Chapter 0: 35. Soul Lantern Extinguished
“Since A’Qin himself thinks this life is pretty good, why look down on this humble Daoist?”
Qin Gou immediately started talking nonsense with a solemn expression, lamenting, “The reason this seat feels happy here is not due to indulgence or being blinded by greed, but entirely because of you, you scoundrel Saintess! As long as you feel good about it, this seat will naturally be happy with you. It’s a shame that the little gambler can’t see through my intentions at all.”
“A’Qin!”
Li Yuanzhen immediately covered her mouth, too moved to speak.
Qin Gou looked dumbfounded, “What’s wrong?”
Did he hear that right? When did this wench become so easily fooled?
The scoundrel Saintess, wiping away tears, choked up, “It’s too touching. To coax me, A’Qin is willing to swallow his pride and even say such lame, embarrassing nonsense. How much do you like this humble Daoist?”
“You win…” Qin Gou was torn between laughter and tears.
“Heh.” Li Yuanzhen’s tears instantly vanished, and she even hummed a victorious tune.
Looking at Li Xiaogou’s smug and infuriatingly proud demeanor, Qin Gou couldn’t help but suspect if this was indeed the scoundrel Saintess’s deliberate trick to make him gradually thin and even shorten his lifespan.
“Dong Dong Dong Dong…”
Suddenly, a series of deafening bell sounds echoed throughout Twin Fangs Mountain; a major event was bound to happen.
Qin Gou and Li Yuanzhen immediately went to the main hall to investigate.
At this moment, a crowd of Twin Fangs Mountain elders had grim expressions, with threads of fear mixed with anger spreading.
Under Qin Gou’s repeated questioning, Elder Deng Fengzhuo, the strongest Natal Spirit Tool owner of Twin Fangs Mountain, finally spoke with a trembling voice, “Just now, the Mountain Lord, Wan Lianxiao, his soul lantern… it’s extinguished!”
“Mountain Lord Wan Lianxiao has fallen!”
“What?!”
Wan Lianxiao was not a particularly revered sect leader. He was more cunning, brutal, cold, and ruthless than anyone else in Twin Fangs Mountain, but undeniably, losing their strongest combat power in the form of Wan Lianxiao meant Twin Fangs Mountain was severely weakened.
Furthermore, for Qin Gou and the others, Wan Lianxiao was the only clue to the current whereabouts of that Little Saint Monarch, Lin Jincheng.
…
Not long ago.
A Spirit Boat cut through the sky, flying the banners of the Purple Xuan Alliance and Twin Fangs Mountain. It should have been a foolproof journey… but enemies were destined to meet.
Several men in black clothing stood high in the sky, blocking the Spirit Boat’s path.
The man at the forefront had a Qilin treading on clouds depicted on his chest.
“Who goes there?”
A burly man with blood-red hair appeared on the Spirit Boat, his tone stern.
“Twin Fangs Mountain?” The man in the pitch-black Qilin robe frowned.
“This seat is Wan Lianxiao of Twin Fangs Mountain!” the red-haired man roared.
“Li Hen.”
“Which Li Hen?” While Wan Lianxiao was still pondering if this man was the ‘Three-word Martial King’ he had in mind, Li Hen had already lungiously attacked without hesitation.
Wan Lianxiao was forced to step into the void, creating some distance from Li Hen before coldly shouting, “Li Hen, are you seeking death?”
“I love her.”
“What?”
“My sister.” Li Hen’s entire body emanated divine light, like a meteor crashing down.
However, as soon as he heard this, Wan Lianxiao’s first thought turned to… Lin Jincheng.
A violent glint flashed in Wan Lianxiao’s eyes as he let out an evil, bloodthirsty grin, “So that little girl is the Qilin Divine Constable’s sister? Don’t worry, this seat will definitely make her suffer and die!”
“Villain… Die!”
Li Hen was instantly enraged. With a wave of his hand, bronze candlesticks appeared out of thin air. Ten of them circled Li Hen.
Natal Spirit Tool, Life-and-Death Candlelight.
An invisible force swept unstoppably across Wan Lianxiao’s body; six of the ten candlesticks quickly ignited.
“What is this…” Wan Lianxiao’s expression turned suspicious.
Li Hen, who had witnessed this scene, sneered and suddenly moved like lightning, attacking Wan Lianxiao head-on in an extremely reckless manner.
“Seeking death?”
In Wan Lianxiao’s eyes, Li Hen was completely open, full of flaws. He quickly condensed a giant blood blade with his palms and slashed down.
However, with a loud bang, Wan Lianxiao, who never expected Li Hen to shatter the blood blade Spirit Tool with a single punch, then appeared behind Wan Lianxiao like a ghost and slammed a palm onto his back.
“Pfft”
Wan Lianxiao spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and plummeted like a kite with a broken string. After finally stabilizing himself, his gaze was shocked and horrified, “How can you have such combat power?!”
Li Hen’s eyes were cold and silent. His aura was imposing and fierce, attacking as if it were an unending battle.
No matter how hard Wan Lianxiao fought back, all his methods seemed like paper in front of Li Hen, unable to withstand a single blow.
To the outside world, the power and cultivation of the two seemed comparable, roughly evenly matched. However, during their actual fight, there was such a vast difference, making it a despairing encounter like a cat playing with a mouse. The reason for this was naturally Li Hen’s few bizarre Natal Spirit Tools.
Life-and-Death Candlelight.
This Spirit Tool could predict the combat power of other cultivators beforehand.
Wan Lianxiao’s combat power ignited six candle flames, just below Li Hen’s own seven, allowing Li Hen to display absolute crushing power, making all of Wan Lianxiao’s defensive measures crumble at the slightest touch.
The basis for this combat power judgment was to predict which of the two cultivators would gain a slight advantage after a desperate, all-out clash, regardless of whether they consumed lifespan or lifted seals. The one who gained an advantage would ignite more candle flames.
It completely disregarded any additional factors in a real life-or-death battle, ignoring combat experience, favorable timing, and geographical advantages!
If one could win, the ‘Life-and-Death Candlelight’ Spirit Tool would grant Li Hen terrifying power, giving the opponent no chance to breathe. Conversely, if Li Hen ignited significantly fewer candle flames than his opponent, this ‘Life-and-Death Candlelight’ Spirit Tool would become the most terrifying betrayer, only judging the combat power by the number of candle flames and never favoring its host.
Before long, only Li Hen returned to his original spot.
Wan Lianxiao was nowhere to be found, but Li Hen brought back all his belongings.
“Please, Commander Li, give the order on how to deal with these cronies of Wan Lianxiao?”
Although the Wind Catching Association members who accompanied Li Hen had captured all the Twin Fangs Mountain cultivators from the Spirit Boat, several of their own men had sustained serious injuries.
“Don’t kill them all.”
Li Hen said methodically as he stepped into the void towards everyone, “Leave a few.”
“Puff puff puff.”
The Wind Catching Association members, already resentful due to their brothers being seriously injured, swiftly swung their blades… only three Twin Fangs Mountain cultivators remained.
Li Hen’s brow furrowed, and he hurriedly said, “Kill them all!”
Another flurry of sword light and saber shadows, and all the wicked cultivators of Twin Fangs Mountain on the Spirit Boat perished.
“As expected of Commander Li, truly full of courage and impartial!”
“Giving these villains hope and then cruelly snatching it away… Commander Li’s act is truly soul-crushing!” The Wind Catching Association members sighed in admiration.
Li Hen could only stand there, his face awkward, forcing himself to swallow the words he had originally intended to say: ‘Killing them all would be too cold-blooded; just capture and kill those who injured our brothers earlier.’
