, they'll also feint attacks on several other places. That's bound to throw the demonic cultivators into turmoil and improve my chances of striking successfully.
Two days passed swiftly. Li Ling secretly monitored the Unusual Events Bureau's movements and scouted in the direction he had previously uncovered. Sure enough, he found something.
Using his gift for scent, he located Lin Rouniang again and confirmed that she was hiding on the outskirts of a small town called Black Snake Ridge.
To avoid rustling the grass and startling the snake, Li Ling did not rashly approach. Instead, he first transported his flying sword, along with some gunpowder and poison powder he had secretly acquired, to the area.
Although making several trips back and forth utterly disgraced his standing as a Night Wandering expert, these things could temporarily compensate for his insufficient divine sense power. His efforts probably would not be wasted.
On the night of the operation, inside a country gentleman's red-brick, white-tiled residence in Black Snake Ridge.
Lin Rouniang sat cross-legged, blood mist swirling around her and shrouding the entire room like clouds of smoke.
The blood mist flowed from the crown of her head. Several translucent figures could faintly be seen drifting within it like ghosts.
As her spiritual energy circulated, those translucent figures gradually revealed their true forms. They were women dressed in bright red bridal gowns.
Bridal veils concealed their faces, making their true features impossible to see. Yet blood seemed to flow over their entire bodies, leaving them dripping wet, as though they had just been hauled out of a pool of blood.
The walls and every object in the room seemed stained red beneath a layer of bloody light. Even Lin Rouniang's skin looked soaked in blood.
Suddenly, Lin Rouniang's expression shifted slightly, and she opened her eyes.
For some reason, she kept feeling as though something was watching her from the shadows.
"It's happening again..."
"What on earth is it?"
A trace of unease appeared on Lin Rouniang's delicate face. After a moment's thought, she circulated her power to transmit her voice, apparently speaking to someone at a distance. Soon, a silver-haired old woman leaning on a walking stick arrived outside the door with two maids.
The old woman told the maids to wait outside, then pushed open the door and entered alone.
Ignoring the swirling blood mist and drifting figures around her, the old woman looked only at Lin Rouniang. "Young miss, what are your instructions?"
Lin Rouniang hesitated, then said quietly, "Nanny, I still feel something is wrong."
The old woman asked, "What feels wrong?"
Lin Rouniang flushed slightly, her cheeks burning fiercely. Fortunately, the bloody light filling the room made it impossible to notice without looking closely. "I keep feeling... feeling as though someone is spying on me."
The old woman said, "With me guarding this place, ordinary people could never slip inside. And if it were an expert, they would have no reason to hold back. They would have struck long ago."
Lin Rouniang said, "That's what I find strange, too. You're a Foundation Establishment expert, Nanny. Anyone who could slip past your senses would have to be far too capable."
The old woman smiled at that, but said, "Young miss, don't forget that your Heart-Sensing Gift surpasses our spiritual perception. If someone truly could slip inside, you would detect them even if we could not."
"However..."
Her tone softened as she offered a word of advice. "As the saying goes, extremes turn into their opposites. It's also possible that this innate divine ability is so powerful that it detects even the malice of lingering souls in the unseen world."
"What happened in Jiu Mouth Town was certainly very strange, but it isn't entirely beyond explanation. An expert whose spiritual perception reached far beyond yours might have hidden in the shadows to ambush you, for instance. Or an unusual individual from the Unusual Events Bureau might have used some special ability."
Listening to the old woman's analysis, Lin Rouniang thought it made some sense, but she still felt that something was badly wrong.
The old woman continued, "I really shouldn't meddle. There are things you must understand yourself, young miss, if you are to gain experience."
"But at this point, I have no choice but to offer you a reminder."
Lin Rouniang nodded. "Please go ahead."
The old woman said, "The incident in Jiu Mouth Town was indeed rather strange. But think carefully: if your attacker truly were an unstoppable expert, why would they need to play ghostly tricks before dealing the killing blow?"
"Old You did die strangely, but according to your account, the attacker struck a vital point-his throat. Clearly, that was because the sword formed from gang and baleful intent could not pierce his enchanted robes."
Startled by her words, Lin Rouniang realized it too.
The person who had attacked them probably was not very powerful.
If they were, they would not have needed to go to so much trouble.
"Nanny, those unusual individuals in the Unusual Events Bureau you just mentioned-are their gifts really that powerful?"
The old woman said, "It isn't their gifts that are powerful, but the bloodlines of mighty cultivators. You should understand that better than anyone, young miss."
Lin Rouniang said, "All right. Perhaps I really am overthinking it."
The old woman said, "Still, caution is wise. Just half an hour ago, Fellow Daoist Hong of the Corpse Immortal Sect received an urgent report that the Unusual Events Bureau was launching a major assault on the Owl Mountain branch a hundred li away. Even the Foundation Establishment experts who should have been guarding the Royal City and the bureau's elite Firearms Battalion have been deployed. Things are quiet here for now, but we could come under attack at any moment. We must remain extremely vigilant."
Lin Rouniang asked in surprise, "Senior Hong went to reinforce them?"
Neither of the two women knew that Li Ling was hiding behind the house, eavesdropping on their conversation.
Has it already begun?
I didn't expect two Foundation Establishment cultivators to be hiding here, with one now off reinforcing the other side. Still, by my reckoning, the Unusual Events Bureau's probing attack here should begin soon.
Li Ling had secretly learned the Unusual Events Bureau's plan. He knew they would simultaneously attack several known demonic strongholds in the surrounding region that night, rustling the grass to startle the snakes, effectively tying down the enemy's fighting forces while searching for their true lair.
Leaving everything else aside, this old woman was a Foundation Establishment expert. Once her presence was exposed, they could immediately conclude that this was an important stronghold or that an important person was hiding here.
Perhaps experts from the Skycloud Sect would arrive within moments to slay demons and monsters.
After all, this was the immortal sect's home ground. These infiltrators alone could never hope to prevail.
Oh no, I'm getting excited again. Stay calm, stay calm...
The key to dealing with Lin Rouniang's gift isn't my aura or movements, but fluctuations in my mind.
I'm just a wooden man. I'm just a wooden man...
Intelligence was crucial. Taking the risk of feeling his way inside, Li Ling had actually succeeded in avoiding her senses and drawing close to her.
He felt as though he were playing a game of "one, two, three, wooden man" with Lin Rouniang. As long as he pretended to be a wooden man, thought of nothing, and kept his mind from fluctuating sharply, she would not detect him.
But he was not truly a wooden man, after all, so Lin Rouniang still sensed something faintly.
Suddenly, a disturbance came from outside. It sounded as though a demonic disciple had raised the alarm.
With several bangs, fireworks burst in the sky beyond the window.
"That's the Unusual Events Bureau's signal!"
The old woman's expression shifted slightly. She told Lin Rouniang, "Young miss, rest here for now. I'll go take a look."
Lin Rouniang nodded. Before long, she was alone in the room again.
No, Li Ling was there too!
Realizing that the fighting outside had begun, he knew his opportunity had arrived and simply entered the room.
But just then, Lin Rouniang suddenly did something unexpected: she lit an oil lamp on the table.
This was definitely no ordinary object!
Once the oil lamp was lit, an indescribably fierce radiance spilled from it.
To ordinary mortal eyes, the lamp was not particularly bright, merely lending a little extra light to the room's other lamps. But to the senses of a spirit body, it was as though a small sun had risen.
What is this thing?
Alarmed, Li Ling hurriedly retreated, instinctively raising a hand to shield his eyes, as though the light might blind him.
Is this... sunlight?
Only after a good while did Li Ling recover his wits. Still shaken, he looked at the room, which shone as brightly as daylight to his senses.
This was undoubtedly a treasure made from some spiritual material containing the power of the sun, specifically meant to counter lingering souls and even spirit bodies.
Although I consume incense to temper my soul, and my incense essence contains its own yang nature, I'll need time to accumulate enough to reach the Day Wandering Realm. Right now, I really can't wander by day.
This lamplight is far too dazzling...
It even burns if I stay exposed for too long!
Still, I should be able to endure it briefly. My soul already contains a fair amount of yang nature, which can effectively reduce the damage.
Li Ling felt that if he truly were some yin spirit or ghostly creature, he would probably already have been roasted dry. But the superior nature of a spirit body was far beyond anything this object could match.
Gritting his teeth, he simply endured the burning sensation and slowly approached.
Once he had adjusted a little, he steeled himself and suddenly lunged forward, sweeping up a large mass of air with his divine sense power and blowing the lamp out in one breath.
The fierce, blazing supernatural radiance filling the room instantly vanished without a trace.
Lin Rouniang was sitting beside the bed, pondering something. Detecting the disturbance, she jumped in fright. "Who's there?"
Naturally, her demand received no answer.
Lin Rouniang hesitated, then walked to the table and relit the oil lamp while secretly raising her guard.
But in the blink of an eye, a gust whooshed past, and the oil lamp was blown out again.
Lin Rouniang's face began to turn pale. "There's... there's a ghost in the room!"
At last, she could bear it no longer. She pushed open the door and ran outside.