Chapter 200

"Elder..." Bai Mingwei offered a token resistance, but she dared not make any rash movements.

She soon felt a hand quietly slip beneath her collar, quickly beginning to tease the sensitive parts of her body.

An hour later.

Bai Mingwei lay limp in the leather chair. After hastily rearranging her clothes, she stumbled as she fled the great hall. She had never expected that a simple report regarding the Benevolent Heart Sect would end in her being toyed with by an Elder.

Repression and rage burned in her heart; she wanted nothing more than to find a few lower-ranking Truebloods to vent her fury upon. As for the register she had brought? She had long forgotten the item she had treated as a treasure just an hour ago.

After she left, the short, white-haired Elder emerged from the shadows at the edge of the hall. Holding the register Bai Mingwei had brought, he smiled faintly and rubbed his fingers together.

The register, never once opened, silently pulverized into dust, scattering across the floor as countless scraps.

"What is it? Who made you angry again?" a lazy female voice transmitted from afar.

"Nothing. Just a child, I fancied, was being interfered with. Someone wanted to disrupt my arrangements, so I handled it in advance. It has nothing to do with your Extreme Desire Heaven," the white-haired man said casually.

"That's good, then. I was wondering why you people from the Taisu Primal Disk would run over to our side for no reason." The female voice sounded slightly relieved and fell silent.

The white-haired man smiled and bowed slightly in the direction of the eight Elders of the Extreme Desire Heaven. Then, his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

A major turmoil regarding the Benevolent Heart Sect was dissolved, just like that.

…

Outer Mist Zone.

The sky was a dim, heavy gray.

Within the Mist, Lin Hui gripped Xia Si by the back of her collar with one hand, moving forward rapidly. Gale-force winds howled and swirled around them, but before the turbulence could strike, it was parted by the Surrounding Wind, sliding harmlessly to the sides to reduce drag.

Lin Hui moved like a fish in the sea, swimming freely within the airflow generated by his high-speed movement, accelerating madly.

This speed made Xia Si's heart tremble with fear, yet she dared not utter a single word, afraid that distracting Lin Hui would cause them to crash headfirst into an obstacle. By her estimation, a collision at this velocity—even with her natural copper skin and iron bones—would inevitably result in grievous injury. After all, copper skin and iron bones had their limits.

Before long, just before the sky turned completely dark, the Mist ahead gradually thinned.

A vast expanse of gray stone ruins appeared in their field of vision.

The ruins were situated among undulating hills and mountains. Some structures were built at the base, extending up the slopes, while others consisted of dilapidated palace towers sitting solitarily atop the peaks. Strangest of all were the structures floating directly in mid-air, supported by large rocks resembling floating islands.

"This is the maze," Xia Si introduced. "This place is naturally Mist-free, but it is extremely dangerous inside. Monsters generally aren't willing to enter voluntarily and will detour around it."

"Why?"

"Because once you go in, trying to get out is... challenging. Don't look at the maze as just being physically large; actually, what it confuses isn't the terrain, but your mind. After entering, you will completely lose your sense of direction. According to my father, all directions—north, south, east, and west—shift periodically at irregular intervals."

Hearing this, Lin Hui was intrigued.

A natural Mist-Free Zone, and a maze that confuses the mind... wouldn't it serve as a natural isolation array? Once the Blood Seal finished evolving, he could return here for his attempt. If he could find a way to master this place, his future secure base would undoubtedly be settled.

The two circled the periphery for a while, only returning to the underground cave in Miyin Village after dark to rest for the night.

Lin Hui instructed Xia Si to formally begin cultivating the perfected version of the Seven-Section Swift Sword.

In a single night, Xia Si bypassed the Seventh Rank entirely and reached the height of Body Tempering Eighth Rank.

This girl really wasn't human.

Lin Hui lamented this fact even more.

Early the next morning, the two set foot on the road back to Tuyue. It took two hours to return to the Clear Wind Temple. Lin Hui had Wang Hongshi arrange accommodation and food for Xia Si and listed her in the register of disciples.

After completing his routine cultivation, he began his daily intake of medicine, then searched major channels to see if any new precious medicines had been delivered.

Leaving aside Xia Si, who had just arrived in the Mist-Free Zone and was adapting to city life under the guidance of her seniors, time began to pass.

In this cycle of repetitive cultivation and exploration, a year went by in the blink of an eye.

The evolution countdown for the Nine Skies Gate changed from 48 to 39, the end still seeming far off in the indefinite future. However, Lin Hui's cultivation finally reached the Sixth Rank of the Typhoon Sword Technique.

Upon reaching the Sixth Rank, he could already faintly sense that the surrounding wind possessed an inexplicable resonance, a correspondence with a massive, unknown power from the outside world.

Just like human breathing. The wind also had breath.

Breaking through to the Sixth Rank didn't increase his speed again; instead, it brought new changes derived from this perception. In the process of sensing this resonance of the wind, Lin Hui clearly felt his mind-spirit growing faster and faster, his mental vigor improving significantly. His progress in cultivating the False Enactment Art also became increasingly rapid.

Clearly, what was significantly improving in this stage was the power of his mind-spirit.

This had always been his weak point.

The False Enactment Art had a total of nine layers, requiring one to pass through eighteen thresholds—nine real and nine false. Ultimately, one could reach the entry requirements suitable for awakening as a High-Tier Called One. This gave Lin Hui new expectations for his future development; perhaps he could pretend to be a High-Tier Called One, or even directly walk the path of dual cultivation.

…

September, 3792.

Just as Lin Hui's mind-spirit was surging, the industrial expansion of the Clear Wind Temple finally encountered a tough nut to crack.

Ever since Lin Hui's background deepened and his eldest brother's potential turned into actual strength, becoming stronger and stronger, the expansion of the Clear Wind Temple had naturally become a general trend.

From the initial dozen or so surrounding towns, it gradually expanded outward. Branch halls began to multiply, recruiting more and more disciples, and the temple began to annex various large and small martial halls. By the year '92, the coverage had extended to as many as thirty-five towns.

The benefit this coverage brought Lin Hui was a massive influx of revenue. Additionally, various medicines for cultivating mind-spirit and accelerating Body Tempering could be collected with ease. This was one of the factors behind the significant acceleration of his mind-spirit enhancement.

The expansion of power in the Outer City also meant that when his eldest brother and others went out on business, the probability of them needing the Clear Wind Temple increased. The contact and dealings between the two sides became increasingly close.

At the same time, the Benevolent Heart Sect began to pay more attention to Lin Hui as his power grew.

Inside the Council Hall of the Clear Wind Temple, Lin Hui looked at Long Ji of the Benevolent Heart Sect, who had come uninvited, his eyes widening slightly.

"You're saying that I now have the qualifications to apply for an Imitation Evil Weapon or Insect Canon?"

"Yes," Long Ji said seriously. "Your cultivation is currently stagnant. Although your combat power is strong, your Internal Force cultivation cannot advance further, which is a huge regret. Therefore, to enhance your ability to preserve your life—lest our sect lose control over this area of the Outer City—my suggestion is that it would be better to fuse with an Imitation Insect Canon to significantly increase your survivability."

"Is there no way to break through the limit and elevate my Internal Force again?" Lin Hui frowned.

"No, because whatever methods once existed were used up immediately," Long Ji shook his head.

"Then, let me consider it first."

"Alright, we have surplus quotas anyway," Long Ji said. "There is one other matter. Recently, the Mystic Eagle Sect did something major in the Outer Ring of the Inner City. They laid in ambush for a year and successfully wiped out a medium-sized Trueblood family."

"Their strength and influence, compared to before, haven't unexpectedly decreased much. This is somewhat bizarre. It is said that Xue Ying has already fallen, and the strongest among the remaining so-called Six Elites of Mystic Eagle is merely a High Divine Officer. Where did they get the strength to wipe out a medium-sized Trueblood family presided over by a High Divine Officer?" Long Ji was clearly puzzled.

"It is indeed a puzzle. But such matters have nothing to do with us, right? The victims were just a Trueblood family," Lin Hui said calmly.

"That is true, but combined with the previous incidents of inexplicable deaths among Trueblood Nobles, these multiple accidents have already made the Moon Tower extremely furious. This incident serves as the fuse. The Moon Tower has established an Emergency Investigation Team, using the same lineup as last time—led by the Three Great Palace Masters. They are determined to thoroughly strangle all hidden dangers and troubles. So, during this period, you must act with caution and not reveal any clues," Long Ji urged.

"Understood." Lin Hui nodded.

After seeing Long Ji off, and before he could even return to the rear courtyard to cultivate, he stopped in his tracks and looked back at the seat where Long Ji had just sat.

There, a person had abruptly appeared in the seat.

"Master, long time no see. I trust you have been well."

Tao Xuehai, wearing a black eagle mask and dressed in black robes with a long sword on his back, cupped his hands toward Lin Hui.

Not having seen him for over a year, Tao Xuehai's transformation was like the difference between clouds and mud. His previous immaturity had completely vanished, replaced by a temperament that was a blend of gloom, sharpness, and a cold edge.

"It seems your sword practice is going well." Lin Hui could tell from his aura that Tao Xuehai had definitely not been slacking off.

"The Wild Wind Sword Technique has already reached the Body Tempering limit. Master... I truly am practicing the sword with my life..." Tao Xuehai said softly.

"Hm? So fast?" Lin Hui frowned.

Back then, Tao Xuehai had difficulty even getting started with the Wild Wind Sword Technique. How could he have crossed so many levels in just one year, reaching the Body Tempering Ninth Rank directly? This was abnormal.

However, the Wild Wind Sword the other party walked was no longer on the same path as his. Although the name was the same, the sword style was completely different. The initial sword technique was like a seed; what kind of tree it grew into depended on what kind of nutrients it absorbed.

"This disciple's situation is somewhat special..." Tao Xuehai smiled faintly. "The Mystic Eagle Sect has a secret art that can exchange lifespan for practice speed. This disciple used it... the effect was very good."

"...You... why go to such lengths?" Lin Hui paused, then sighed.

"This disciple cannot wait. There isn't that much time... If I followed normal cultivation, this disciple would have absolutely no possibility of reaching Body Tempering Perfection before the age of sixty. But now, with the Wild Wind Sword Technique at the Body Tempering limit, plus the cultivation transmitted to me by the previous Sect Master, my cultivation base has greatly increased. It is enough to try some fringe plans..."

Tao Xuehai waved his hand, and immediately, a square box made of emerald green jade appeared on the table.

"These are some precious medicines this disciple harvested not long ago. There should be some that Master needs; please accept them. Next, this disciple wishes to ask for the Master's instruction on the Typhoon Sword Technique..."

Lin Hui fell silent. Completing the cultivation of the Wild Wind Sword Technique in one year was beyond his expectations. He knew very well that if a martial art like the Wild Wind Sword Technique could be cultivated to the limit, even if the other party wasn't a Blood Seal host and lacked various special effects, they could still easily gain strength capable of rivaling a Divine Officer.

And Tao Xuehai claimed to have received the transmission of power from the previous Sect Master and also used some lifespan-consuming secret art.

Looking at the jade box, Lin Hui sighed.

"The Typhoon Sword Technique is a hundred times more difficult than the Wild Wind. You can try, but if it doesn't work, absolutely do not force it."

"Okay!" Tao Xuehai said confidently. He believed that with his special secret art and the Sect Master's transmission, no sword technique could stump him.

Ten-odd minutes later.

A figure walked out of the Council Hall in a daze, his body flashing as he disappeared.

Lin Hui sat in the hall, looking helpless. The gap between the Typhoon Sword Technique and the Wild Wind was like heaven and earth. If he didn't have the Blood Seal's infusion, he would have despaired of even getting started.

Tao Xuehai's failure was within expectations.

But what he worried about wasn't this, but rather that on this visit, there seemed to be an inexplicable aura about Tao Xuehai.