Chapter 207

"Miss Lin has arrived." The disciple at the gate bowed respectfully as Lin Xiaoliu stepped down from the carriage.

Though her speech was still halting, in her quieter moments, Lin Xiaoliu carried all the poise of a young lady from a prominent family.

Guided by her assigned escort, she took her chaperone's hand and passed through the main gate of the Clear Wind Temple into the drill grounds beyond. Female disciples stepped forward along the way to guide them.

"Is Brother here today?" Lin Xiaoliu asked.

The leading disciple smiled. "The Temple Master went out on business today and hasn't returned yet."

Lin Xiaoliu breathed a soft sigh of relief, the tension draining from her small frame.

"Then, is Sister Xia Si here?"

"Senior Sister Xia Si is also out. She might not be back for a few days," the disciple answered apologetically.

"...What a pity." Lin Xiaoliu relaxed even further.

Images of her brother, Lin Hui, and Senior Sister Xia Si flashed unbidden through her mind. Often, while practicing the sword, she would see Xia Si seeking out her brother for martial arts guidance. For some reason, even a simple scene of the two of them discussing sword techniques made her skin crawl when she watched from afar.

Her brother was always smiling, and so was Xia Si. Though their smiles were vastly different, both filled her heart with an identical, chilling dread. Merely standing beside Lin Hui to practice the sword made that dread compound with each passing day.

She had once confided in her eldest brother, Liu Wujun, but he had simply patted her head, assuming she was joking. After all, Brother Hui was only an Outer City martial artist—an Internal Force practitioner. Her eldest brother assured her that once she grew up, she would easily surpass him; she was just small right now, and it was natural for a little girl to find older boys intimidating.

But Lin Xiaoliu merely lacked the vocabulary to express herself. Her inarticulate nature did not equate to flawed perception.

In truth, during her time at the Clear Wind Temple, she had sensed danger not only from Brother Hui and Xia Si, but also from Senior Sister Mingxia, and from many other peculiar figures within the temple.

I want to go home... Staring up at the towering main hall of the Clear Wind Temple, the thought surfaced once again. She was afraid of Liu Wujun and her second sister, Liu Xiao, as well—but neither terrified her the way Brother Hui did, who appeared to be nothing more than an Internal Force martial artist.

Entering the innermost manor and arriving at her daily practice area, Lin Xiaoliu had barely sat down when she caught the faint sound of a commotion outside. She knelt quietly on the futon and began her usual routine of tending to her practice sword. It was a high-grade weapon from the Inner City, after all; a single blade cost hundreds of thousands of qian.

But she had only been sitting a moment when a sudden gust of wind swept up behind her.

Lin Xiaoliu turned to find a tall man in black robes and a black eagle mask standing in the garden.

"You are... Lin Xiaoliu, right?" the man asked, his tone gentle.

"Yes..."

"It seems the Temple Master isn't here. I'll come back next time." The newcomer was none other than Tao Xuehai, who had stopped by to deliver medicine. "By the way, please tell the Temple Master that I've already cleared out the stragglers wandering around outside the temple. He doesn't need to worry."

"Oh... okay." Lin Xiaoliu stared blankly as Tao Xuehai vanished into thin air.

…

Outer Mist Zone.

The gray-white mist rolled and surged.

A massive black scorpion—over three meters tall and twenty meters long—lashed all nine tails, the glowing red stingers at their tips catching the dim light. It held its stance a moment, and once it confirmed the human before it was making no further moves, it spun and fled.

But it had barely managed a dozen meters before the familiar figure materialized directly in its path.

Lin Hui stood with his sword drawn, watching the Nine-Tailed Scorpion.

"That makes five times... Are you still not convinced?" He frowned slightly. "Forget it. I might as well just cut it down."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Nine-Tailed Scorpion slammed to a halt, its massive body crashing into the dirt. Pinning its two great pincers to the ground, it frantically smashed its head against the earth in a frenzied kowtow.

"It submitted!?" Lin Hui's expression shifted. He tried issuing a few more commands, but the Nine-Tailed Scorpion was hopeless—unable to comprehend a single one.

Compared to the Purple Crystal Flame Dragon, the intellectual gap was vast. The Purple Crystal Flame Dragon had clearly been trained by the Mist God Sect at some point, granting it a rudimentary grasp of human language. Lin Hui couldn't help but wonder what methods the Mist God Sect cultists used to cultivate such understanding in these creatures.

The Nine-Tailed Scorpion before him was one of the lowest-tier monsters in the Outer Mist Zone. Its carapace was formidable—by his rough estimate, it could match the full-force Internal Force barrier of a Circulation martial artist. At least, that was his impression from the times he had struck it.

The most repulsive quality of the creature was the extreme toxicity of its nine stingers. Furthermore, both its speed and physical strength rivaled that of a High Divine Officer. Of course, without any means to counter Void Force or Divine Methods, the Nine-Tailed Scorpion would be completely helpless against an actual High Divine Officer.

But sheer numbers made up for individual weakness. Just strolling through the area earlier, he had easily spotted dozens, if not hundreds of them—practically tripping over each other. The ground in that stretch was densely pockmarked with scorpion burrows.

After confirming the Nine-Tailed Scorpion's obedience, Lin Hui led it back to the maze ruins. At the entrance of the passage he had carved for himself, he ordered the beast to lie down and reached out to appraise it with the Blood Seal.

[Nine-Tailed Scorpion: One of the common monsters in the Outer Mist Zone. A gregarious creature with a timid nature, it relies on specialized vibration-sensitive organs to hunt and survive underground. Like other Destructive level monsters in the Outer Mist Zone, its carapace possesses a certain resistance to equivalent Void Force, thanks to a thin inner layer of natural Void Force. It can briefly resist Void Force head-on. Its tail stinger toxin can ignore Void Force and Internal Force protections, delivering a penetrating toxic attack.]

[Evolvable Branches: 3]

Not bad... This thing's carapace actually resists Void Force? It naturally possesses Void Force? No—perhaps Void Force was originally an innate ability of these monsters, and humans merely learned to harness and refine it. Lin Hui found this far more plausible.

Looking at the Nine-Tailed Scorpion lying prone at the entrance, he stepped closer to examine it.

It was essentially a massively scaled-up black scorpion. Aside from the nine tails sprouting from its rear, its anatomy was identical to that of an ordinary scorpion: a black carapace, two massive pincers like clenched fists, and a ridged, segmented back. Its eight legs were splayed out on either side; it lay completely motionless, not daring to move an inch.

Lin Hui reached out and touched one of its legs. It was ice-cold, hard, and perfectly smooth—like polished stone. He traced his hand along the carapace toward the rear, all the way to the tail stinger.

The stinger was a short red needle, roughly palm-length and as thick as a finger, sitting at the very tip of the tail and flanked by black, keratinous soft tissue. Looking closely, Lin Hui saw that it resembled a crystal syringe, a fluorescent red liquid pulsing visibly within.

The sight gave him the idea of harvesting the scorpion venom.

Let's evolve it first. The base defenders need to be properly prepared. Reining in his thoughts—those were plans for another time—he stepped back and opened the Blood Seal's Evolvable Branches.

[1 — Giant Scorpion: A Nine-Tailed Scorpion enlarged three times, with proportional enhancements to strength and physique.]

[2 — Nine-Tailed Scorpion King: A tribal king capable of commanding Nine-Tailed Scorpions. Its toxicity far exceeds that of ordinary variants. It can manipulate certain terrain and travel freely underground.]

[3 — Scorpion Demon: A small scorpion demon that has gained sentience. Possesses an enhanced physique, amplified toxicity, and newly awakened intelligence.]

Three directions, three distinct evolutionary routes. After weighing his options, Lin Hui chose the second. Its ability to travel freely underground gave it enormous tactical flexibility.

The cost in evolutionary time was twelve years—for him, right now, a mere six stalks of Purple Cloud Reishi.

He quickly confirmed the selection and began consuming large quantities of the Reishi. Within half an hour, the massive Nine-Tailed Scorpion fell into a deep slumber, its body rapidly petrifying.

Right before his eyes, it transformed into a black stone statue. The petrified state lasted several minutes before crisp cracking sounds rang out and large fissures spiderwebbed across the surface. Soon, a Nine-Tailed Scorpion that looked virtually identical to its previous form emerged.

However, he quickly understood that the absence of obvious physical changes was deceptive—the evolution had concentrated on subtler refinements. The venom flowing within its stinger had darkened from red to a deep purplish-red. The black carapace now bore a faint purple sheen, lending it an even more indestructible appearance.

From now on, you are responsible for guarding the underground perimeter of this entrance, Lin Hui commanded through their mind-spirit connection. Forage for your own food in the surroundings. If you truly cannot find any, come to me.

Hiss! The Nine-Tailed Scorpion King hurriedly signaled its obedience, then dove headfirst into the dirt. The solid earth undulated like the surface of a disturbed pond, swallowing the massive creature in the blink of an eye.

This should be enough, Lin Hui calculated. The Water Man, the Purple Crystal Flame Dragon, and the Nine-Tailed Scorpion King—three defenders were more than sufficient to secure this maze ruins base.

Next, I need to sort out the Master Bestowal Seal qualifications. He needed to screen which disciples were ready to receive the seal and which were not. Since the Blood Seal currently had a vacancy, he decided to head back and appraise the core disciples one by one.

With the immediate matters settled, Lin Hui prepared to leave. Bestowing the seal upon loyal disciples would ensure the stable operation of his new base. After that, he could assign personnel to cultivate the Purple Cloud Reishi garden he had nourished with the Purple Snow Jade.

A precious medicinal garden required absolute loyalty. Even though Purple Cloud Reishi wasn't a mainstream martial arts resource, it provided a massive boost to energy and commanded an exorbitant market price. Wealth moved men's hearts; assigning unvetted personnel meant cultivating a harvest for thieves.

He took one final stroll around the perimeter and, after confirming the area was secure, turned back toward the Boundary Wall.

He hadn't gone far before a massive, vibrating hum rolled in from the distance. The earth trembled, and the Mist churned violently.

Lin Hui stopped in his tracks. The ground beside him began to quake, launching crushed stones from the nearby ruins into the air. Large swathes of dust billowed upward, blending seamlessly with the gray-white Mist.

He stood motionless, waiting for the phenomenon to pass. Over the past year, he had heard these colossal footsteps almost every month. According to Xia Si, the tremors were caused by the passage of mountain-sized giants. Due to their sheer scale, these titans had nearly trampled the remains of Miyin Village into total oblivion on several occasions. Of course, hearing them was one thing—due to the impenetrable thickness of the Mist, Lin Hui had never once laid eyes on what these creatures actually looked like.

Soon, the thunderous footsteps faded into the distance. Only then did Lin Hui exhale and resume his journey.

Half a day later, he returned to the Clear Wind Temple and summoned Wang Hongshi.

"Temple Master, what are your orders?" Wang Hongshi had formally assumed the role of Head Supervisor of the Clear Wind Temple—a well-deserved promotion for his diligent service.

"Which of the top ten core disciples are currently in the temple? Call them all here," Lin Hui said.

He claimed a small practice area in the rear manor and settled in to test them one by one.