Chapter 180 - 179: Golden Diting Cultivator (2)
"Lin Yuan!" Chu Yan whispered, her hand dropping to the hilt of her dragon-scale whip.
Lin Yuan did not immediately reply. His deep purple eyes swept across the massive mosquito beast, the bleeding cultivator covered in insects on the ground, and finally settled on the two Chu Province cultivators standing nearby.
Five days.
That was how long Lin Yuan had been watching this area after deducing Chu Kuang’s true motive from Fu Lang’s escape. For five full days, he had remained hidden, carefully observing every movement and patiently waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. He had known that acting too soon would only alert Chu Province and ruin everything.
And now, after all that waiting, his patience had finally paid off.
Lin Yuan understood the situation with terrifying clarity. This Golden Diting cultivator was not being hunted for his tokens. He was being hunted to force him to reveal the exact location of an Immortal Golden Beast.
This was precisely the opportunity Lin Yuan had been waiting for.
If he captured this Golden Diting disciple, he would obtain the location of the beast. If he secured the Immortal Golden Beast, he could use it to uncover Chu Kuang’s actions and, more importantly, find a way to corner him.
The waiting was over.
The hunt had officially begun.
Lin Yuan’s gaze shifted toward the two Chu Province cultivators. With a single glance, he immediately saw through their cultivation.
The woman, Chu Yan, was at the Early Stage of the Spirit Severing realm. To Lin Yuan, another Early-Stage cultivator was essentially a fragile glass doll. He could shatter her without a second thought.
But the man. Chu Ying.
Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he analyzed the thick, conceptual weight radiating from the insect-master. Chu Ying was at the Initiate Stage of Dao Resolve within the Spirit Severing realm.
To someone with little understanding of cultivation, the Early Stage of Spirit Severing and the Initiate Stage might sound almost identical, as though they were merely two steps apart on the same path.
In reality, the difference between them was truly significant.
The Early Stage of Spirit Severing represented the beginning of shedding mortal limitations, a profound transformation of both the body and the spirit as the cultivator stepped beyond the boundaries of ordinary existence.
But reaching the Initiate Stage was an entirely different matter.
At that point, the Heavens themselves had begun to acknowledge the cultivator’s conviction. Their understanding of the Dao had taken its first true step, and their Dao Heart had begun to crystallize.
It was the difference between merely possessing power and having the conviction to command it.
The difference between Lin Yuan’s Early Stage and Chu Ying’s Initiate Stage was equivalent to the difference between an Early-Stage Nascent Soul and a Late-Stage Nascent Soul. It was a gap in the fundamental density and quality of their spiritual power. Even with Lin Yuan’s soul foundation, he had to tread carefully. An Initiate Stage cultivator possessed a will that could not be easily crushed by mere strength.
"I see the rumors of the Chu Province’s savagery were not exaggerated," Lin Yuan finally spoke, his voice a smooth rumble that echoed off the area. "Using corpse beetles to torture a man for information. It is highly efficient, if entirely lacking in refinement."
Chu Ying sneered, his initial shock rapidly being replaced by the arrogant confidence of his superior cultivation realm.
"Refinement is for the weak," Chu Ying spat, urging the massive mosquito beast a few feet lower. "I don’t know how you managed to crawl out of whatever cave you were hiding in, Lin Yuan, but you have made a fatal mistake."
His eyes narrowed as he stared down at him.
"You possess only one token, and you are merely at the Early Stage of Spirit Severing. Yet you dare to stand before me?"
A cold smile spread across his lips.
"I am at the Initiate Stage. The moment you stepped into my path, your fate was sealed."
He raised a hand, and the swarm of insects stirred around him.
"I will feed your flesh to my swarm and take your pathetic token!"
"Senior Brother," Chu Yan interrupted, a cruel smile touching her lips as she uncoiled her dragon-scale whip. "Let me take his head. It will be a fine gift to present to Young Master Chu Kuang. The man who dared stand in his path, slaughtered by my hand."
"Be my guest, Junior Sister," Chu Ying laughed loudly. "But leave his heart intact. My beetles enjoy a warm meal."
Lin Yuan looked at them. The absolute arrogance of both of them was truly a marvel to behold. They stood before him as though his fate had already been decided, casually discussing how they would divide his corpse without the slightest concern that he might resist. To them, he was nothing more than another prey that had wandered into their territory.
"You really believe you’re going to do any of that?" Lin Yuan whispered, a terrifying smile breaking across his flawless face. "Let me show you exactly what it means to be prey."
With that, Lin Yuan’s hands moved in a rapid series of seals, as he activated his cloning technique!
Wooooom!
The space around Lin Yuan violently fractured.
Without a single puff of smoke or flash of light, three exact physical replicas of Lin Yuan stepped out from his body. They were not mere illusions, nor were they fleeting projections. They were genuine physical constructs, each possessing a portion of Lin Yuan’s Early Stage Spirit Severing cultivation.
The three clones stood silently beside him, their expressions and movements perfectly mirroring the original. Even their auras were nearly identical.
For a moment, the two Chu Province cultivators were stunned.
Three Lin Yuans!
And each one possessed the cultivation of a Spirit Severing expert.
******
A/N: Thanks for reading this far, I would like your thoughts on the story so far and suggestions on how to improve it , making the experience more engaging.