owlsbooks Chapter 43, 1st Strike
Chapter 43, 1st Strike
Outside Wanbaolou.
Lin Changqing walked down the street without any attempt to conceal himself. His Foundation Establishment cultivation and wealth were indeed surprising, but still within the normal range.
Therefore, Lin Changqing made no attempt to conceal himself and instead walked openly through the southern market area, gradually moving out of the restricted flight zone.
After reaching the edge of the restricted flight area, to be on the safe side, he did not fly towards Xiaochangqing Peak, but instead flew directly towards the Taiyue Mountains and circled around outside.
Half a day later, as night was about to fall, Lin Changqing finally felt completely relieved, realizing that no one was following him.
However, as it was getting dark, for safety reasons, Lin Changqing did not continue on his way. Instead, he rested on a giant tree and planned to return to Xiaochangqing Peak the next day.
While resting in the tree, Lin Changqing did not lie down directly, but instead sat down to meditate as usual.
"Chirp! Chirp! Woof woof!"
Although the surroundings were noisy and there were many small noises, they could still sense Lin Changqing's presence and dared not go forward to disturb him.
In this way, through meditation and practice, one can unknowingly reach midnight, a time when the night is deep and quiet and few people are around.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a strange noise rang out, disturbing Lin Changqing.
Lin Changqing was startled, his eyes widened slightly, and he asked in confusion, "Is someone here so late?"
However, upon further reflection, Lin Changqing said with relief, "I am a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Since the people nearby did not avoid me, they must either have a lower cultivation level than me or be more foolish than me."
After a moment's analysis, Lin Changqing calmed down, his expression returning to calm, even revealing confidence, as if he had the upper hand.
After all, they are both at the Foundation Establishment stage. He might not be able to beat them, but why can't he beat the Qi Refining stage? A Foundation Establishment barrier can crush a Qi Refining stage cultivator. Unless the opponent has a talisman treasure to resist, they will only face certain death.
Even now, we still have the advantage of being in the dark while the enemy is in the open.
"Junior sister, the environment here is nice, and there's no one around. I think we should have a good chat here." A shrill yet somewhat familiar voice rang out.
Lin Changqing was speechless. What was there to talk about at midnight? If it were just a conversation, Lin Changqing wouldn't have much to say, but the following dialogue immediately stunned him.
"Junior sister, why look at me like that? I am a gentleman! Since you are going to die today anyway, let me take good care of you. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of such a beautiful face? Hahaha!" The man chuckled wickedly, so smug and carefree that he had no scruples whatsoever.
"Here, take a pill of aphrodisiac first, and your senior brother will grant your wish shortly." The man took out a pill and forcefully put it into the young woman's mouth, and began to prepare.
"Rip!" The sound of clothes tearing rang out, followed by the man's lewd laughter.
These lewd laughter and chatter instantly reminded Lin Changqing of the sinister young man from two years ago and the Chen family woman from Huangfeng Valley at that time.
The two participated in the Ascension Ceremony together, so they must have entered Huangfeng Valley together.
However, what reassured Lin Changqing was that two years ago, that sinister youth was not as strong as him. Relying on the reputation of the Chen family of Huangfeng Valley, he prevented Lin Changqing from making a move in public. Now, he has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, while the sinister youth has not yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and the gap in strength between the two has widened again.
Lin Changqing sat cross-legged on the giant tree, remaining still and making no sound. After some thought, he roughly understood the reason for the matter.
The Chen family girl was sixteen years old, and it's likely that she was tricked by this sinister young man with his sweet words and flattery. It's just unexpected that a woman from a family of cultivators would be deceived into coming to such a place.
It seems that either they are obsessed with romantic love, or they are naturally trusting and have been drugged to come here. What other reason could there be?
The Chen family women did not resist at the moment, they could only glare angrily, presumably they were being controlled and unable to move.
After a while, Lin Changqing, who was sitting in the tree, heard the sinister young man's voice again.
"Found it!" The sinister young man searched the Chen family woman's body and found a storage bag. He continued searching among a pile of items and finally found a small red wooden box.
"I knew my junior sister hadn't taken the Foundation Establishment Pill either!" The sinister young man finally saw the Foundation Establishment Pill he had been searching for in the box. It was a small, azure-blue pill that emitted a faint fragrance.
"Even I, with my unique spiritual root, haven't taken it. I suppose you, junior sister, weren't very confident either, and wanted to wait until you had mastered the technique before taking it! I never expected that it would end up benefiting me."
After saying this, the sinister young man put away the small wooden box and placed it in his storage bag.
Sealed by the Wind Binding Technique, Chen Qiaoqian's eyes were filled with grief and indignation, and she trembled with anger. In addition, after taking the Hehuan Pill, the resentment and intoxication on her face were mixed with a drunken expression. Her face was so red that it was hard not to have all sorts of wild thoughts.
Seeing Chen Qiaoqian's burning desire, the sinister young man said in a low, hypocritical voice, "Junior sister, don't blame me. Blame that willful Dong Xuan'er! She said that as long as I completely sever ties with you and start dual cultivation with her after I reach Foundation Establishment, she will have Grandmaster Hong Fu personally accept me as her disciple and teach me great supernatural powers."
"So I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, junior sister!"
Lying on the ground, Chen Shimei heard the other party's premeditated words and closed her eyes in anger, silently shedding a tear. She could only endure the humiliation and resign herself to fate.
The physical pain did not break her, but the betrayal of those around her was like a final, sharp knife that pierced her heart.
Even in the last vestige of clarity in Chen Qiaoqian's mind, she secretly vowed that if Heaven were to grant her a safe return home, she would never again believe any man's "nonsense" in her life.
Lin Changqing, who was sitting on the tree, remained motionless, but when he heard about the Foundation Establishment Pill, his heart stirred slightly.
"Oh! Foundation Establishment Pill?" Lin Changqing looked surprised. He didn't expect that the two Qi Refining cultivators below would have Foundation Establishment Pills. It seems that neither of them had taken the Foundation Establishment Pills from the Ascension Conference. They were probably being cautious because they were afraid of failing to establish their foundation.
Now that he had the Foundation Establishment Pill, Lin Changqing naturally wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.
"It seems that the hatred of the past can be put to rest today." Lin Changqing opened his eyes, his dark eyes revealing a sharp glint, and he made up his mind.
In the past, during the Tai Nan Small Gathering, this person had been at odds with him, even spouting nonsense and trying to intimidate him. Now, having committed such an inhuman act, he had no choice but to take away the Foundation Establishment Pill, a valuable item, and cut off this person's path to cultivation.
After speaking, Lin Changqing, who only wanted to win with one blow, decided to eliminate any future troubles and finish the battle quickly.
In an instant, Lin Changqing, who was sitting cross-legged on the tree, summoned a flying sword talisman, which transformed into a gray light and rushed down like a long gray python, descending from the sky with its mouth wide open, unstoppable.
The sinister young man, whose strength was below the Foundation Establishment stage, was completely unaware that a Foundation Establishment cultivator was hiding nearby. Naturally, he made no preparations and could only take the blow from Lin Changqing's flying sword talisman.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator's attack using a talisman from the shadows will result in the same outcome, whether the cultivator has a different spiritual root or a heavenly spiritual root: certain death.
The gray greatsword was dazzling and imposing, locking onto the sinister young man who was standing still.
In an instant, the sinister young man had no time to defend himself. He only subconsciously looked up and was instantly cleaved in two by the flying sword talisman, dying on the spot.
The wind binding technique on Chen Qiaoqian's body began to dissipate after the death of the sinister young man. The binding was removed, and even the last trace of clarity in her eyes completely disappeared. She was attacked by the fire, and could only make soft sounds from her throat, her movements seductive and intoxicating.
After completing the assassination, under the cover of night, a dark figure descended from the sky, raised his palm, and beckoned to the flying sword talisman. The flying sword returned to Lin Changqing's side, transforming into a talisman that floated lightly into his hand, though the patterns on it had dimmed slightly.
Seeing this, Lin Changqing knew that the flying sword talisman wouldn't be used many more times.
However, he wasn't heartbroken. After all, he had taken the treasure himself, and since it didn't contain much power to begin with, it was normal for it to be about to dissipate.
The talisman's effect was quite impressive. A cultivator with a unique spiritual root who was close to the Qi Refining stage was silently killed without making a sound, which perfectly matched the legend that it contained a trace of the power of a magic weapon.
After putting away the talisman, Lin Changqing naturally wouldn't let go of the Foundation Establishment Pill. He quickly picked up the sinister young man's storage bag and began to plunder it.
The storage bag contained quite a few items. After examining them, Lin Changqing discovered a wooden box and a blue bottle, both of which contained Foundation Establishment Pills.
Upon opening and inspecting, each contained a bright blue pill, its powerful spiritual energy no different from the Foundation Establishment Pills he had previously taken.
And so, Lin Changqing put the two Foundation Establishment Pills into his storage bag. As for the remaining items, Lin Changqing began to examine them, since there were hardly any people around.
Besides the Foundation Establishment Pill, Lin Changqing also discovered a large blue flag about ten feet long, with a hazy blue light on it, embroidered with a ferocious blue dragon baring its fangs and claws.
"A top-tier magic weapon? Not bad. As expected of cultivators from a major sect, they have spirit stones and cultivation resources."
He never imagined that a Qi Refining stage cultivator could be so wealthy, possessing a top-tier magic artifact that even Foundation Establishment stage cultivators could only own. He had originally thought that having a high-grade magic artifact was already rare, but he never expected it to be a complete top-tier magic artifact, which completely made up for the losses incurred from using talismanic treasures.
"Sizzle!"
After looting everything, Lin Changqing clenched his fist, and a fireball flew out, incinerating the sinister young man's body, turning it into ashes that completely merged with the black soil and disappeared without a trace.
Having done all this, Lin Changqing felt at peace. Having killed the sinister young man who had disturbed his meditation, he couldn't help but stretch his waist and relax.
Just then, he was embraced from behind by a woman covered in fragrant sweat, who kept stroking him, which immediately shocked Lin Changqing.
Feeling the heat behind him, Lin Changqing waved one hand away, turned around, and found a beautiful, delicate face pressed against him.
However, Lin Changqing reacted quickly and managed to evade the attack.
Just as Lin Changqing had guessed, this was Chen Qiaoqian, the female cultivator from the Chen family whom he had only met twice.
At this moment, the female cultivator from the Chen family had a flushed face and looked drunk, her blue eyes were glazed over and filled with lust.
Even though he had one hand on hers, Chen Qiaoqian's other hand was not well-behaved. She kept holding onto Lin Changqing tightly and occasionally made seductive sounds in his ear, bewitching him.
Looking at the beautiful Chen Qiaoqian in his arms, Lin Changqing couldn't help but think of Chen Ziyan, whom he had seen in Chen Family Valley.
Chen Ziyan was exceptionally beautiful, charming and captivating, no less so than Chen Qiaoqian, and perhaps even slightly more so. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.
Perhaps influenced by the environment at the time, the sense of brokenness that Chen Ziyan carried affected his judgment, so he couldn't help but think of Chen Qiaoqian when he saw her.
Looking at Chen Qiaoqian in front of him, or Chen Ziyan in his mind, Lin Changqing felt a strange feeling. This feeling quickly surged into his heart, even reaching the top of his head and impacting his mind.
An evil thought suddenly arose.