Lin, his brow furrowed in contemplation, was about to speak when a voice sliced through the air. “What now, Daoist Lu? Do you harbor dissatisfaction?” Cangsong Zi, his face hardening, turned his gaze upon Lin. Silence descended upon the chamber.

“Since Daoist Lu agrees, then we shall trouble Daoist Pang with the matter.” With these words, Cangsong Zi exchanged a glance with the crone in azure robes. Together, they turned to prepare their secluded abodes, before swiftly departing towards the wall-like mountains in the distance.

Yet, as they left, the crone’s eyes lingered upon Lin, as did Cangsong Zi’s on the elder surnamed Pang.

Once they were gone, the Pang elder’s face contorted into a sinister grin as he fixed his gaze upon Lin, twirling a ring on his finger. “Daoist Lu, continue your recuperation. This old one shall ensure your safety.”

With these words, the elder unleashed his divine sense, sweeping it across Lin’s form with blatant disregard. Having confirmed the extent of Lin’s injuries, he dismissed him from his sight and began to ransack the cave dwelling. Lin closed his eyes, paying the Pang elder no heed.

As time trickled by, the Pang elder emerged from the third chamber, his face alight with wild joy. He returned to Lin, his eyes now filled with a cold stare, and chuckled. “Daoist Lu, I recall a statement you made earlier.”

Lin opened his eyes, his gaze steady as he regarded the Pang elder.

The Pang elder’s gaze sharpened at Lin’s tranquility, but his composure quickly returned. He spoke with a chilling tone, “You once advised this old one to choose his words with care, lest reckless speech bring about one’s demise.”

Lin’s divine sense remained calm as he replied, “Indeed, I did say that, and I say it again now: reckless speech invites death.”

The Pang elder erupted in laughter, his pockmarked face now a grotesque mask. His eyes turned icy as he glared at Lin. “Before your injury, I might have given you pause, but now I shall see which of us shall meet their end!” With a glint in his eye, he raised his right hand, preparing to strike Lin.

He had waited until Cangsong Zi and the azure crone were far enough away, lest the crone sense his intentions. Yet, Lin remained unfazed. As the Pang elder’s hand drew near, Lin’s eyes flashed with cold light. With lightning speed, his left hand shot out, seizing the Pang elder’s right wrist in an iron grip!

A cacophony of snapping echoed as the Pang elder’s eyes widened, pain searing through his body. Yet, this agony paled in comparison to the terror that now gripped his heart. “You!” The Pang elder staggered backward, ready to unleash a spell, but Lin surged forward, his right fist hurtling with immense power.

The Pang elder was too close to evade. With a deafening crash, Lin’s fist landed squarely upon the Pang elder’s chest.

The Pang elder coughed up blood, his eyes wide with disbelief. His physical form exploded into a shower of flesh and blood, while his nascent soul shrieked in terror. He was afraid!

He could not fathom that the one before him was not wounded! As the Pang elder’s nascent soul tried to escape, Lin whirled around, raised his right hand, and summoned an iron sword. Without hesitation, he brought it down in a swift strike!

The sword gleamed as the Pang elder’s nascent soul let out a final cry, bifurcating into two halves. Lin waved his sleeve, seizing both halves in his grasp. With a squeeze, one half of the nascent soul shattered into elemental energy, which Lin devoured whole. The other half, now barely visible, dared not flee, trembling under the point of Lin’s iron sword.

This all transpired in but a breath. Lin’s attack had been swift and decisive, catching the elder off guard and preventing him from utilizing his spells and treasures. “Open your storage ring, and I will spare you!” Lin commanded, his voice cold and harsh.

The Pang elder’s nascent soul was weak, sensing its impending demise. The Lin before him was now an unfathomable force.

Unable to discern whether Lin spoke truthfully, the elder knew that refusal meant certain death, while compliance offered a sliver of hope. Gritting his teeth, he opened his storage ring. Lin swung his iron sword, severing the connection between the ring and the elder before seizing its contents. Then, he fixed his gaze upon the elder’s nascent soul, murder glinting in his eyes. “You promised not to kill me!” the Pang elder’s nascent soul shrieked.

Lin scoffed, then seized the nascent soul, forcibly invoking the forbidden art of memory extraction in its weakened state. After a time, he stored the nascent soul within his own storage ring.

He had no intention of killing the elder now. Such an act might alert Cangsong Zi, ruining Lin’s plans.

“This one and Cangsong Zi are close. Perhaps he holds a life tablet, and my death will be known at once.” Lin did not know for certain, nor had he found any evidence of this in the elder’s memories, but he was cautious, and would rather be safe than sorry. Assessing the time, Lin methodically rummaged through the elder’s belongings. The elder was a cultivator of shattered Nirvana, and possessed many treasures. Among them were hundreds of thousands of Immortal Jades, and fifty or sixty thousand units of Yuan Crystal.

Beyond these were myriad herbs and alchemical recipes, revealing the extent of the elder’s preparations for this journey.

But these were secondary. Lin sought jade slips, within which he found two maps and an incantation to leave this place.

The maps detailed the Seven-Colored Realm, with certain routes and notes, including locations of mist beasts that could be bribed with Immortal Jades for Yuan Crystal.

Unfortunately, even the elder was not privy to Cangsong Zi’s true purpose, only knowing that the destination held the imprisoned souls of many ferocious beasts. Still, Lin had gleaned other pieces of information about the Seven-Colored Realm from the memories.

After a moment of deliberation, Lin resumed his search, and found various elixirs and other items that the Pang elder had taken while searching the cave. Among these, a short sword caught his eye! It had been in the third chamber, thrust into an old beast bone.

With a wave of his hand, the silver blade appeared in Lin’s hand, a treasure only recently discovered by the elder, and not inspected.

As he passed his divine sense across the blade, Lin detected an odd aura, one that stirred a faint familiarity, though he could not recall its origin. The sword bore a seal, and without breaking it, its true power could not be known.

After a moment, Lin returned to the third chamber, and saw on the ground the bones, small and deer-shaped.

The bones were pitch black, and mostly crumbled. These fragments were new, created when the elder had grabbed the sword.

Frowning, Lin felt that something was amiss. Why would there be a deer here? The sword was of course no common item, and its power had been sealed. Yet it was placed on the bones, fixed into this place.

“This place is not Si Mozi’s abode… then whose is it?” Lin had learned this from the elder’s memories, and now knew that Cangsong Zi did not intend to bring him to the true abode.

This place had only been found at random.

Si Mozi did have an abode, but not here. Lin now knew the true location.

After gazing for some time, Lin turned to leave. He could not analyze things well now. But then, Lin paused, and looked down to see near the corner, in a pile of blood and gore, a ring.

The elder’s best treasure was the very ring, found in the Seven-Colored Realm, which he was not given the chance to use.

Lin caught the ring and examined it. He saw it was also sealed, in nine layers. The elder had broken seven, and was close to breaking the eighth.

Erasing the elder’s mark, Lin left his own. With an incantation, seals of his own began to break down the final layers, until five beams of light erupted and flew around him. They were a defense, and would stop any attack.

“If he had unlocked the eighth layer, he would not have died so quickly!” Lin whispered, then dismissed the light.

He took a deep breath, and a cold light flashed in his eyes as he left the cave. He used his awareness to find his prey, chasing after Cangsong Zi, guided by a strange feeling. The route would shock Cangsong Zi if he knew, for Lin followed his path exactly! “You will not wear my Scatter Demon Armor for free!”