Chapter 512: Chapter 450: Fierce Battle at Nine Dragon Pool (Part 1)

Zhao Lin cut down three men in less than the time it took to take a single breath.

Liang Song had seen Zhao Lin slaughter dozens at once before, so he was long since unfazed. He steadied the Spiritual Vessel and slowly descended toward the ground.

The Spiritual Vessel had just left Yanmen County and had not yet entered the mountains and forests. Liang Song found a relatively secluded hillside to land.

The two men dragged the three corpses off the vessel, donned buckskin gloves, and deftly searched them.

Besides storage bags, magic treasures, talismans, and some loose Spirit Coins, they found an oil-paper package on each body.

Wrapped in the oil paper was a stick of incense.

"Communication Incense!"

Zhao Lin lifted it to his nose for a sniff and called out its name.

Communication Incense is made from special aromatic powders, resin, and beast saliva, and is used for communication and tracking.

While talismans were useful, they created a considerable disturbance and emitted Mana fluctuations that enemies could easily detect. Communication Incense, by contrast, was much stealthier.

Once lit, the Communication Incense releases a unique fragrance that can be tracked from a hundred-li radius by reared demonic insects, such as Fragrance-Seeking Ants or Tracking Cicadas.

Many families use Communication Incense, and each has its own unique formula.

Zhao Lin stared at the Communication Incense, deep in thought for a moment. Then, he used a Flame Stream Arrow to incinerate the bodies of Li Yuanzhi and Li Yanlang, leaving only Tao Shen’s corpse behind.

Having known Zhao Lin for many years, Liang Song was familiar with his methods. "You want to use the body as bait?" he asked.

Zhao Lin nodded. "They definitely sent more than just these three. We’ll lure out the rest."

The two returned to the Spiritual Vessel and flew toward Nine Dragon Pool.

As they neared their destination, they slowed down, flying low and skimming the treetops.

Nine Dragon Pool was located at the edge of the forest, consisting of nine long, winding, and interconnected pools—hence its name.

The Spiritual Vessel landed beside a murky, muddy pool. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, their trunks entwined with mossy vines climbing upward.

Zhao Lin brought out Tao Shen’s body and propped it up against a large tree.

"What’s our next move?"

Liang Song asked bluntly, his trust in Zhao Lin absolute.

"We’ll borrow Brother Liang’s Sealed Valley Snake to set an ambush. We’ll watch from a distance, see what happens, and gauge their numbers and strength..."

Zhao Lin spoke a few more words in a low voice using the Sound Transmission Skill, then took out the three confiscated sticks of incense, lit them, and placed them beside the corpse.

Liang Song’s eyes lit up. "Great idea!"

He immediately released the Sealed Valley Snake from his beast-taming pouch. Forming a seal with his hands and chanting an incantation, he infused a sliver of his Divine Sense into the snake’s sea of consciousness.

As if it understood, the Sealed Valley Snake swayed for a moment before burrowing deep into the earth.

Zhao Lin and Liang Song returned to the Spiritual Vessel and flew a hundred zhang away to lie in wait.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, a buzzing sound filled the air. Two Spiritual Cicadas with purple heads flapped their wings and landed near Tao Shen’s corpse.

CHIRP CHIRP...

The two Purple-winged Cicadas circled in the air, rubbing their wings together to produce a piercing sound.

"Over here!"

Li Chengfu arrived with three Qi Refining Cultivators—Tao Huang, Li Chong, and Tao Hengtong. All four had their faces masked with black cloth.

To assassinate Zhao Lin, the Li and Tao families had each dispatched three Qi Refining Realm cultivators, with the Foundation Establishment cultivator Li Chengfu leading the team.

When the four arrived, they saw Tao Shen propped against a tree trunk, his neck lolling limply to one side. He had obviously been dead for quite some time.

"Tao Shen!"

Tao Huang and Tao Hengtong cried out in shock.

Li Chengfu warily scanned the surroundings, his mind racing with suspicion.

’Tao Shen is dead. Did something happen to Li Yuanzhi and Li Yanlang as well?’

’How did Zhao Lin figure out their identities?’

Tao Huang and Tao Hengtong cautiously approached the corpse, wanting to see how Tao Shen had died.

"Be careful. It could be an ambush."

Li Chengfu warned.

Tao Huang nodded. "Don’t worry, Senior. I’ve scanned the area with my Divine Sense. There’s no one nearby..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a faint Mana fluctuation from beneath his feet.

Startled, Tao Huang instantly retreated, shouting a warning, "Get back!"

Tao Hengtong reacted a beat too slow. He halted but couldn’t tell where the danger was coming from.

Suddenly, a strange snake with a head as sharp as a drill bit shot out of the ground, lunging viciously.

With the snake’s fangs inches from his face, Tao Hengtong had no time to cast any Magic. He instantly threw up a Spiritual Energy Shield to protect himself.

SWISH! SWISH! The strange snake opened its maw and shot out two sharp, slender fangs.

The fangs pierced through the Spiritual Energy Shield and sank into Tao Hengtong’s lower abdomen.

"AHH!"

Tao Hengtong let out a pained scream, clutching his abdomen as he crumpled to the ground. His face instantly turned a ghastly shade of blue-black.

Enraged, Tao Huang raised his hand and launched a Wind Cutter, viciously slashing at the Sealed Valley Snake.

The Sealed Valley Snake was exceptionally slippery. It dove back into the ground and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Li Chengfu lunged forward, whipped out an ochre-colored talisman, and slammed it onto the ground. The talisman melted silently into the earth.

The ground immediately began to tremble and shake, and a shrill hiss echoed from deep below.

"Die, you wretched beast!"

Li Chengfu sneered. He formed a Spell with his hands, preparing to kill the underground Sealed Valley Snake in a single blow, when he suddenly sensed a powerful Mana fluctuation from the sky.

He snapped his head up to see a Spiritual Vessel speeding toward them.

Azure light surged at the vessel’s prow, rapidly coalescing into a thick spear of light.

"Get clear!"

Although the Wind Spear Skill was only a Tier One Magic, its power was magnified immensely when fired from the Spiritual Vessel’s Array, making it far stronger than one cast by a cultivator.

BOOM!

The massive spear slammed into the ground, blasting out a huge crater.

Li Chengfu, Tao Huang, and Li Chong managed to dodge in time, only getting caught in the edge of the blast.

Tao Hengtong, who was trying to circulate his energy to purge the poison, was unable to move freely and was sent flying by the direct force of the explosion.

The Spiritual Vessel shot past overhead, flying off into the distance without a moment’s hesitation.

"Shameless punk!"

Li Chengfu’s anger erupted. In an instant, he understood everything.

The three men he’d sent to the Spiritual Vessel must be dead. Zhao Lin had lured them here, intending to use the vessel’s offensive Magic to wipe them all out in one go.

"Wait here! I’m going to kill him!"

Li Chengfu ordered, then cast a flight spell. His body shot into the air like an arrow as he gave chase to the Spiritual Vessel.

A Spiritual Vessel was not a warship; it could only fire Tier One offensive Magic. While powerful, it lacked the precision to pose a true threat to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

By the same token, it was extremely difficult for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to breach a Spiritual Vessel’s defenses.

Li Chengfu pushed his Spiritual Power to its limit, closing the distance. Just as he was a few dozen zhang away from the Spiritual Vessel, his eyes narrowed. Something felt wrong.

’Why is there only one person on the Spiritual Vessel?’

He had never met Zhao Lin in person, but he had seen a portrait of him. The appearance and build of the person on the Spiritual Vessel were clearly a mismatch.

’Damn it! It’s a ploy to lure the tiger away from its mountain!’

Li Chengfu’s heart sank. He immediately abandoned his pursuit of the Spiritual Vessel and shot back the way he came.

’No matter how formidable Zhao Lin is,’ he thought, ’Tao Huang and Li Chong are both at the Late-stage of Qi Refining. They can surely hold him off for a while.’

Things were just as he had guessed. The moment Zhao Lin had spotted the Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had disembarked from the Spiritual Vessel.

He had Liang Song draw Li Chengfu away while he hid in the shadows.

After the battle at Red Tail Island, Zhao Lin was well aware of his own capabilities. He no longer considered ordinary Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to be a threat.

Tao Huang was channeling his energy to purge the poison from Tao Hengtong, while Li Chong stood guard, periodically glancing up at the sky.

At that very moment, Zhao Lin descended upon them.

"You?!"

Tao Huang and Li Chong’s faces went pale with shock. They couldn’t understand how Zhao Lin was here.

Without a word, Zhao Lin sent his Moon-Cutting Saber flying straight toward Tao Huang.

Even though Tao Huang was masked, Zhao Lin recognized him instantly.

This was the man who had relentlessly hunted him last time, even chasing him into the water. If not for having cultivated the Water Manipulation Skill, he would have likely perished in that river.

’This is a debt that must be repaid.’

Knowing the situation was dire, Tao Huang abandoned any thought of Tao Hengtong’s fate. He pulled a black, melon-sized flying hammer from his storage bag and sent it flying to intercept the Moon-Cutting Saber.

Li Chong pointed a finger, and a Judge’s Brush shot out from his sleeve, joining the black hammer in a pincer attack against Zhao Lin.

Unflustered, Zhao Lin flicked his wrist. The Silver Flood Dragon Whip coiled around it shot into the air, unfurling like a living serpent as it snaked toward the Judge’s Brush.

The flying hammer and the Moon-Cutting Saber collided with a loud CLANG, and both were sent flying.

The Moon-Cutting Saber was knocked back over a zhang, while the black hammer plummeted toward the ground.

Tao Huang was aghast. ’Four years ago, my Spirit Hammer Skill was merely at the Proficient level. After years of bitter cultivation, I’ve reached the Great Accomplishment stage, yet I still can’t match his throwing saber?’

The black hammer was a heavy magic treasure. To lose a head-on collision could only mean one thing: Zhao Lin’s Ice Blade Skill had reached the stage of Perfection.

At this thought, a cold sweat broke out on Tao Huang’s brow.

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