Under the night sky, Lin Huang and the man in black stood opposite each other, locking eyes intently. After a moment, the man in black finally broke the silence.
"A thousand years ago, after Xuanyuan Zheng walked out of the Yin Yang Valley, he spent three years sealing it. He constructed the Dragon-Locking Land to seal off the East Spirit Dragon Vein in order to suppress the Yin Yang Valley!
"Three hundred years ago, the Dragon-Locking Land and the seal loosened, causing a trace of the Evil King’s power beneath the seal to surge out. That gave rise to Qiu Dali, and subsequently, today’s Blood Spirit Hall!
"Two hundred and fifty years ago, Cao Yangming was used by our Blood Spirit Hall. He found the location of the Yin Yang Valley and cracked the Dragon-Locking Land. He was only one step away from breaking the seal!"
Lin Huang nodded and followed up, "It’s just a pity that Xuanyuan Wuxiang appeared and shattered your sweet dreams!"
The man in black nodded in silence, then continued.
"It was only then that our hall’s predecessors learned that, on his deathbed a thousand years ago, Xuanyuan Zheng left behind the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers to counter the crisis that would occur seven hundred years later.
"At that time, Xuanyuan Wuxiang’s emergence not only reshaped the Dragon-Locking Land and sealed the East Spirit Dragon Vein once again to suppress the Yin Yang Valley, but he also followed the instructions on the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers to establish seven restraints, resealing the valley."
Lin Huang nodded. He had read about this in the Scripture Pavilion.
"And according to what Cao Yangming said back then, the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers also records another method to suppress the Yin Yang Valley!"
The man in black gritted his teeth, ultimately revealing the secret hidden within the ancient scroll.
Lin Huang chuckled softly. "The Dragon-Locking Land, the seven restraints, and the Yin Yang Valley’s seal... If another method of suppression is added, I’m afraid this valley will never appear again!"
The man in black looked up, glaring dead at Lin Huang through his pitch-black cloak. "A boy too smart for his own good is a freak. You truly know too much!"
Lin Huang gave a perfunctory smile, completely unfazed by the threat. "Do you think I don’t know what you’re plotting by telling me so much? It’s just that as long as I remain in Piaoxue Palace, you wouldn’t dare make a major move!"
"That makes sense. If you ever step out of Piaoxue Palace one day, you’d better be careful," the man in black sneered coldly.
"Since that’s the case, let’s talk about the third question." Lin Huang curled his lips.
The man in black arrogantly flicked his sleeve and stood sideways to Lin Huang. "Before asking the third question, shouldn’t you show your sincerity first? Do you really expect me to answer three questions for nothing?"
"Fair enough!"
Lin Huang beckoned and took out two radiantly golden Ancient Scrolls of Mountains and Rivers. "When I obtained this thing, there were two scrolls. I don’t know which one is real and which is fake." Holding a scroll in each hand, he smiled. "Pick one. Left hand or right hand?"
The man in black narrowed his eyes. His cloudy gaze swept back and forth, only to find that the two scrolls looked exactly identical. He couldn’t detect any flaws.
"...Left hand!" the man in black rasped.
Lin Huang waved his arm and tossed the scroll in his hand to the man.
Upon catching it, the man in black hurriedly unrolled it. Instantly, golden light flared. Streaks of profound, mystical light poured out from the ancient scroll, making him dizzy just looking at it.
"No need to look... If you could understand it, you wouldn’t be hiding out in Piaoxue Palace," Lin Huang mocked. "Even the High Priest of Piaoxue Palace probably can’t fully understand it."
"Ask your third question!" the man in black said as he stowed the scroll away.
He was determined to get both scrolls. If the one in his hands turned out to be fake and he returned to the Blood Spirit Hall like this, he would likely lose his life for failing the mission. Between the two scrolls, one was definitely real. As long as he brought back the genuine Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers, once the Evil King emerged in the future, it would be hard for him not to rise to greatness.
"The third question is very simple. Why did the Blood Spirit Hall attack my sister?" Lin Huang asked.
"Haven’t I already told you? Lin Cangxue’s Martial Soul was crippled by Hann Qingtian. It had nothing to do with the Blood Spirit Hall. Jiang Huaiyin merely lent Hann Qingtian a helping hand," the man in black said, suddenly becoming annoyed.
Lin Huang’s expression turned cold. He gave the man a sidelong glance, a mocking smile appearing on his face, and his voice grew several degrees colder. "Do you really take me for a three-year-old child?
"Hann Qingtian is a Half-Step Martial Marquis. If he truly wanted to avenge his son, how could my sister possibly survive? Why would it just be a simple shattering of her Martial Soul?"
"That is Hann Qingtian’s own business, how would I know?" the man in black retorted angrily. "Don’t you think Lin Cangxue’s current plight is worse than death?"
"It seems... you no longer want the other Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers!" Lin Huang sneered, adjusting his sleeves.
"Kid, don’t be insolent. I’ve already told you a lot, so I hope you know your limits. You should know the consequences of going against my Blood Spirit Hall," the man in black threatened coldly. "Even the once-illustrious Xuanyuan Clan is now sparsely populated, reduced to a single heir for nine generations. Even Xuanyuan Tibing’s only son, Xuanyuan Sword, couldn’t escape the fate of dying prematurely!"
"So the Blood Spirit Hall was behind that incident too," Lin Huang said icily.
"Since everything is out in the open, I’ll tell you one more thing," the man in black laughed sinisterly. "More than twenty years ago, your father was jointly hunted down by all the factions in the East Spirit Realm. He was driven from pillar to post like a stray dog and ultimately had to flee the East Spirit Realm. If it weren’t for the Blood Spirit Hall fueling the flames, your father wouldn’t have ended up in such a state!"
Lin Huang’s expression changed abruptly, turning completely frosty. "Tsk, tsk... Your Blood Spirit Hall really stops at no evil. Do you truly believe you can blot out the sky with one hand?"
"We wouldn’t dare claim to blot out the sky, but I certainly don’t put a kid in the Earth Element Realm in my eyes. Looking across this entire East Spirit Land, the number of people who can make my Blood Spirit Hall wary can be counted on one hand!"
"So what if you don’t put me in your eyes? So what if you are arrogant? So what if the Blood Spirit Hall is powerful?" Lin Huang laughed heartily, knowing he had the upper hand. "If you don’t answer my third question, you can forget about taking this Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers!"
With a flick of his sleeve, Lin Huang headed toward the waterfall, cutting off the conversation.
"You..."
The man in black was furious. Murderous intent surged in his eyes, and his wizened fingers curled into hooks.
"Before you make a move, I advise you to think it through. Once you’re exposed here in Piaoxue Palace, will you still be able to escape?" Lin Huang sneered without turning his head.
The man’s breath hitched. He took a long, deep breath to suppress the raging anger in his heart, then spoke in a low voice.
"Lin Cangxue is to become a Host Body! In the future, when the Yin Yang Valley’s seal is broken, she will be the Host Body for the Evil King’s power!"
Hearing the raspy voice from behind, Lin Huang’s footsteps halted abruptly. The man’s words echoed in his ears. A towering rage surged from the depths of his heart, and bloodshot redness crawled into his eyes.
A Host Body!
She was actually meant to be a Host Body!
Lin Huang felt a terrifying, unreleaseable killing intent well up from within. He should have thought of this sooner. He had actually overlooked this crucial point. Three hundred years ago, Qiu Dali was a Host Body. The Host Body possessed by the Blood Crow. And his sister, Lin Cangxue, was the East Spirit Legend. She was a peerless genius, and her innate talent was far beyond that of a mere woodcutter. If the Evil King needed a Host Body, who in the entire East Spirit Realm could compare to Lin Cangxue?
"Lin Cangxue’s growth was too terrifying. In just two short years, she had already reached the Half-Step Celestial Element Realm, and even achieved the unprecedented feat of Earth Element Kills Celestial Element. The Blood Spirit Hall feared that if she was allowed to grow for a few more years, she would step into the Martial Marquis Realm. Dealing with her then would have been extremely troublesome, so we crippled her Martial Soul." The man in black chuckled coldly, though a trace of worry lingered on his face. This secret was closely guarded even within the Blood Spirit Hall; ordinary people had no way of knowing it. That was because if the secret was leaked, someone would inevitably try to assassinate Lin Cangxue, which would result in the destruction of the Host Body...
"You guys... really deserve to die!"
Standing beneath the waterfall with his back to the man, Lin Huang’s eyes roiled with frantic killing intent. His fingers clenched so tightly that his nails bit deeply into his palms, yet he felt no pain.
"Tsk tsk, so what if we deserve to die? Do you really think a measly Earth Element Martial Artist like you can bring down my Blood Spirit Hall?" the man in black mocked, his voice growing noticeably sharper. "Three questions have been asked. It is time to fulfill your promise and hand over the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers!"
"I am very dissatisfied with the answer to the final question." Lin Huang waved his hand, summoning the Array Puppet to his side. "Therefore, you can forget about getting this other scroll today. If you want it, send someone of a higher rank!"
"You’re courting death, kid!" Enraged, the man in black instantly kicked up terrifying torrents of water around him, preparing to lunge at Lin Huang.
"Are you sure you want to fight me?" Lin Huang burst into laughter. The freezing Array Puppet stood horizontally in front of him. His gaze toward the man in black was utterly ruthless. "I have never seen a thief who broke into someone else’s house dare to make such a ruckus!
"I believe that with your rank in the Blood Spirit Hall, you wouldn’t dare act so brazenly in Piaoxue Palace!" Lin Huang’s words were filled with sharp edges. "Scram, old dog! I told you, if you want the other scroll, send someone of a higher rank. You don’t have the qualifications to negotiate a deal with me."
"Good... very good..." Fuming with rage, the man in black repeated the word through gritted teeth. His cloudy eyes bristled with chilling murderous intent, but the offensive momentum around his body gradually dissipated. Staring at the figure beneath the waterfall, he snarled, "I’ll remember you! You’d better hope you never fall into my hands. Otherwise, I will show you what it means to wish for death as your guts are torn to pieces!"
With a heavy stomp, the man in black shot into the air and flew out of the Celestial Waterfall Cliff.
Beneath the waterfall, Lin Huang let out a long breath. He turned to watch the man’s retreating back, the murderous intent in his eyes lingering. Then, he glanced at the Big White Cat nearby and gave it a swift kick.
MEOW!
The Big White Cat glared furiously at Lin Huang. Remembering Fatty Bai’s instructions, it reluctantly wiggled its bottom and followed the scent lingering in the air, tracking the man in black into the distance...