Book 14: Chapter 4: Tormenting the Mind
Book 14: Chapter 4: Tormenting the Mind
The old official like Sacred Expert jumped from the carriage.
The fine chains connected to his body completely separated from Hua Jiyue.
Streak after streak of black radiance shot out from the bow’s cracks, sweeping across this Great Mang Sacred Expert’s body. There was no scene of flesh and blood flying, only the silent sound of scattered ashes.
The clothing that was swept through by the black radiance turned to ashes.
His flesh turned to ashes.
The old civil official’s body was blasted full of holes in the air. Then, he was completely swept into an expanse of ashes by the black radiance.
The black radiance silently disappeared.
The clouds in the sky above were instead all blown away by this wave of powerful and majestic aura, allowing a streak of heavenly radiance clearly brighter than other places to scatter down.
Butterfly-like ashes fluttered about within these pillar-like streaks of radiance. The unequalled Big Black was breaking apart piece by piece.
A Sacred Expert turned to ashes.
The world’s most powerful soul weapon, the one with the richest history, was destroyed.
Every single instant of this scene was enough to leave a cultivator speechless.
However, Lin Xi’s expression was instead always calm.
…
Previously, when he remained quiet, he thought through some reasonings.
What he thought through wasn’t purely whether he should exchange or not, but rather that regardless of whether he exchanged or not, he was the loser.
If he exchanged it, then the academy would lose something that threatened Purgatory Mountain.
After Green Luan Academy changed greatly, Green Luan Academy was already at its weakest state. Before Vice Principal Xia departed from this world, if the academy had Big Black, then Purgatory Mountain’s six powerful Great Elders and their Patriarch might still be like back then during the battle of Meteor City, still not daring to step into Yunqin territory. These individuals with the highest positions in Purgatory Mountain, what they treasured the most was their own skin… they wouldn’t dare take even the smallest risk. However, if there was no more Big Black, those elders who were always surrounded within black flames, as well as that Purgatory Mountain Patriarch, might truly make an appearance in the world, entering Yunqin.
At that time, there might not be anyone who could stop their steps.
If they didn’t exchange it, didn’t destroy Big Black, personally watching Hua Jiyue die, then he wouldn’t be able to make it past his own feelings. It was because regardless of which one he gave up, in the future, he might give it up a second time, a third time… he would lose his own way.
But if he really didn’t exchange it, just letting Hua Jiyue die before him, then Wenren Cangyue would make many people feel like Lin Xi was also someone who acted for benefit and value, that he would let some people go.
That was why Wenren Cangyue’s actions this time might not be truly because he wanted to destroy Big Black, his true intention was instead to torment the mind.
Torment the minds of many Yunqin people, torment Lin Xi’s mind.
That was why in this type of situation where regardless of what choice he made, he would be the loser, so Lin Xi didn’t beat himself up any longer. He didn’t have to try and think whether he should exchange or not, if he should destroy or not. There was only one choice, which was to think of every way possible, to pay any price to kill this Great Mang Sacred Expert, let Hua Jiyue live and protect Big Black!
Only this way could he torment Wenren Cangyue’s mind.
Only this could be considered true victory.
This was the true reason why he remained extremely calm at this time!
His eyes always focused on those five chains that seemed to always be connected to the old official and Hua Jiyue’s body.
“Is there anything else? If there is something, then nod, if not, shake your head!”
Lin Xi knew that right now, the one who understood Hua Jiyue’s condition the best was Hua Jiyue herself. That was why he looked at Hua Jiyue under the city gate tower, directly speaking.
Hua Jiyue looked at Lin Xi with an extremely complicated expression, shaking her head.
“What exactly are those five chains?” Lin Xi didn’t stop at all, turning around to look at the dark red masked stern faced officer next to him. Even though he didn’t know what kind of background this stern faced high ranking officer had, judging from their previous interactions, he already discovered that this officer might very well be the one who was most familiar with Great Mang’s world of cultivation out of everyone in South Tomb Province.
“Death Linking Chains.”
The stern officer gave him a look and said, “A minor art from Thousand Devil Nest. Legend has it that Thousand Devil Nest’s earliest cultivators discovered a set of chains from a certain Thousand Devil Nest ancient cave. Through the research of the runes on these ancient chains, Thousand Devil Nest ultimately obtained three things. One is Puppet Needle, one Devil Chains, one is Death Linking Chains. Puppet Needle is something you have already seen previously when that Thousand Devil Nest cultivator assassinated Qi Qiyun[1], able to control another’s body like a puppet through stabbing a cultivator’s vertebrae nerves, moreover able to transfer the other party’s remaining soul force. Devil Chains was handed over during the exchange of some cultivation methods. The chains Wenren Cangyue and Zhantai Qiantang cultivate are precisely Devil Chains[2]. These two types of techniques are things only passed down by some important figures personally in Thousand Devil Nest. As for the Death Linking Chains, it is only a minor trick. When connected with another using these types of chains, if one is killed, then the instant the soul force within their body is used up, it would also kill the one the chains are restraining. This is, unless he removes the chains himself.”
After a slight pause, this stern officer gave Lin Xi a look, continuing, “The reason why this Great Mang Sacred Expert ultimately separated himself from Hua Jiyue, not dying with her, is probably out of reservations towards your previous words, apprehension towards your reminder to him that you are a Divine General, fearing that you have some strange intuition that will prevent him from completing his mission of destroying Big Black.”
“Then the only way is if he himself undoes the chains…” Lin Xi nodded, and then said this quietly to himself, repeating this.
The stern high ranking officer furrowed his brows slightly, not understanding the meaning behind Lin Xi’s words.
“Turns out when Big Black is destroyed, there would be this type of power, enough to kill a Sacred Expert?” Lin Xi then said this.
Gu Yunjing looked at Lin Xi strangely, feeling like Lin Xi might have suffered some problems to his mind after personally seeing Big Black, this type of legendary divine weapon destroyed. However, he still nodded, saying with a sigh, “Big Black is indeed this world’s most powerful divine weapon. The power released during its destruction is world splitting. Normal Sacred Experts cannot withstand it at all.”
“This world only has a single Big Black, which is why the scene of Big Black being destroyed is something no one has ever seen before. It was only this Sacred Expert who originally came with the resolution to die… but even if it was another Sacred Expert, if they tried to destroy Big Black at a different time, they might have to accompany Big Black to the grave too.” What made Gu Yunjing and the surrounding people feel even more strange, unable to help but feel worry, was that Lin Xi instead began to laugh at this time, saying, “Perhaps I must thank Wenren Cangyue. Without him, I wouldn’t even know that when Big Black is destroyed, there would be this type of scene.”
“There shouldn’t be any more things happening today, right?” Lin Xi didn’t care about their expressions, only thinking that there should still be enough time inwardly. Then, he gripped a porcelain bottle within his hands, quietly shouting ‘return’.
…
The old civil official like Great Mang Sacred Expert sat in the carriage.
Just like everyone other than Lin Xi, he didn’t know that many things already happened once.
The ends of the five chains penetrated Hua Jiyue’s body, while the other end stabbed into his back.
These chains, when penetrating the flesh, would naturally bring him pain as well.
Only, what made him feel even greater pain were the malignant tumors in his inner organs.
Just like many powerful cultivators, he also unavoidably experienced many battles and received many injuries. Previously, some serious injuries that penetrated his inner organs left many injuries that couldn’t be completely healed. More than ten years ago, his condition began to worsen, forming several malignant tumors that continuously devoured his vitality.
He was a Sacred Expert, able to clearly sense the growth and worsening of the malignant tumors… The pain of clearly seeing his own death approaching was far greater than his physical pain.
Meanwhile now, it was finally almost time for him to be set free.
That was why his mood was now instead extremely relaxed.
1. Shi Qian used the Thousand Devil Rune Thread technique to do so B13C63
2. Flame chains that are connected to their swords B10C48