Chapter 776 – Sweep Through All
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The sudden change in events stunned all the martial artists present. Heavencraft Feng was embedded in the wall, vomiting out great mouthfuls of blood.
Heavencraft Feng had cultivated to the first stage of Life Destruction; and yet, he had still nearly died a miserable death in just a single exchange with Lin Ming.
Lin Ming's cultivation was merely at the late Revolving Core realm!
"Just where is this boy from?"
Old man Yan and the other second stage Life Destruction old man felt as if they had been backed into to the edge of a cliff. Those several young martial artists also looked like they had seen a ghost appear in front of them. Lin Ming appeared to be only 20 some years old; in fact, he might even be younger than them.
They were also juniors like him, so how could the disparity in their strength be so great?
"If he defeated a first stage Life Destruction martial artist that easily, then his strength must be at least the peak of the second stage of Life Destruction, or maybe even at the third stage of Life Destruction."
If Lin Ming's strength was only at the second stage of Life Destruction, then if they gave it their all, Ling Ming would still be an opponent that they could fight against. However, if he had the strength of a third stage Life Destruction martial artist, then it didn't matter, even if there were several more of them.
Lin Ming unconsciously exuded a formless killing intent from his body, which was known as the Death God force field.. As old man Yan and the other second stage Life Destruction Elder were enveloped in this killing intent, both of them felt extremely suppressed.
This made them that much more afraid to do anything.
Once they started a fight, then there would be no end to it. If they angered Lin Ming and provoked their own deaths, then that would truly be a miserable way to die.
Old man and the other middle-aged man looked at each other, both seeing the hesitation in the other's eyes.
Old man Yan hesitated for a moment and then stepped forwards. He said to Lin Ming, "Brat, this old man will fight with you. Victory and defeat will be decided in three moves!
Old man Yan's cultivation was at the second stage of Life Destruction. He couldn't see just what the limits of Lin Ming's strength were; he could only probe them through a fight. He would challenge him in advance to avoid shaming the both of them, and having the matter devolve further. At the very least, there shouldn't be a life-threatening situation. Old man Yan also put out a limit of three moves because he was also lacking in self confidence. He thought that even if he wasn't Lin Ming's match, if he used everything he had in these three moves, then he should still be able to defend himself.
Old man Yan didn't wait for Lin Ming's reply. He drew out a soft sword from his spatial ring and cut at Lin Ming's throat.
Lotus Heart Sword!"
Old man Yan thrust his sword out, an extremely pure and rich wood-attribute energy constantly emitting from it. Without a doubt, this old man Yan was a wood-attribute martial artist. He also had understanding towards the Concept of Wood that was just taking shape.
The sword light wove into a blue lotus in front of Lin Ming, several dozen blue lotus flower petals spinning around, cutting towards him.
Everyone stared with wide eyes, waiting to see just what the limits of Lin Ming's strength were. If his strength was similar to old man Yan's then they wouldn't need to care too much. They would only need another master or two to come in order to suppress Lin Ming. But, if Lin Ming's strength far surpassed old man Yan's, then there wasn't anything they could do.
"Too weak."
Lin Ming shook his head. After arriving at this level of cultivation, looking at the entire Sky Spill Continent, there was no longer a young genius anywhere that could stand on par with him. As for those masters of the older generation, none of them were able to make him take them seriously unless their cultivations were at least at the peak of the fourth stage of Life Destruction.
He gently traced his spatial ring and a long red spear leap into his hands. Without using any martial skill or even opening the Heretical God Force, all Lin Ming did was pour a wisp of his battle spirit into his long spear.
With that, a red light flashed out as a harsh grating sound surged forth.
Kacha!
The blue lotus that old man Yan formed was pierced through by Lin Ming's spear. The lotus completely cracked and the sharp lotus petals turned into scattered wood-attribute energy that faded away.
"This is bad!"
Old man Yan was horrified. He didn't think that after stepping up, his result would be the exact same as Heavencraft Feng's. He thought that against this enemy, he should still be able to protect himself within three moves. But now he hadn't even been able to block a single one!
"Young Hero, show mercy…!"
Old man Yan shouted out these words, but all he received was a cold sneer from Lin Ming. To ask for forgiveness at this time, this old man truly didn't care for face. Lin Ming was well aware that this old man Yan was probing him. If old man Yan fought Lin Ming to an even standstill, then the other people would have swarmed him, suppressing him through superior numbers. Now, however, this old man Yan had been absolutely defeated by him and all he thought about was begging for forgiveness.
Shameless.
Lin Ming had also heard Xiaoxiao's argument with this old man Yan. He knew that this old man was nothing but an ungrateful bastard. So, not only did he not forgive him, but his disgust and anger only increased by several points.
Lin Ming didn't take old man Yan's life, however. Instead, he deliberately manipulated his true essence to ravage the old man's meridians, directly tearing all his meridians to pieces!
Old man Yan gave a miserable scream as he flew back dozens of feet, finally crashing into a table and vase, smashing them into bits.
Old man Yan had countless wounds on his body, and nearly all of his meridians and bones were broken. He didn't even have the strength to move his limbs.
This sort of injury would be impossible to treat without top quality miracle medicines. And, even he did, his wounds would never recover to the same state they were before. Old man Yan wasn't young anymore and the fires of his life were already simmering low. Even if he used the best medicines available his strength would still drop one or two realms.
"You…." Old man didn't know just how miserable his current condition was. All he felt was anger and despair in his heart, and that him speaking this word was a result of the mental attack coming from such a heavy wound. Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
As the other martial artists of Heavencraft Trading Company saw this, all of them began to feel fear. Even a second stage Life Destruction martial artist was not Lin Ming's match!
Beside Lin Ming, Xiaoxiao was secretly pleased and overjoyed. While she didn't wish to kill other members of the Heavencraft Family, she also couldn't bear to see such a wolf that betrayed her father. She wished that all of those traitors martial arts would be wasted. Lin Ming's actions had vented out some of the anger in her heart.
At this time, the other middle-aged man had an extremely ugly expression. It was just a match of three moves and yet Lin Ming had been so heavy handed in his actions. At this time, he wouldn't do something so stupid as stir up any trouble with Lin Ming. As the weaker man, all he could do was endure this.
He depressed the angst in his heart and forcefully smiled, "Young Hero's strength is astounding. May I ask where you come from?"
The middle-aged man asked this because he wanted to investigate Lin Ming's status.
However, Lin Ming was disinclined to bother him to begin with. He certainly wouldn't reveal his origin in the South Horizon Region, and there was definitely no need to say anything at all. It would be easy to see through any sort of fabricated identity.
Seeing Lin Ming failing to respond, the middle-aged man didn't grow angry. Instead, he started speaking to Lin Ming with a true essence sound transmission.
As Heavencraft Xiaoxiao saw this event unfold, she felt her heart unconsciously tighten, and used a hand to tightly grab onto Lin Ming's arm. She didn't need to hear the conversation to guess just what was happening. Her great uncle must be asking why Lin Ming would bother helping her, and once the topic of dragonspine grass was to be brought about, her two great uncles might even be able beat her in obtaining the grass for Lin Ming.. They would be able to entice him with benefits that she couldn't match.
After all, Lin Ming was only someone that she had coincidently met. It was possible he might be tempted by their offer. Once she lost Lin Ming's backing, she would completely lose all status in the family.
Not interested."
Lin Ming suddenly said. The middle-aged man's expression stiffened. As for Heavencraft Xiaoxiao, she let out a long breath of relief as the part of the tension left her body.
That was a close call.
The middle-aged man didn't seem willing to accept this answer. He continued to speak, offering Lin Ming many other advantages. However, Lin Ming rejected him all the same.
"Young Hero, since that is the case, then I won't stay here wasting your time. Let's go." The various youths around him picked up the injured and left.
Go?
You think you can just come when you want to, and leave when you want to?
Lin Ming glanced at Heavencraft Xiaoxiao, who revealed a hesitant look in return. However, she still let them leave. Although Lin Ming could completely exterminate each and every one of them here, she simply couldn't handle the consequences. If she captured all of them, then she would still face pressure from her family, most likely leading her to free them under this pressure. That would be an embarrassing move that would make her lose face and supporters.
She was only in her early twenties, and had truly become an adult just several years ago. With her current foundation in the family, just how many people would be willing to support her?"
"Young Hero Lin, thank you." Xiaoxiao said with heartfelt admiration after everyone left. "Young Hero Lin, after this matter is settled, not only will I find dragonspine grass for you, I will also pay you 20,000 spirit essence stones in thanks. Additionally, if you have any other materials you need in the future, then please feel free to ask. I will try as hard as I can to find and sell them to you at the lowest price possible." Xiaoxiao increased her previous reward. She was afraid that Lin Ming would be won over by her great uncles.
As Lin Ming decided to step onto the road to being an alchemist, he naturally wouldn't reject such great conditions from Xiaoxiao. Instead, he was concerned about whether or not Xiaoxiao would be able to obtain the position of Family Head if this farce continued.
Lin Ming said, "You only had me drive them out and they didn't suffer any great loss. If this trend continues then you simply won't be destined to become the Family Head."
Xiaoxiao certainly knew this too. She said, "Young Hero Lin, my foundation is too shallow in the family, so it's impossible for me to obtain trust among my family members. However, just awhile ago, I received news that my father's good friend is headed here. He should be able to catch up to the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom in a dozen days or so. Once he arrives, I should be able to cement my status in the family. Then, once I can shore up the Heavencraft Trading Companies income, I'll definitely be able to win the support of the Council of Elders."
"Well, do what you want."
Lin Ming didn't have an opinion. Towards these power struggles in the family, there was no convincingly valuable advice that he could give.
...….
"Yan'er! Yan'er!"
Beside Xiaoxiao's older cousin, Heavencraft Yan, was an extremely distressed middle-aged woman bawling at his bedside. There were several highly skilled medical martial artists that had just assessed Heavencraft Yan's situation. His injuries were even heavier than old man Yan's were, and not only were all his meridians torn apart, but even his dantian had completely collapsed. Moreover, these wounds may have even harmed the ability for him to leave behind any future descendants.
To Heavencraft Feng and his wife, this was an immense attack.
"That brat is too ruthless!' Heavencraft Feng shouted in anger, "Let's go ask that Sir to help. As long as he does help, he should be able to easily annihilate that brat!"
Heavencraft Feng's injuries were the lightest of the three injured men. In the end, Lin Ming had showed mercy with the saber, only stabbing through Heavencraft Feng's right lung. To a Life Destruction martial artist, as long as the heart, meridians, dantian, and spiritual se sea weren't damaged, then all other injuries could be quickly healed.
There was a middle-aged man sitting In front of Heavencraft Feng. The middle-aged man sneered and said, "Look for that Sir? Why not look for his highness the Crown Prince? Although the Crown Prince wishes to subordinate our Heavencraft Trading Company under his control, that is still our good fortune."
"Compared to the Crown Prince's plans, however, our Heavencraft Trading Company is only a minor chess piece. Since he handed this matter to us, this is the best chance to prove our ability and worth to him. If we can't complete this task and have to go ask that Sir to help, then just what use are we?"
777
Chapter 777 – Bronze Battle Spirit Large Success
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The Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom's Crown Prince, Yang Yun, was the brightest star of the entire Divine Kingdom and the bastard son birthed by a lowly concubine in the Nine Furnace Divine Emperor's imperial harem. From the moment he was born, he was ignored by everyone. However, when he was 12 years old, he actually revealed an astonishing talent for martial arts.
He stepped into the Life Destruction realm at only 30 years of age. Now, ten more years had passed and it was unknown just what his cultivation was. His strength was said to be unfathomable.
In the four Divine Kingdoms, pedigree and background were secondary to strength. Thus, Yang Yun, though not too closely connected to the Royal Family, was actually able to stand out and become the Crown Prince by virtue of his own power. He held the military power and trade of the country in his palms, and his power and influence was horrifying. Even the three great Imperial Scholars were unable to disobey Yang Yun's wishes.
In these past years, Yang Yun had frequently created massive stirs in the country – he was obviously ambitious and had high aspirations. Yan Yun continually strengthened his control over all – not only did he want to completely grasp the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom's combat strength in his hands, he wanted the economy as well.
Heavencraft Trading Company was also one of Yang Yun's goals. However, even though Yang Yun had immeasurable power and influence, he still had no choice but to consider the public's opinion. He naturally couldn't recklessly plunder the privately owned property of his people. Thus, he supported Heavencraft Xiaoxiao's two great uncles, Heavencraft Xiao and Heavencraft Yun, and had them go ahead and take control of the Company Head position first.
They didn't know just what Yang Yun's final goal was, but what they did know was that following Yang Yun would lead to infinite glory. It was far better than following that little girl Heavencraft Xiaoxiao who was still wet behind the years, as there was simply no future in supporting her.
Heavencraft Xiao and Heavencraft Yun understood that to Yang Yun, the entire Heavencraft Trading Company was nothing but a tiny piece of meat, and wasn't worth paying too much attention to. They had to accomplish a few tasks first in order to earn Yang Yun's attention. If they couldn't even deal with a hairless late Revolving Core boy, then they might even be discarded by Yang Yun.
If Yang Yun really wanted to control the Heavencraft Trading Company, he didn't necessarily need to go through the two of them.
"Big brother, what do you plan on doing?" In a private chamber, Heavencraft Yun asked Heavencraft Xiao.
Heavencraft Xiao hesitated for a moment before his eyes flashed with a cold light. "I intend on asking the Corpsemancer for help. The Corpsemancer and I have had some dealings in the past, and if I can tempt him with some things that interest him, then he should be willing to help."
"The Corpsemancer ranked 330 in the Destiny Decree!?" Heavencraft Yun's head chilled, his complexion not looking too well. Although Heavencraft Xiao and Corpsemancer knew each other, he would prefer not to seek the help of such a strange fellow.
The Corpsemancer was a demonic path martial artist from the Asura Divine Kingdom. He had an extremely cruel disposition, and was known for being a dangerous devil that could kill without batting an eye.
Demonic path martial artists either walked the slaughter path or the sexual path. As for this Corpsemancer, he specifically trained in the ghosts and corpse puppets of the slaughter path. This is where his nickname had come from.
If it was just these few puppets, then it still wouldn't be enough for Heavencraft Yun to feel so creeped out. It was known that Corpsemancer could kill anyone at any time. Whether they were friend or foe, everyone had to watch their backs behind him.
Moreover, he often used bodies, and even even live people in his corpse puppet experiments.
Babies, children, young girls, pregnant women, the elderly, these were all the Corpsemancer's favorite subjects. He especially liked to flay the skin off beautiful virgins and use them to complete his puppets. After being experimented on, those subjects of his would experience a fate worse than death.
Towards such an abnormally strange freak, Heavencraft Yun didn't want to cross paths with him at all.
"If I had some other plan, then I wouldn't look for him at all. However, if I want to deal with that boy, it is much more reliable if I find some master ranked on the Destiny Decree." Heavencraft Xiao said.
There were only 360 individuals listed on the Destiny Decree, and although this sounded like a great number of people, it first had to be known that there were only 100 or so Divine Sea powerhouses in the entire Sky Spill Continent.
In contrast, there were far more Life Destruction powerhouses than Divine Sea powerhouses. A conservative estimate would be in the range of the several tens of thousands.
To choose 360 individuals from so many Life Destruction powerhouses, one had to have a reputation worthy of being at the very top. If one could be ranked on such a list then, they must be an unrivalled peer of their era, a master of masters.
In the four Divine Kingdoms, each Divine Kingdom only had several dozen Destiny Decree masters to themselves. The majority of them were in closed door cultivation in order to attempt breaking through to the Divine Sea realm. The Heavencraft Trading Company was only a fifth-grade power, and if they couldn't pay a high enough price, then there was no way they could every think about moving a Destiny Decree master to action.
Corpsemancer was ranked 330 on the Destiny Decree. However, for all those lower than rank 200, every 10 ranks were considered a separate level. So, it was more accurate to say that Corpsemancer's ranking was around 330-340. Although it sounded not that impressive, it was still a terrifying number.
Ho – !
A flame burned.
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In a remote mountain cave deep in the border of the Asura Divine Kingdom, a skinny, skeletal old man was playing with large, gooey brain matter.
Beside him, a naked young girl was nailed to a wooden rack with most of her skin stripped off as her eyeballs dangled outside of their sockets. She weakly groaned. Under the support of the Corpsemancer's medicine, she continuously hung onto life, unable to die.
At her side was a child. The child was soaked in an unknown liquid and his entire body was covered with green hair. His small hands had already become a pair of disgusting claws.
"They want to use a ghost spirit crystal as the price for dealing with a late Revolving Core boy? A little brat with such astonishing strength? Hehe, there is also Heavencraft Trading Company's little mistress? How interesting! Kekeke, if this little devil is as Heavencraft Xiao said, and has such a powerful combat strength at just the late Revolving Core realm, then he is actually excellent puppet material. As for that young, beautiful woman, she is also a good experimental subject. A new puppet wrapped in the skin of a beautiful woman is simply the best! Jejeje!" Corpsemancer darkly smiled. He took out a crow puppet from his spatial ring, jumped on it, and flew straight towards the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom.
The four Divine Kingdoms each covered an incomparably vast territory, and in the middle of them all was the Sea of Miracles. The Sea of Miracles was known for being impossible to traverse, and was known as the absolute life forbidden zone of the four Divine Kingdoms and had to be circled around. Thus, from the Asura Divine Kingdom to the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom, it still took over a dozen days, even with the help of transmission arrays.
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At this time, Lin Ming was living a very calm and peaceful life. Every day he would train and practice alchemy.
With the support of the Heavencraft Trading Company, Lin Ming was able to easily purchase massive amounts of alchemy materials and wood jade at extremely low prices. All of this was constantly consumed in the Cosmic Melting Furnace, with at least 90% of it becoming nothing more than burnt ash.
Lin Ming's alchemy technique wasn't poor at all. It was just that, every time he mastered a new level of alchemy technique, he would instantly proceed to challenge one with an even higher one. Thus, the results of Lin Ming's alchemy ended in failure, failure, and more failure.
Unconsciously, Lin Ming's spiritual sea was subtly influenced by his alchemy training. Waves began to appear in his originally calm spiritual sea, and underneath the crest of these waves shone a gloriously pale azure color.
The great waves smashed together, causing water to splash everywhere, and slowly infiltrating the spear shaped battle spirit in the skies of the spiritual sea.
This battle spirit was only as thick as a chopstick, was and less than a foot long. It seemed to be made from a dark greenish blue metal, as if it were forged from raw bronze. This was the symbol of a bronze level battle spirit.
It was only because Lin Ming's battle spirit had the attribute of endlessness that it continuously emanated a brilliant azure light.
At a certain moment, the battle spirit suddenly rumbled, issuing a clarion cry. Lin Ming's spiritual sea furiously roiled, forming rocky waves that shot into the sky, swirling and creating a vortex around the little spear.
In such a twisting vortex, the little spear violently shook, making sounds of excitement.
It slowly began to grow longer, thicker, and the brilliant azure light became increasingly dazzling. Its form became more solid, more primal.
Large success bronze level battle spirit!
Lin Ming suddenly opened both of his eyes. When a martial artist's battle spirit was first born, it would constantly grow with that martial artist's growth in cultivation.
Lin Ming had repeatedly made breakthroughs in his cultivation and will, and along with a few heavenly materials that were able to nourish battle spirits, it had been enough for his battle spirit to reach the peak of small success, where he had been stranded for a very long time.
Now, borrowing the practice of alchemy as his turning point, he had finally broken through the next threshold!
Practicing alchemy could temper the soul. Although a battle spirit belonged to one's martial arts will, it was inextricably twined with the soul. After all, will only existed because of the soul, and was why the battle spirit floated above the skies of the spiritual sea.
The soul was like a sea and a battle spirit was like a fish – a small sea could not raise a big fish.
This was the use of one's soul force. Although it couldn't immediately influence a martial artist's strength, it could actually decide a martial artist's current and future achievements to a large degree.
It was also because of this reason that Demonshine recommended Lin Ming focus on alchemy. At the same time, the closely related inscription technique also couldn't be ignored.
"Large success bronze level battle spirit. I've already surpassed most Divine Sea powerhouses in this aspect, causing my striking force to increase yet again. In addition to my increasing understanding into the Concept of Fire and the Concept of Space, I wonder just how powerful my stro strongest attack would be. How much stronger has it become?"
"Bury the Heavens, Chain of Stars, Chasing Sun, Chasing Thunder, Penetrating Rainbow, Thunderfire Annihilation. Those are my six self-created moves, of which some are just too singular in their use, and difficult to use too often. It would be good if I could create some newer ones."
Lin Ming thought out loud. However, what he didn't know was that, if the other extraordinary young elites of the Sky Spill Continent heard his verbal thoughts, they would probably have vomited blood in envy and frustration. After all, they were still studying the legacies left behind by their ancestors. There were many elites that could create a half a skill, but these abilities were often far too limited in their power, and weren't practical for fighting at all. Thus, they had no choice but to continue using the legacies left behind by their ancestors.
The moves that Lin Ming had self-created actually contained an extremely terrifying strength behind them, however, and could also be used as a final killing blow.
Of course, this was all related to the top quality cultivation methods and lucky chances that he had experienced so far in his life. If Lin Ming wanted to create more moves he would need to experience more lucky chances. These weren't something he could simply imagine up out of thin air.
....
"What? Not only do you want two ghost spirit crystals, but you also want to take away Heavencraft Xiaoxiao?" Heavencraft Yun was furious as he heard Corpsemancer's conditions. Two ghost spirit crystals was reasonable enough, and he intended to give Corpsemancer some bargaining room. Taking away Heavencraft Xiaoxiao, however…
Everyone knew that the young girls taken away by Corpsemancer all died horrifying and miserable deaths.
Although Heavencraft Yun was not a good man, he still didn't want to push his niece into the very depths of the eighteen layers of hell, as it would be hard for him to find peace of mind. In the future, this would even form a heart demon that would destroy his heart of martial arts.
"What? You don't agree?" Corpsemancer's dark, ghostly green eyes stared into Heavencraft Yun. At that time, Heavencraft Yun felt his breath catch in his throat and a chill crawl up his spine, as if he had just been thrust into an icy lake. He didn't doubt that Corpsemancer would immediately kill him in the next second if he didn't comply.
"Third Brother, don't speak." Heavencraft Xiao moved Heavencraft Yun behind him.
"But!"
"Don't speak. There is no longer any path left for us to return!"
Chapter 778 – First Battle of the Destiny Decree
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Although Heavencraft Xiao couldn't bear to thrust Xiaoxiao into the fiery pit of doom, he was well aware of just what it meant to stand in the Crown Prince's good grace.
The Crown Prince was very ambitious. It was even possible that he would become the most powerful Divine Emperor in the history of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. If he could follow the Crown Prince then he would be able to step onto a larger stage and achieve a greater ideal.
"I'm sorry Xiaoxiao, but a great man must be ruthless. For my descendants, for the future glory of the Heavencraft Trading Company, I can only make you the small sacrifice to achieve the greater good."
When Corpsemancer saw Heavencraft Xiao nod in agreement, he strangely cackled and said, "A wise man can recognize the situation!"
As he said these words he jumped onto his crow puppet and flew away in a cloud of dust.
Heavencraft Yun was left behind. His face was pallid and his lips trembled. In the end, he merely sighed, not saying anything at all.
...…
"Little Jade, bring me a basin of water so I can wash my face." Heavencraft Xiaoxiao ordered a maid.
"Yes, young lady." A young girl in an aquamarine dress ran to fetch a basin of water and a white towel.
"Little Jade, my eyelids have been jumping all day. I fear that something bad will occur today."
"Young lady, everything is fine. Don't you have Sir Lin?" Little Jade chuckled, giving Xiaoxiao a humorous side eye. Xiaoxiao was at the age where she understood matters of love and also knew of the relations between men and women. She was at a similar age with Lin Ming who was strong, talented, handsome, and brave. It would be easy for any girl to fall for him and imagine a life with him.
However, Xiaoxiao simply didn't have the energy or time to consider these things. All she felt was that she was tired. Very, very tired…
"Little Jade… go and deliver more spirit essence stones to Sir Lin. Also, make sure that Sir Lin's three meals are all prepared with the best spirit food materials. Don't –"
As Xiaoxiao spoke to here she suddenly heard a massive explosive sound originating from the front hall as if a thunderbolt had struck the earth. Her complexion immediately changed as she shot up.
"Young lady! Bad news! There's a battle happening outside!"
A maid ran over in panic. Xiaoxiao rushed into the front hall and her apricot eyes suddenly shot wide open. In the front hall, a servant was stabbed through the throat with a bone lance. He lay face up on the ground, his eyes staring wide like a dead fish; he hadn't died in peace.
Beside the dead servant was a skinny, skeletal old man who wore a cruel and sadistic expression. His face was full of pins as if he had been stitched from pieces of human skin. His dark ghostly green eyes were like a rabid wolf, and his entire body emitted a hostile, terrifying energy. Just by approaching him one would feel the fire of one's life rapidly fading away, as if they would extinguish at any given moment.
"Who are you!?"
Xiaoxiao felt a chill crawl down her spine. Her cultivation was only at the Xiantian realm and she wasn't able to see through this skeletal man's cultivation in the slightest. But she had a premonition that this man was a terrifying existence; he was absolutely not some unknown nobody.
"Jejeje, this old man's nickname is Corpsemancer. And you are that little girl Heavencraft Xiaoxiao… not bad, not bad." Corpsemancer stretched out a scarlet tongue while his ghostly green eyes were observing Xiaoxiao. Then, he said words that made Xiaoxiao's heart nearly freeze in her chest, "Using your skin to make a corpse puppet, that will certainly be beautiful indeed."
Corpsemancer!" Xiaoxiao's face whitened to the point where there wasn't even a touch of red left. Corpsemancer was a character on the Destiny Decree. He was a notorious and infamous individual who had murdered countless innocents. Moreover, his methods of killing were inhumane and grotesque. She didn't doubt that Corpsemancer would do exactly as he said. If she fell into his hands then that would be a fate a hundred times worse than death. He was simply the devil incarnate.
Sky Spill Continent's Destiny Decree had a total of 360 individuals ranked upon it. Among there, as long as one was at the sixth stage of Life Destruction then they would be ranked no matter how poor their foundation was. Even if their foundation was bad and they didn't have too many years remaining they would still rank in the top 200.
As for those at the fifth stage of Life Destruction, most of them were arranged below the top 200.
It was extremely difficult for a fourth stage Life Destruction martial artist to be ranked. The exceptions were if there was something special about their cultivation method or if their talent was unbelievable.
And for Corpsemancer, his cultivation method was exceedingly special. What he cultivated were the corpse puppet techniques and Yin Corpse Laws of the demonic path; he was an incomparably abnormal existence that gave everyone headaches.
Xiaoxiao was the successor of the Heavencraft Trading Company so she naturally knew every single master on the Destiny Decree as well as a great deal of information about them. This was because those individuals were possible customers of the Heavencraft Trading Company.
As she recalled the information of Corpsemancer, she felt as if she had fallen into icy despair. She never imagined that her two uncles would invite a Destiny Decree martial artist.
There is also someone called Lin Lanjian. Boy, be a good little child and come out to quietly become my experiment subject." Corpsemancer poured true essence into his voice. His words penetrated through every inch of the Heavencraft Pavilion."Corpsemancer, are you looking for me?" Without knowing when, Lin Ming had appeared in a corner of the hall as if he had been standing there all this time. Only Corpsemancer realized that Lin Ming had used some incomparably exquisite movement ability to instantly arrive."Hehe, good movement technique, there's a little bit of meaning to you. You're so young and yet so strong. You'll become absolutely great puppet material. This old man really does appreciate you. Thus, I´ll give you a chance to commit suicide so I can take your body. Otherwise, if you fall into my hands, then you won't even have a chance to beg for death."When Corpsemancer chased down martial artists, many of them chose to commit suicide when they lost all hope of escaping any further. Otherwise, if they fell into his hands then they would have to linger at the border of life for several months, staring helplessly as their own skin, eyes, hands, feet, and everything else was slowly cut and stripped off.This sort of pain and despair could be imagined.Lin Ming quietly took out his red long spear. Although this guy in front of him was arrogant, that was because he had the qualifications to be arrogant. He was far more powerful than Xuan Wuji!Lin Ming had no choice but to go all out in this battle. Moreover, he didn't have complete confidence he could win. This was because he simply didn't know the true depths of Corpsemancer's strength.As Corpsemancer saw Lin Ming pull out his spear, his grotesque smile widened. "It seems you want to refuse my generous charity? Very well, let me see just how tough your life is."He then unfolded both his hands. Atop of them were a pair of ghost claws that shined with a cold brilliance. A dim green light flashed intermittently on the edge of the ghost claws; this was corpse poison."Sir Lin." Xiaoxiao bit her lips and said to Lin Ming with a true essence sound transmission, "Sir Lin, I sincerely thank you for everything you have done for me so far. Before, we have already agreed that if you were to run into someone that you couldn't deal with, then the arrangement between us could be terminated at any time. Corpsemancer is ranked somewhere around 330-340 on the Destiny Decree. I am so sorry for having dragged Sir Lin into this mess. If there is a chance, Sir Lin, please escape."With every word she said, her face paled ever further. If it were possible she certainly hoped that Lin Ming would stay. However, if Lin Ming couldn't deal with Corpsemancer then there was no meaning in him staying here to die.As she imagined her fate once she was captured by Corpsemancer, she was terror-stricken.Lin Ming glanced at Xiaoxiao for a brief moment and responded, "To show mercy to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself. If you don't take advantage of the time when you have absolute superiority to eliminate your enemies then you will inevitably incur the bitter consequences of your own weakness. Remember this and take care!"After saying this, Lin Ming grasped his red long spear and rushed out of the Heavencraft Pavilion.
Peng!
The great doors that stood several dozen feet high were instantly broken apart by Lin Ming's spear. He then soared out without glancing back.Xiaoxiao felt as if she had lost her soul at this moment.To show mercy to your enemies was to be cruel to yourself…This was the most simple truth that everyone understood. But to truly implement this required great courage and determination.She closed her trembled eyes. She knew exactly what Lin Ming was referring to. In a situation where she had absolute advantage, she had allowed Heavencraft Yun to freely leave as he willed.She didn't dare to kill Heavencraft Yun because she feared she couldn't withstand the pressure from the family. She was afraid that Heavencraft Xiao would use this opportunity to punish her, possibly even expel her from the family.
But now, Heavencraft Xiao had taken the advantage to strike the first blow. The only one to suffer would be herself.
"Sir Lin should be escaping… can he escape…?"
As she looked at the broken door and the shattered wood that swayed in the wind, all she felt was incomparable sadness and grief.
Now that Lin Ming had left, she was nothing but a fish on a chopping block; she had no strength to resist.
"Young lady, Corpsemancer is chasing Lin Lanjian. We should take this chance to escape as fast as we can." The black-clothed old woman nervously said. She then reached out her hand to grab Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao mournfully laughed. She whispered as if she had just lost her very soul, "It's useless, everything is useless. Corpsemancer has left a mark on my body. I can no longer escape his palm…"
"That Lin Lanjian, he actually runs when we need him the most! Damnit!" The black-clothed old woman angrily said.
"Grandma White, there is no one in this world that should be born to die for us…" Xiaoxiao shook her head. But as her voice fell she suddenly heard a loud thunderous explosion from outside that caused the entire Heavencraft Pavilion to tremble.
Hmm?
Xiaoxiao ran several steps out of the broken door. From here, she could see that several miles away, Lin Ming and Corpsemancer were flying high in the sky, their clothes flapping wildly in the wind.
Beneath them, the bustling and lively Witch Creek City sprawled out to the endless horizon.
The air still reverberated with intense true essence shockwaves. It was obvious that a great battle was brewing.
"Lin Lanjian intends to battle Corpsemancer? The reason he ran out of Heavencraft Pavilion was because he feared their battle affecting the others inside?"
For some time, Xiaoxiao was lost in thought. And beside her, Grandma White was also stunned. Although she had complained about Lin Ming just now, those were only words said under a veil of angry and helpless desperation. She was well aware that what Lin Ming had done was completely reasonable. After all, their agreement had been that their contract would become invalid once Lin Ming met a powerhouse that he couldn't contend with.
And even if there was no such agreement, Lin Ming escaping was also completely understandable.
If it had been her in Lin Ming's position, she would also escape at this time. Only a complete fool would die for a stranger.
However, she never imagined that Lin Ming would actually decide to fight Corpsemancer.
At this time within Witch Creek City, whether it was martial artists or common mortals, every single person had raised their heads to see the scene unfolding up in the sky.
Witch Creek City was a medium to large scale city of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. In this city there were naturally a vast number of considerably experienced masters. They were all able to instantly distinguish that these two people up in the air were top class powerhouses.
In particular that skinny skeletal fellow who was wrapped in white cloth; he was definitely a master amongst masters!
Who were they? They dared to fight in Witch Creek City?
The powerhouses of Witch Creek City were bewildered.
Of course, most of these martial artists were below Revolving Core; they couldn't see through Lin Ming and Corpsemancer's cultivation.
"Those two actually dare to fight in the skies of Witch Creek City! This is far too brazen!"
"That's right! Fighting is prohibited within Witch Creek City. This is the general rule of every large city. If these two people dare to blatantly ignore the rules in front of everyone then their punishment will be death!"