"Yuan Dou Demonic Technique is divided into nine layers, with nine being the extre number, and indeed, many things in this world are divided into nine layers," he said.
Lin Xin walked to the room’s window and looked out from inside to outside.
Below, the pedestrians passing by the building were incessant, with carriages drawn by exotic beasts periodically stopping at the building’s entrance. Vehicles also periodically drove away from the side of the building.
"The first layer is the Primitive Demon Body, one of the eight great demon bodies of the Central Prefecture, imnsely powerful. Even now, being only at the first layer, I have reached such a formidable state that I can compete against a cultivator at the Foundation Establishnt Stage just on physical constitution alone. This is the basic entry requirent for the first layer of the Primitive Demon Body. I could only cultivate the Primitive Demon Body thanks to the enhancent of my attributes, otherwise, I couldn’t have surpassed the elder and second martial sisters," he explained.
He later learned that the elder and the second martial sisters both had unique bloodlines, naturally possessing extrely formidable physiques, which qualified them for the cultivation of the Primitive Demon Body.
Collecting his thoughts quickly, he began inspecting the various items in the room, so of which were left behind by Xia Haiji.
He had thoroughly understood this man’s identity, background, social relations, and personality through the network of Yuan Dou Demon Sect.
Now, he only needed to use this identity to make contact at the so-called assembly for the sons of the secluded manor.
This was his true purpose.
The things Xia Haiji left behind included so clothes, supplies, a small amount of Jade Money and Shell Gold. The Jade Money indicated he had been to the west.
The crucial item, the Demon Talisman Seed, was now securely in Lin Xin’s hands.
After a quick check, he slung a small pack over his shoulder and left the room, heading down the stairs.
At the checkout counter on the first floor, he saw that Mister ng, who had been lounging nearby earlier, was still there, it was unclear if he was waiting for soone or sothing else.
"Checking out." Lin Xin placed the key on the counter.
"Thank you for your patronage!" The shopkeeper smiled nervously, knowing all too well that they had secretly riffled through Xia Haiji’s belongings countless tis and even managed to extract a few Demon Talisman Seeds to hand over.
Now, all he could do was pray that this fellow hadn’t noticed.
Of course, he wouldn’t know that the real Xia Haiji was already dead, and now Lin Xin naturally wouldn’t care.
After checking out quickly, he glanced at Mister ng and strode directly towards the exit.
"Xia brother, we’ll et again soon," Mister ng’s voice called out from behind.
Lin Xin paused montarily and continued walking out the door, ignoring him.
After leaving the Cultivation Tower, he hired a small carriage to take him to Mount Huang Temple.
Although Mount Huang Temple was not far, it was actually more than ten miles away. Traveling slowly by carriage would not attract attention.
About half an hour later, the carriage slowly ca to a stop.
"Sir, we’ve arrived,"
the carriage driver turned around and said with a smiling face.
But he didn’t see anyone on the seat, just a small piece of Broken Silver lying on the cushion, enough to cover his fare for several days.
The driver quickly looked around.
"Was this too much, sir?"
The area was lush with pine and cypress, completely quiet except for the strange calls of birds as evening approached.
Feeling a chill, he hastily pocketed the Broken Silver and turned the carriage around to head back the way he ca.
**************
Lin Xin slowly climbed up along the trail at the foot of the mountain.
He didn’t follow the path directly upwards but walked a bit, turned left into a small thicket of bushes, passed through the bushes, and in front of him lay a scatter of rocks—large and small greenish and whitish rocks scattered everywhere, appearing to be a dry riverbed.
"Haiji, you’ve finally arrived. We’ve been waiting for you for a long ti."
A tall and burly man erged from behind a rock. A black silk scarf was tied around his neck, and he seed to be a swordsman, with a large black-sheathed sword on his back. He appeared to be about forty years old.
Lin Xin turned around and recognized this person’s identity.
Xia Haiji was not alone; he was part of a decent little team, and the strong man in front of him was Gu Lince, the most powerful mber of the team. He had once led the four of them out of an encirclent of Sandy Sea Blood Beasts with a single sword.
"Brother Lince. I just arrived as well. I was cultivating in the Cultivation Tower and had to leave midway to deal with sothing. I’ve just returned," Lin Xin replied sowhat coldly.
This was precisely why he had chosen Xia Haiji’s identity, as this person was normally quite calm and always appeared indifferent when speaking with others, making it very easy to disguise himself.
Gu Lince said nothing, noting that Lin Xin’s behavior seed sowhat different from usual, but there was no significant change, and he said nothing more.
"Little sister i, co out. It’s just the three of us this ti."
Not far away on the rocky ground, a young woman’s figure suddenly appeared, sitting cross-legged, her black ponytailed hair flowing, her sword resting on her knees, and her eyes closed in concentration, seemingly in the middle of cultivation.
Hearing the call, the woman slowly opened her eyes. Initially disoriented, as if still transitioning from her cultivation state,
she slowly looked towards Lin Xin, her focus returning quickly.
"Brother Haiji!!" She suddenly sprang up, running towards him like a flying bird.
Then, swooping like a swallow returning to its nest, she rushed fiercely towards Lin Xin.
Lin Xin’s face showed a hint of resignation as he firmly caught the girl.
"i, you seem to have gotten heavier. How much fattening food have you eaten while I was away?"
"Who says I got fat!" i pouted defiantly. "I just ate a little bit more than usual, just a tiny bit!"
i was the sworn sister Xia Haiji truly bonded with after leaving his hotown.
Though they were not related by blood, his sworn sister always treated him very well. Over ti, her kindness moved him, and their relationship grew exceptionally close.
The original Xia Haiji also adored this young companion, who was barely under twenty years old.
The docunts did not reveal that they were all children of the underworld.
Feeling the girl wriggling in his arms, clad in a simple outfit resembling a white micro-skirt—and with their bodies pressed tightly together—the girl also unintentionally rubbed her sensitive upper body against him.
Lin Xin imdiately had an idea. This little one’s feelings for Xia Haiji seed to be more than just simple sibling affection.
"Alright, alright, every ti you two et, you stick together. Is that really necessary?"
Gu Lince said exasperatedly.
"If you got here earlier, we could have gone up earlier. This ti, there’s said to be so special good news. It might bring a great opportunity for everyone."
Lin Xin and his companion had no objections and followed Gu Lince away from the pebble riverbed, back to the mountain path to climb upwards.
Along the way, they gradually beca aware of presences hidden on either side.
The trio paid no attention and pushed on toward the summit without a mont’s pause.
Before long, a rustic temple with yellow walls appeared among the pines at the mountain top.
"Invitation." Before reaching the temple, Gu Lince pulled out an invitation card, gently pushed it forward, and the thin card floated up and quickly disappeared into the air.
Poof!
Suddenly, a black smoke erupted under Gu Lince’s feet, engulfing him and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
izi followed suit, expertly throwing out her invitation card.
Lin Xin did the sa, launching the invitation forward.
Poof, poof. Two soft sounds, and a large billow of black smoke rose from beneath the two of them.
Before his eyes, everything was a murky, pitch-black haze. After more than ten breaths, the smoke gradually cleared.
Lin Xin suddenly found himself in a completely different environnt.
The sky swiftly turned completely dark, a purple moon like a sickle hung in the sky, casting a faint white halo.
He was standing before an eerie and ancient temple, with white lanterns hanging on either side of the temple door, each inscribed with "Black" and "River."
The temple’s plaque was also inscribed with the words: Black River Temple.
By this ti, several people were already standing in front of the temple, n and won, old and young alike.
But everyone shared one thing in common—they all carried more or less a hint of belligerence.
Gu Lince, izi, and Lin Xin approached subtly and gathered behind a temple pillar, listening to others chatting freely.
"Lince, Haiji."
A scholarly-dressed man called out from afar and quickly approached them.
"What took you so long?"
"Haiji was late; we would have arrived days earlier, but he got here very late," izi pouted as she explained.
This scholarly-dressed man was Chen Fan, a cultivator well-acquainted with the trio, having t during a mission.
"This ti, it is said sothing troubling has been found in the Undying Country, so Venerable Huangshan called everyone here to discuss it at this centennial gathering."
"Undying Country?" Lin Xin was puzzled.
"Sothing troubling?" izi and he almost spoke in unison.
"Yes, the recently accessed intelligence on Undying Country. The entry requirent is to reach an insurmountable stage in the second cave of Tall Body Country," Gu Lince explained, looking puzzled.
Lin Xin felt a chill.
It appeared the children of the underworld knew far more than he did.
And it seed they had even ford a large alliance-like organization.
"I kind of forgot. I’ve had so breakthroughs in cultivation recently, so there’s a lot going on..." he explained.
"Alright..." The group did not dwell on the topic any longer but shifted their focus to the so-called troubling matter. Everyone was used to illusions, and this situation was no different.
Lin Xin swept his gaze around the people nearby—all children of the underworld. So wore plain human clothes, looking like a waiter from a tavern.
So were muscular with big earrings and scanty clothing, seemingly from an ethnic minority.
Others looked like cultivators from a righteous sect, with an aura of immortality.
There were even a few very young children, but their eyes flickered with a sly and mature hue.
All gathered together, the murderous aura they collectively exuded was noticeable, even to Lin Xin.
This group of underworld children seed mostly to be frustrated souls who rose through slaughter, though there were a few with a clear-minded look, but they were very few in number.
With a hundred people present, he could only spot a handful who might have been genuine, and even then, it was unclear if they were masquerading.
To avoid exposure, he stood a bit further away from Gu Lince, Chen Fan, and izi, silent, to avoid any slips.
While listening to his companions talk, he observed the other underworld children.
Clearly, he could feel that many of them carried a hint of murderous intent, just like he had when he was still at the manor.
But so had more obscure auras, hard to read.
"Last ti we were in the Sea People’s Country, we heard that Venerable Huangshan had found sothing. We initially thought it was good news, and if a few elders could ascend, it would strengthen the position of us, the children of the underworld, in Central Prefecture. But now, it seems sothing is amiss," Gu Lince frowned and said.
"With Venerable Huangshan’s power, even if it’s lacking, there shouldn’t be any major issues. There haven’t been any problems for so many years; this ti should be no exception, right?" izi said sowhat sheepishly.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to cast your votes of recomndation and monthly tickets on qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to continue reading.)
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