Chapter 370 - 350: Returning to Turn in the Mission
Chapter 370: Chapter 350: Returning to Turn in the Mission
The three arrived at the cave entrance and found over twenty marks on the walls left by the Antler Blade. There were a few more on the ground outside.
Zhao Lin and Wei Shi used an iron ruler and their fists to pound on each mark. It took them nearly two hours to take care of all of them.
"Brother Zhao, that should be all of them. Shall we head to Central Yin Mountain now?"
Wei Shi looked up at the nebulas, judged that it was morning, and made the suggestion.
Zhao Lin waved a hand. "You go on ahead. I’m going to wait another two days."
Wei Shi was taken aback. "Why?"
Instead of answering, Zhao Lin posed a question of his own. "Brother Wei, let me ask you something. Whether it’s the Sheng family or the sect, if they investigate Sheng Jinlong’s disappearance, how will they go about it?"
Wei Shi thought for a moment before answering, "They’ll investigate all the cultivators who were on missions inside the Yinfeng Realm at the same time as Sheng Jinlong."
Zhao Lin pressed, "That’s a lot of people. How would they investigate? Interrogate them one by one?"
Wei Shi pursed his lips, pondering for a moment before venturing, "Check to see if he had any enemies?"
Zhao Lin nodded. "Exactly. That’s the right line of thinking. Motive is key. Sheng Jinlong offended many people. If he ran into one of them in the minor world, a conflict would be likely."
"So, the first step of the investigation would be to create a shortlist of all the cultivators who had a grudge against him."
"Or, perhaps, they had no prior feud but became enemies during the mission—for example, if they discovered Yinfeng Grass or Star Peony Grass at the same time and got into a fight over it."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Second is strength. Sheng Jinlong was at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and his magical treasures and talismans were all top-grade. It would be very difficult for an ordinary cultivator to kill him."
"Therefore, the second criterion for their shortlist would be the cultivator’s Cultivation Realm."
Wei Shi’s face lit up. "Doesn’t that mean we’re safe?"
Zhao Lin shook his head gently. "Not necessarily. If the first two rounds of screening turn up nothing, the list of suspects will just get bigger."
"Don’t forget, on the Spiritual Vessel, Sheng Jinlong demanded we do manual labor for him, and we refused."
"When we got to Central Yin Mountain, he tried to use his Divine Seal Skill to put a mark on us and failed at that, too. Everyone else saw it happen."
Wei Shi frowned. "He was the one making trouble for us. We didn’t provoke him."
Zhao Lin smiled. "That doesn’t matter. We’re more suspicious than anyone else. What if we held a grudge and were just waiting for a chance to get revenge in the minor world?"
"However, we have one very strong argument that clears us of suspicion: our cultivation realms are low and our strength is weak. We couldn’t possibly be his match, much less kill him!"
"If I ran up to someone and told them I killed Sheng Jinlong, would they believe me?"
Wei Shi shook his head. "No."
"What if the two of us joined forces?"
"Well... they still wouldn’t believe it, but it would be a lot more plausible."
As he spoke, realization dawned on Wei Shi’s face. "Brother Zhao, if we leave separately and pretend we weren’t together the whole time, we can shake off the suspicion!"
Zhao Lin smiled. "That’s the idea. If anyone asks you about it, what will you say?"
Wei Shi replied without hesitation. "I’ll keep it simple: I don’t know, and I never saw him."
Zhao Lin nodded and shared a few more tips with Wei Shi on how to handle an interrogation. He concluded, "Cultivate diligently. Once we’re powerful enough, the Sheng family won’t be able to touch us, even if they learn the truth."
Wei Shi gave a solemn bow. "Brother Zhao, until we meet again."
After saying this, he glanced at Li Yuanyou.
Zhao Lin caught his meaning and smiled. "I’ll take care of Fellow Daoist Li. Younger Brother Wei, you just focus on getting out and completing the mission."
"I’m troubling you then, Brother Zhao..."
"Be careful on your way. Farewell."
Wei Shi got his bearings and started walking toward Central Yin Mountain.
Li Yuanyou had assumed both of them were leaving. He was pleasantly surprised that Zhao Lin stayed behind and was happy to have the company.
Back in the deepest part of the cave, Zhao Lin suddenly realized he had forgotten something.
The Spirit Cultivation Map had three ways of absorbing Magic: absorbing an Essence Soul, tracing a being’s former Magic from its skeleton, and capturing Magic at close range.
’I forgot all about this when I killed Sheng Jinlong. I even burned the body to ash. A Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator must have known a lot of Magic.’
’But on second thought, judging from the skills Sheng Jinlong displayed, he probably had Gold and Wood Spiritual Roots, which are of no use to me.’
’Oh well, I’ll remember next time. Besides, if he’d really mastered some grand-completion-level Magic, I wouldn’t have been able to kill him anyway.’
Zhao Lin quickly put the matter out of his mind. He swallowed a Three Yang Pill, took out some Spirit Stones to cultivate, and simultaneously reviewed his plan, checking for any oversights.
After thinking it through, he concluded there were no major issues.
’I burned the man to ashes. Once I get rid of his magical treasure and inner armor, it’ll be nearly impossible for the Sheng family to trace this back to me, no matter how capable they are.’
’But at the end of the day, strength is the only thing that truly matters.’
’If I reach the Purple Mansion Realm, the Sheng family won’t be able to touch me even if they know the truth. And if I reach the Golden Core Realm, they’ll be the ones who have to worry.’
’Looking back on this sect mission, it’s been one hell of a rollercoaster.’
’First, I ran into those bandit cultivators. Then, in the minor world, I encountered Yin Souls and Ghost Cultivators, followed by Sheng Jinlong, a cultivator at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.’
’If I had failed to overcome even one of those hurdles, I would have lost my life.’
’But on the other hand, the rewards have been incredible.’
’Catching those bandit cultivators earned me a reward of five hundred Spirit Stones and two hundred merit points, and I also confiscated a number of Spirit Stones, Spirit Rice, talismans, and medicinal pills.’
’Then, on my mission in the Yinfeng Realm, I gathered a large amount of Yinfeng Grass and Star Peony Grass, learned the Water Manipulation Skill, and obtained a piece of Wuyang Iron.’
’A bountiful harvest of both Spirit Stones and merit points!’
’It’s true what they say: fortune favors the bold.’
As Zhao Lin was sighing to himself with emotion, he suddenly felt a strange stirring within his body. His Spiritual Acupoints felt as if they were loosening. He immediately calmed his mind and began to circulate his energy.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a soft POP echoed from the Qimen acupoint on his torso—he had opened another Spiritual Acupoint!
’Wait... that works too?’