Medicine King's Secret Medicine

A cold gleam struck.

Lin Yuan did not turn around.

Just as the dagger was about to slash across the back of his neck, he shifted his footing and slid half a step sideways.

Swish-

The blade swept past his collar, severing several strands of black hair.

Her ambush missed, and the attacker used her momentum to flip through the air, landing lightly on a branch several meters away.

She was a slender woman dressed in black.

Her face was pale, her lips an unnatural dark purple, and her narrow eyes stared fixedly at Lin Yuan.

She held a pitch-black dagger.

Two yellow, two purple, one black.

Five Soul Rings slowly revolved around her.

A five-ring agility-attack Soul King.

The woman in black looked at Lin Yuan, a trace of surprise flashing through her eyes.

Her Martial Soul could conceal her presence. Combined with the wind, snow, and shadows of the trees, it made her difficult for even Soul Masters of the same rank to detect in advance.

Yet this boy had dodged her lethal strike with his back turned to her.

"Interesting."

The woman in black raised her dagger and ran the tip of her tongue along its edge.

The cold blade cut her tongue, and a trickle of blood ran down the corner of her mouth.

Yet she seemed unable to feel pain, and her smile only grew more sickly.

"Boy, you're just a puny Soul Ancestor. Who gave you the nerve to venture deep into the Far North alone?"

Lin Yuan did not answer.

The Imperial Bow had already appeared in his hand.

Four Soul Rings slowly rose: yellow, yellow, purple, purple.

The woman's gaze fell upon the Imperial Bow. Her nostrils fluttered slightly, as though she were sniffing some enticing scent.

A moment later, she drew a deep breath.

Her expression gradually turned greedy.

"So fragrant..."

"The Soul Power in you is simply irresistible."

Lin Yuan's gaze cooled slightly.

What she sensed was clearly not ordinary Soul Power.

It was the presence of The Hunt contained within the Imperial Bow.

The woman in black tightened her grip on her dagger, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"As long as I devour you, I'll be able to attempt a breakthrough to Soul Emperor."

"Then my standing in the organization will definitely rise even further."

"Perhaps..."

Fanaticism appeared in her eyes.

"I might even receive a reward from that great one!"

That great one?

Lin Yuan caught the unusual detail in her words.

Someone who could inspire such fanatical devotion in a Soul King clearly had no simple identity.

Moreover, although the woman's presence was sinister and bloody, an exceedingly obscure fluctuation of life mingled within it.

That presence was very faint.

For the moment, Lin Yuan could not determine its source.

"Kekekeke..."

The woman in black let out a piercing laugh.

The next instant, her third Soul Ring abruptly lit up beneath her feet.

Her body instantly merged into the shadow beneath her.

Her presence vanished with it.

The snowy forest fell silent again.

Only the cold wind swept past Lin Yuan, carrying fine snow.

The white smiling mask floated into the air, turning from side to side.

"She's gone."

"Guess which direction she'll come from?"

"The left?"

"The right?"

"Or will she crawl out from beneath your feet?"

Lin Yuan ignored it.

The surrounding tree shadows swayed gently.

The woman's voice drifted from different directions, now distant, now near.

"Boy, are you ready to meet your death?"

"I won't kill you right away."

"I'll drain your Soul Power little by little."

"Then devour your flesh and blood bit by bit."

Her voice suddenly appeared behind Lin Yuan.

The next instant, however, it shifted to his right.

"The power you give off is too enticing."

"I can't wait to find out what your flesh and blood taste like."

Sinister laughter echoed throughout the snowy forest.

It was as though she lurked in every direction.

An ordinary Soul Master facing this situation would inevitably have their judgment disrupted by the voices.

Yet the corners of Lin Yuan's mouth rose slightly.

Concealing your presence?

Meaningless before Hunting Sense.

His second Soul Ring lit up.

Second Soul Skill-Hunting Sense.

An invisible perception instantly spread outward.

Wind, snow, trees, and shadows could not block this power.

Lin Yuan's field of vision seemed to detach from his body, enveloping a vast stretch of the surrounding snowy forest.

The Soul Power fluctuations concealed in the shadows, the bloody presence, and that utterly undisguised killing intent all had nowhere to hide.

Ahead and to the left.

Twenty paces.

That figure was rapidly approaching through the shadows of the trees.

Lin Yuan did not turn around. He merely raised the Imperial Bow slowly.

The woman in black hid in the shadow cast by an ancient tree.

As she watched Lin Yuan's completely unguarded flank, a cruel smile appeared in her eyes.

Her fourth Soul Ring silently lit up.

A layer of dark red light appeared on the dagger's surface.

She only needed to move a few steps closer before she could launch a killing strike from the shadows.

Yet at that very moment, Lin Yuan suddenly turned.

His bowstring was already fully drawn.

The arrowhead aimed precisely at her hiding place.

The smile on the woman's face abruptly froze.

He can see me?

Impossible!

The thought had only just arisen when Lin Yuan released his fingers.

First Soul Skill-Star Chaser!

Whoosh!

A streak of cyan-blue arrowlight tore through the wind and snow.

The shadow where the woman hid was instantly pierced.

She cried out in alarm, her body forced out of the shadow. Before she could dodge, the arrow had already struck her shoulder.

Squelch!

The tremendous impact sent her flying backward.

Thud!

The arrow pierced her shoulder, pinning her firmly to the tree trunk behind her.

"Ah!"

The woman in black screamed.

She gripped her dagger tightly, struggling to cut through the arrow shaft.

But Lin Yuan had already drawn another three iron arrows from his quiver.

All three arrows were nocked at once.

"Wait!"

The woman's pupils abruptly constricted.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three dark streaks flashed through the snowy forest in succession.

The first arrow pierced the wrist of her dagger hand.

The second pierced her left shoulder.

The last shot through her thigh.

Four iron arrows pinned her hands and body firmly to the tree trunk.

Blood ran continuously down the bark.

The woman in black could no longer disappear into the shadows.

She could only raise her head and stare in terror at Lin Yuan as he approached step by step.

Carrying the Imperial Bow, Lin Yuan walked over slowly.

His boots made faint crunching sounds as they stepped through the accumulated snow.

The woman in black was pinned to the tree by four iron arrows. Every struggle sent tearing pain through her wounds.

Lin Yuan stopped before her.

"Now, can you take your time telling me about your organization?"

The woman stared fixedly at him, disbelief still on her face.

"Impossible..."

"You're just a puny Soul Ancestor. How could you possibly see through my Shadow Concealment?"

As she felt the cyan-blue power continuously invading her body through her wounds, her voice grew increasingly bewildered.

"And your Soul Power..."

"What on earth is this thing?"

Lin Yuan did not answer.

"Tell me about your organization, its bases, and where the abducted children are."

"Tell me the truth, and I can consider giving you a quick death."

The woman fell silent for a moment, then suddenly lowered her head.

The next instant, piercing laughter rang out.

"Kekeke..."

"A quick death?"

She abruptly raised her head, her pale face hideously twisted by madness.

"Boy, you don't think you've already won, do you?"

Lin Yuan raised his brows slightly.

"Oh?"

"What other tricks do you have?"

The woman did not answer.

Her pinned hand turned over with difficulty, and a pitch-black Soul Tool Ring flashed faintly.

A dark golden pill fell into her palm.

Blood-colored patterns covered the pill's surface, and it faintly emanated an eerie presence of life.

The Imperial Bow within Lin Yuan suddenly shuddered.

Abundance!

He was just about to act when the woman opened her mouth and swallowed the pill.

Gulp.

The pill entered her stomach.

Her body abruptly went rigid.

"Aaah-!"

A shrill, agonized scream rang through the snowy forest.

The wounds on the black-clad woman's body began writhing wildly. Torn flesh grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the iron arrows pinning her body were forcibly pushed out by the new flesh.

Then dark-brown branches pierced her skin one after another, growing from her shoulders, back, and arms.

Scarlet veins wound around the branches, which twisted constantly as though alive.

Her skin rapidly lost its color, and wood-grain patterns appeared across it.

Her eyes were covered by an eerie golden-red light.

In just a few breaths, her originally gaunt body swelled a size larger.

Beneath her shredded black clothes, flesh and branches grew in an interwoven mass, forming a suit of twisted, hideous armor.

A powerful surge of vitality erupted from within her.

The wounds left by the iron arrows had actually all healed.

Lin Yuan's gaze turned utterly cold.

He was all too familiar with this kind of uncontrolled growth and regeneration.

The black-clad woman slowly raised her head.

A crazed smile crept back onto her face.

She spread her arms, letting the branches spread wildly behind her, her voice brimming with fanaticism.

"The Medicine King is merciful; the sacred tree bestows life!"

"The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are of one heart; together we ascend to bliss!"

Boom!

The presence of a Six-Ring Soul Emperor erupted thunderously from within her.

Gale-force winds whipped up the accumulated snow.

Countless branches plunged into the surrounding trees and earth, frantically plundering their vitality.

The white smiling mask floated beside Lin Yuan and let out a burst of delighted laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"Things are getting interesting."

Lin Yuan raised the Imperial Bow.

The cyan-blue power of The Hunt slowly lit up along the bow.

He had finally found the true prey of this journey.