Despicable
Mu Lin's smile froze for a moment, then relaxed. He realized that the man was referring to what had happened in the valley earlier.
He sent those five men to the front as cannon fodder while he stayed behind as Black Gold Rank miner, planning to turn on them and kill them after the giant bear died. These two things together were indeed not very honorable, but Mu Lin didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
The opportunities in the Nine-Layered Deathlands are all based on one's own abilities. Those few people were stupid enough to believe his empty promises, so they deserved to die.
As for killing to silence witnesses, that's even more normal. If he, Mu Lin, were in those people's positions, he would have died in vain.
"You just want to rob me, huh? Come on." Mu Lin didn't bother with any more words, and with his right hand, he reached to his waist and drew the Long Sword.
As the sword was drawn, it was enveloped in a layer of crimson spiritual light, a natural outflow of his Spiritual Power. He pointed the sword tip in Shen Fei's direction and said, "Why all the beating around the bush? The winner takes the fruit, the loser leaves their life behind. The rules of the Nine-Layered Deathlands are that simple."
Before he finished speaking, he had already rushed out.
Mu Lin was fast. He pushed off with his feet, his body sliding forward along the floor of the stone chamber, the tip of his sword pressed low, aiming straight for Shen Fei's waist and abdomen.
He didn't hold back much with this sword strike, pouring in seventy percent of his Legendary Rank 2-Star Spiritual Power. The crimson sword light drew a dazzling arc in the dim stone chamber.
As Shen Fei took off, he summoned Ink Cloud from his Soul Sea. He took the sword hilt in his hand, and held the dark blade horizontally to meet Mu Lin's sword strike head-on.
The two swords clashed, and a muffled thud echoed through the stone chamber.
The crimson Spiritual Power and the inky black sword light mingled together, and the shockwave spread outward from between the two, causing the rubble on the stone chamber floor to be lifted up and thrown in all directions, and causing the cave walls to crumble and fall.
Mu Lin and Shen Fei were both jolted back a step. Mu Lin took half a step back and regained his footing, while Shen Fei took a full step back, leaving a shallow mark on the stone slab with the sole of his shoe.
Mu Lin understood. The Black Gold Rank Five-Star opponent was indeed solid, tougher than he had expected. He had used seventy percent of his strength in that sword strike, yet the opponent had actually taken it head-on, only taking half a step back.
However, this was within his expectations. It was already quite good for a Black Gold Rank Five-Star cultivator to have achieved this much, but that was about it. He pressed his sword forward, preparing to change his move.
Before he could even push his sword out, he caught a glimpse of a bluish-white light coming from the side out of the corner of his eye.
Xiao Ning'er's Thunder Spear has arrived.
Her timing was perfect. Mu Lin and Shen Fei clashed head-on, and as Mu Lin leaned forward, her weight shifted onto her front foot, creating an opening on her side.
Xiao Ning'er stood behind the rock wall on the side of the cave entrance, a two-foot-long Thunder Spear materializing in her palm. The spear shaft was compressed from dense lightning, and the tip gleamed with a dazzling white light. With a flick of her wrist, the Thunder Spear flew out of her hand, heading straight for Mu Lin's face with a bluish-white tail.
Mu Lin tilted his head slightly. The Thunder Spear grazed his face, the lightning at the tip scorching his cheek, instantly leaving a charred mark on his skin. Blood seeped out, mingling with the burnt smell of the lightning, a pungent, acrid odor wafting into his nostrils.
The Thunder Spear spear struck the cave wall behind him, exploding into a burst of electricity, and a pile of rubble fell from the cave wall.
Mu Lin was annoyed. He hadn't taken these two people too seriously; one Black Gold Rank Five-Star, and the other Black Gold Rank 3-Star. In his eyes, they were just two slightly tougher insects.
But insect bites hurt too. Although the cut on his face wasn't deep, people don't hit someone in the face, and this really got him angry.
He took a step back, held the sword horizontally in front of him, raised his left hand, and the Demon Spirit in his Soul Sea surged within his body, his Spiritual Power flowing into his left arm along his Meridians.
His left arm began to change from shoulder to fingertips. A layer of dark red scales rose on the surface of his skin, one scale overlapping another, with the edges glowing with a crimson firelight. The changes spread all the way down his forearm to his palm. When his five fingers closed, his nails grew longer and sharper, like claws.
The Crimson Fire Snake, his Life-Bound Demon Spirit, Fire Attribute and excels at entangling and close-range strangulation.
After merging with a portion of the Demon Spirit's power, the hardness and grip strength of his left hand more than doubled, and the surface of his scales naturally possessed high temperatures, making it impossible to hold ordinary weapons if they touched them.
"Crimson Fire Snake." Shen Fei glanced at him and muttered a phrase.
He didn't give Mu Lin time to fully unleash his Demon Spirit power. Ink Cloud thrust the sword forward horizontally, the tip pressed low, slashing upwards, aiming for Mu Lin's left arm.
At the same time, he reached into his robes with his left hand, and a thick cloud of black mist condensed in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, the black mist flew out of his hand and enveloped Mu Lin's face.
Mu Lin sneered. The black mist looked frightening, but to put it bluntly, it was just Spiritual Power compressed and dispersed into a mist-like form, relying on its density and corrosiveness to harm people.
He was Legendary Rank 2-Star, with protective Spiritual Power covering his body, so this level of black mist couldn't break through his defenses at all. He slashed forward with his right Long Sword, and the crimson sword light cut the black mist in half from the middle. His left hand followed suit, reaching forward to grab Shen Fei's sword.
The moment his fingers touched the spine of Ink Cloud's sword, a sharp, stinging sensation shot through the scales.
Mu Lin's heart tightened. He glanced down and saw that Ink Cloud's blade had cut into the gap between the scales on his left index and middle fingers. The layer of Crimson Fire Snake scales that he was so proud of was no different from paper in front of Ink Cloud's blade. The cut was as smooth as cutting tofu. The flesh under the scales was turned up, and before the blood could even ooze out, the blade had already pushed in a little further.
Mu Lin's pupils contracted slightly. His Crimson Fire Snake Scale Armor had withstood the weapons of many cultivators of the same level. At most, Legendary Early Stage sword or saber would leave a white mark when it struck him, but this black sword cut through his scales as easily as cutting tofu.
Only one thought flashed through his mind: there's something strange about this sword. If he lets it continue cutting, he'll lose his left hand.
Without hesitation, he didn't have time to retract the sword in his right hand, but instead yanked his left arm back sharply, simultaneously unleashing all the Spiritual Power from his Dantian.
The Legendary Rank 2-Star's Soul Force exploded from his body, forming a shockwave that pushed outwards.
Shen Fei was pushed back two steps by the force, and Ink Cloud was almost knocked out of his hand. He had to grip the hilt tightly to keep himself steady.
Xiao Ning'er's spear, which was thrust at her from the front following behind the black mist, was also affected by the shockwave. The spear tip deflected by half a foot and grazed Mu Lin's shoulder.
Taking advantage of the jolt, Mu Lin retreated two zhang away, his back pressed against the back wall of the stone chamber.
He glanced down at his left hand. A two-inch-long gash had been cut between his index and middle fingers, exposing the flesh beneath and revealing the bone. Even the bone itself bore a shallow sword mark.
Blood trickled down his fingers, dripping onto the stone chamber floor and spreading into a small patch of dark red.
He quickly channeled his Spiritual Power to apply it to the wound, and the dark red spiritual light covered it, stopping the bleeding.
But the wound didn't heal so quickly. A tendon was cut, and the fingers of my left hand were a little unresponsive. When I made a fist, my middle and index fingers couldn't close together, leaving a gap.