The Decaying World

「A few days later.」

Because of Lin Xiaoliu’s situation, Lin Hui and Liu Xiao only stayed at the hot springs for a day before rushing back. They focused on secretly checking up on Xiaoliu, and only after confirming there were no issues did they finally feel at ease.

Regarding that Song Yunhui, Lin Hui’s opinion was identical to his older brother’s: the man was a whirlpool of trouble, and it was best to avoid any contact whatsoever.

Thus, at his father’s strong insistence, Lin Xiaoliu was transferred to the martial academy where Lin Hui held a nominal position, completely separating her from Song Yunhui.

Everything quickly settled down again.

But to Lin Hui’s surprise, while Xiaoliu’s side was fine, a problem had cropped up within Qingfeng Dao.

"Something happened to Xia Si?"

On the Jade Sea, Lin Hui slowly stopped wielding the Ruyi Sword, a trace of surprise flashing across his face.

He came to the Jade Sea every day to find a spacious, deserted place to practice his swordsmanship and comprehend the Annihilation Sacred Form.

Everyone knew his routine, so no one had ever contacted or disturbed him at this time. But this time, Li Yuanyuan broke with tradition, sending a message through a Wind Chime.

"Yes. Senior Sister Xia was here last night. During a gathering, she said some things that sounded heretical to the rest of us and was reprimanded by Senior Brother Su Yaping. The two had a disagreement and came to blows. Senior Brother Su was accidentally injured, and Senior Sister Xia left in a fury. She still hasn’t returned," Li Yuanyuan said quickly. "It’s normal for an expert like her to spend a long time in cultivation, but we ran into an urgent matter and needed to consult her. We tried contacting her today, but... we discovered her residence had been completely trashed, as if by a burglar. There were even bloodstains at the scene. I tried to reach her with the Wind Chime, but I’ve received no response."

"..." Lin Hui tried to sense Xia Si through the seal. As the one who bestowed the seals on behalf of the Sect Leader, he could vaguely sense whether the seals he had granted still existed. But that was the extent of it; he couldn’t determine their specific location.

After sensing it, he didn’t worry about it anymore.

"Don’t worry. She’s still alive, just temporarily away from Black Cloud."

"I see. This disciple understands. I will inform the other members of this news," Li Yuanyuan said quickly.

Disconnecting the Wind Chime, Lin Hui floated on the surface of the sea, gazing into the distance.

He wasn’t the least bit worried about Xia Si; he just found it interesting. After some investigation, he had confirmed that the Infinite power within Xia Si was a polluting force named Hui Jing. It was a powerful energy from an outer world, similar to Purgatory or Extreme Cold.

Someone possessing such immense power couldn’t possibly get into trouble so easily.

The key question was, if she wasn’t in trouble, why was her residence destroyed, why was blood left behind, and why were her current whereabouts unknown?

’Interesting...’ A faint guess formed in Lin Hui’s mind. ’Get stronger... Don’t disappoint me...’

The more he understood the power within Xia Si, the more he felt that the complete condensation and comprehension of the Annihilation Sacred Form would depend on her.

When Xia Si grew a little stronger, and stronger still... that would be the day the fruit ripened, the day he would reach out and pluck it.

*

*

*

「Tens of thousands of miles away.」

Amidst a stormy sea with raging waves, a fierce wind howled. Green waves crashed down one after another, throwing up massive splashes.

Seawater fell incessantly like rain.

In the downpour, a pale golden figure floated high in the air, looking down and holding a Black Sword. It was Xia Si.

Her expression was ice-cold. Droplets of blood mixed with rain dripped from the tip of her Black Sword.

"You’re like ghosts that won’t leave! So what if I killed a few of your good-for-nothings? Instead of thanking me for clearing out your trash, you send people to hunt me down? Is everyone in the Harmony Association this ungrateful?"

Below, amidst the churning waves.

Two tall men in exquisite, emerald-green, openwork armor stood apart. They wore fully-enclosed, horned helmets and stared up at Xia Si, their green eyes glowing with the same light as the sea.

"Even if those three were good-for-nothings, it wasn’t your place to kill them as you please," the man on the left said coldly. "Since you chose to kill, you must bear the consequences of being punished by the organization."

"According to the association’s rules, anyone who attacks a fellow member without a trial by the Sea King’s Court is to be executed!" The other man took a giant, two-meter-long battle halberd from his back.

"Rules?" Xia Si sneered. "I don’t even care about the Daoist Master’s rules, so why would I care about some secretive outsiders like you!?"

She swung her Black Sword forcefully.

"My life is right here. If you have what it takes, come and get it."

"Arrogant!"

The two men’s eyes narrowed. Their figures flickered and shot toward the sky.

In an instant, the fierce wind and ocean waves mixed together, transforming into a chaotic mass of gold and green.

The terrifying destructive power of the Blood Progenitor level instantly affected a hundred-mile radius.

A moment later, the wind and waves subsided. Xia Si’s figure shot into the sky, streaked with blood, and quickly vanished over the distant horizon.

Not long after, several more figures in dark green armor appeared over this patch of sea.

"Damn it, not even two Blue Bloods could capture her. Instead, they were killed! This is a huge mess!"

"It seems we have no choice but to report this to the three Sea King Ministers!"

"Based on the power level from last time, she was nowhere near this strong. How did she improve so much in such a short time? There’s at least a two-fold difference! Who the hell is this Xia Si? Her growth rate is terrifying!" A woman in green armor held a disc-shaped object. Watching the numbers flashing on it, her expression grew increasingly grave.

"We really can’t delay. Report it immediately!"

The group quickly reached a consensus. Their figures flickered and vanished from the spot.

*

*

*

「Qingfeng Dao Academy.」

"Your wife’s body has no major issues. She has likely just been injured a bit too often recently, which has taken a toll on her constitution. As long as she eats well, rests well, and reduces her exertion, she will recover quickly."

Lin Hui nodded as he listened to the famous Pharmacist he had invited from the Inner City.

"Thank you, Pharmacist. Yuanyuan, please see our guest out and pay the consultation fee."

Li Yuanyuan, standing behind him, nodded and stepped forward, guiding the wizened old Pharmacist out of the courtyard.

Only then did Lin Hui turn to look at Liu Xiao.

"It seems it’s my fault after all..." he sighed.

"I told you I was fine," Liu Xiao said with a smile. "In the end, it’s just like Sister Gongsun said: my constitution is too weak... You’re always so fast, so strong, and have so much stamina... I just can’t keep up..."

Lin Hui was silent.

Every time he and Liu Xiao were intimate, they were on completely different wavelengths. Liu Xiao would finish hundreds of times before he even managed to come once...

With that kind of exertion ratio, it would be a miracle if Liu Xiao *wasn’t* drained...

Especially since his physique had recently ascended to a new level...

"You should just let Yuanyuan join us... If this keeps up, I think I might actually die..." Liu Xiao said helplessly, leaning against the trunk of a pear tree.

She paused, then shook her head. "No, even adding Yuanyuan wouldn’t be enough. Maybe we’d have to pull Sister Gongsun in too..."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Lin Hui said, speechless. He wasn’t particularly interested in the affairs between men and women; he was already satisfied with just Liu Xiao.

"Alright, alright. But I don’t think Sister Gongsun dislikes you. There’s actually a pretty good chance, you know. Are you sure you won’t consider it?" Liu Xiao grinned mischievously.

"That’s enough. You keep this up and I’ll ’come’ again," Lin Hui said, raising his hand as if to poke her arm.

The gesture frightened Liu Xiao so much she turned tail and ran.

"You just wait! You can be arrogant for now, but sooner or later I’ll find someone who can handle you!" She threw the words behind her as she fled in disarray.

Lin Hui was left standing alone in the courtyard, the smile slowly fading from his face.

A short while later, Li Yuanyuan returned after seeing the Pharmacist off.

"Daoist Master, there’s a new development with Xiaoliu. A report just came in. That Song Yunhui managed to find her again, despite the distance, and asked for her help in sensing the status of a relic. They were attacked at their meeting point. Our protectors were also attacked and knocked unconscious. The strange part is, when our people woke up, they found that Xiaoliu and Song Yunhui were both unharmed."

"Only our protectors were knocked unconscious?" Lin Hui asked.

"Yes."

"Interesting," Lin Hui mused. "Go investigate what happened during the time our people were unconscious."

"Yes." Li Yuanyuan nodded, about to withdraw.

"By the way, are you about to have a breakthrough?" Lin Hui asked suddenly.

"Yes. This subordinate has achieved Great Success in the Qingfeng Swordsmanship, and my Gale Swordsmanship has now reached the mid-stage of Body Tempering. My constitution seems to be having some kind of chain reaction as a result. Especially my innate clan Talent," Li Yuanyuan replied formally.

"Clan Talent? What is it?" Lin Hui was suddenly interested. "I remember your clan is the Shadow Hounds, correct?"

"Yes. Originally, my Talent was a brief shadow-form. Each use could last for three seconds, allowing me to evade fatal attacks. That was already the longest duration in my clan," Li Yuanyuan explained. "But recently, with the Body Tempering from the Gale Swordsmanship, my shadow-form can now last for over two minutes. I can also briefly bring external objects into the shadow-form with me."

"What does it feel like when you’re in shadow-form?" Lin Hui asked, curious.

"It’s like entering a very cold, dark world where everything is in black and white. The existence of things, their strength or weakness, is determined solely by the size of their individual shadows," Li Yuanyuan answered.

"When you have time, could you take me with you to experience it?" Lin Hui asked.

"Of course," Li Yuanyuan nodded.

Lin Hui was about to ask something else when his expression shifted slightly. He turned to look in another direction.

Over there, someone was brazenly releasing a powerful aura. Its presence shot into the sky, causing the mist a thousand meters above to churn and roil.

"Another challenger... Have Su Yaping take care of it," Lin Hui ordered.

"Yes." Li Yuanyuan nodded and left the courtyard.

Lin Hui stood alone in the courtyard. He turned, and his figure instantly vanished.

One minute later.

He appeared on the Jade Sea, tens of thousands of miles away.

This was the very battlefield where Xia Si had fought earlier.

He indeed couldn’t sense the location of the Dharma Seal, but he had intelligence summaries from various channels. The fluctuations from the battle here were significant and had disturbed passing fleets, so word had naturally reached him.

Floating in mid-air, Lin Hui closed his eyes and carefully sensed Xia Si’s aura.

He felt the process of how that golden power turned all things to ash, then cross-referenced it with the cultivation memories from the Star Breath Sword Manual in his mind.

HISS...

Gradually, a brand-new, blurry humanoid figure slowly separated from his back and emerged.

The figure was still a white phantom, but compared to the Life Sacred Form, this one emitted a thick gray smoke. The smoke gave off an intensely cold and bone-chilling intent of death.

This was the progress he had made on the Death Sacred Form over the past few years. And now, as he comprehended Xia Si’s aura, this Death Sacred Form began to separate further from Lin Hui’s back.

HISS...

Amidst faint tearing sounds, the Death Sacred Form and Lin Hui’s back continuously snapped strand after strand of white, root-like threads.

Just as it looked like the last third of the roots were about to break, allowing it to separate completely, the process stopped.

Lin Hui opened his eyes and sighed.

He was so close, but this last little bit was more difficult than everything that had come before it combined.

He had long known that, according to the steps in his memory, the Star Breath Sword Manual was a Divine Skill that became progressively harder and slower to practice.

But when actually faced with such slow progress, he couldn’t help but feel a few traces of irritation.

The most critical part wasn’t just the slow progress. If it were only that, it would be fine; he had plenty of time. The problem was that the Disaster Energy attracted by the Typhoon Swordsmanship was still continuously eroding and assimilating his Heart and Spirit and his physique.

And it showed a trend of getting stronger and stronger.

The progress of the Star Breath Sword Manual had to outpace the progress of the Disaster Energy to suppress it.

Ever since the Blood Seal had displayed information about the Jiuxiao Sect’s founder, Lin Hui had been exceptionally careful about the details regarding the Disaster Energy and the Wind Calamity.