Chapter 100

“Junior Master, you…” Xia Tianwu glanced at the silver mirror in Lin Du’s hand, hesitating to speak.

She had looked around the room earlier, and the only item not from this village was the lamp on the table, which seemed to be what Lin Du referred to as “monitoring.”

Who was Junior Master monitoring now?

After Lin Du returned, she didn’t say much, just staring at the mirror, which remained silent.

“There’s someone breaking the formation,” Lin Du said.

“Is there a formation that even Junior Master can’t break?” Xia Tianwu blurted out, then quickly realized that Lin Du had only been in the sect for a year, so it was normal that she couldn’t break all formations.

Jin Xuan and Yuan Ye often praised Junior Master’s prowess in breaking formations, but Xia Tianwu had forgotten that Lin Du was still a child.

Tao Xian spoke up, “Formation paths are difficult to master, especially for someone as young as you…”

Lin Du interrupted, “If I act, the village will be gone. Let him handle it.”

Tao Xian: ? Why was he even speaking?

Formation techniques are complex, and setting up and breaking formations are both skills.

Lin Du learned faster than most because she had been exposed to modern mathematical and scientific knowledge. Her background in advanced mathematics and physics made her adept at understanding energy fields, but she still hadn’t mastered many refined techniques for breaking formations. Her current methods were either reversing or offsetting, or using brute force to disrupt energy fields, which had unpredictable consequences.

There was a certain beauty in her destructive approach to formations, disregarding others’ well-being.

Lin Du looked down, suddenly hearing Tao Xian quietly say, “Young Taoist, you’re still so young and already have white hair? Are you overworking yourself? I remember that in this place, elders don’t usually get white hair. Maybe you should ask for some secret remedies?”

Then Tao Xian saw the child turn her face toward him, staring coldly with misty eyes.

Tao Xian felt oddly nervous, “That’s not what I meant.”

“I did it on purpose. I chose the name ‘Dyeing’—how’s that? Is it cool enough?” Lin Du lifted her chin, adopting a haughty attitude.

Tao Xian could only nod, “Cool, cool, very cool…”

Even the coolest person was still a kid who hadn’t grown all their hair.

Xia Tianwu furrowed her brows and went over to check Lin Du’s pulse.

Lin Du’s life essence was insufficient, which affected her longevity. Since joining the sect, she had been supplementing it, so it shouldn’t have deteriorated so quickly.

However, that streak of white hair had no vitality. Xia Tianwu knew immediately why.

It wasn’t just worry; it was overexertion and mental exhaustion, drawing life force from her hair.

Xia Tianwu wanted to scold her, but suddenly, Junior Master’s expression changed.

Lin Du was watching the silver mirror, where Wei Zhi’s smiling face appeared. His eyes seemed to look directly at her through the glass lamp, his gaze shrouded in amber-like light, his downturned lashes showing a touch of mischievousness.

…

She knew Wei Zhi would notice eventually.

A lazy, smiling voice said, “Had enough of watching? Come help me out.”

So, he had known all along.

Lin Du’s face fell, her mood clearly soured. She forced a smile at Xia Tianwu, “Second Senior Nephew, scolding can wait for another day. I need to break a formation. That person isn’t capable; I have to step in.”

“Second Senior Nephew, you go ahead and guard the eldest nephew,” she said.

Xia Tianwu, without thinking, let go, and in that moment, the person was gone.

The door frame was empty. Junior Master slipped out with no obstruction and quickly vanished.

Xia Tianwu was silent for a moment. Junior Master could have a nickname—how about “The Vanishing Hand”?

“I’ll go check on Senior Brother.” Her expression unchanged, she got up and left the room.

The moonlight grew more hazy. When Lin Du reached the well, Wei Zhi was examining the inscription on the celestial repair stone with the glass lamp in hand.

“Why did you call me?”

“After all, I’m not very capable. I need you to handle it,” Wei Zhi said with a smile.

He even heard her previous words when she left!

Lin Du felt her scalp tingling, wanting to bundle herself up and bury herself on the spot, but she maintained her composure, forcibly shifting the topic. She glanced at the roots exposed on the ground, “Is it not removed yet?”

Wei Zhi shook his head, “It’s almost done. I’ve controlled the upper layers of the entire village, but part of it is still intertwined with the underground moisture. To protect the village, you need to fill it with something. This isn’t difficult for me.”

Lin Du nodded perfunctorily while clearly observing him, her eyes expressing: If it’s not difficult for you, why did you call me?

“I need you to hold the lamp.”

Lin Du’s nonchalant smile froze.

If Wei Zhi weren’t ranked third on the Sky Ranking, Lin Du would have wanted to shove him into the well to get his brain rewired.

Her master was a recluse who had become somewhat twisted, and Wei Zhi seemed to have become foolish from being a digestive dragon.

Although she had indeed been sneaky, Wei Zhi had clearly noticed what it was from the start.

This was blatant revenge; she wasn’t a little novice monk carrying a lamp for a high monk!

“The well water might overflow. You should block it, so it doesn’t flood the village.”

Wei Zhi could manage it in an instant, but…

He lowered his eyelashes, “You have an ice spirit root; you should be better at this than me.”

Lin Du suddenly fell silent, reaching out to take the lamp. “Alright then.”

As expected of a high monk, he was much better with words than the old man at home.

Wei Zhi summoned an object, which was somewhat similar to the Vajra Pestle Lin Du had seen in the water mirror, yet still different.

Previously, Lin Du had difficulty distinguishing between the Vajra Pestle and the Vajra Demon-subduing Pestle from textual descriptions. Seeing the real thing made her even more puzzled, as both had three-pointed tips and intricate patterns on the other end.

The person was clearly casting a spell, focusing intently on the spiritual treasure before him, but he still spoke, “It’s the Demon-subduing Pestle.”

Lin Du was startled, wondering how he knew what she was thinking…

Wei Zhi smirked slightly. “You’re staring at that thing with unfocused eyes, clearly lost in thought. But you’re not calculating or scheming; you’re recalling something from a book, trying to figure out what I’m doing.”

Lin Du took a step back, disliking this feeling of being mentally surpassed.

When you get along comfortably with someone, and they can always align with your thoughts, you’re likely being mentally outmaneuvered.

Lin Du preferred to control the situation unilaterally rather than face an opponent.

She needed to stay away from this.

This collaboration would likely end after this, and they probably wouldn’t meet again.

Wei Zhi had now assumed a serious expression, a faint golden glow surrounding him. The Demon-subduing Pestle he held began to slowly rotate, its golden light flaring. Although it was only as long as a palm, it was now pointing downward with a heavy, oppressive aura.

The demon monk had closed his eyes, chanting incantations and making hand seals. There was no trace of charm in his demeanor, only an air of solemnity that Lin Du had never seen before.

Wei Zhi suddenly opened his eyes, commanding the Vajra Demon-subduing Pestle to strike down into the root system of the vine.

Then, he joined his hands in prayer and made another seal, a gust of wind rising around him and causing the monk’s robe to flutter.

The spiritual energy surged violently, and Lin Du could vaguely sense the swelling vine tide below. In the distance, it was clear that there was a looming collapse, shaking the green mountains.

The Moonlight Vine, which had occupied a vast space beneath Qinglu Village for hundreds of years, was penetrated and pursued by the Demon-subduing Pestle, causing it to disintegrate. The surrounding Vajra Pestles exerted their force to drive back and uproot the vine.

“Rise.” Wei Zhi suddenly raised his hand, and the thick vine, almost as large as a human thigh, burst forth from the ground, like a tattered rope being thrown into his mouth, followed by a black whirlwind pouring into it.

Nearby, the mountains seemed to shed a layer of skin, with flying sand and stones. Everything happened in an instant.

The innocent insects and wild animals felt as if a wind had risen, completely unaware of any mishap.

As the spiritual vine was removed, Lin Du suddenly withdrew the glass lamp, and with a flick of her hand, the Floating Life Fan appeared in her palm. She tightened her grip, swiftly opening the fan, and poured all her spiritual power into the well water.

The well water, seemingly unable to withstand the surge, was frozen at the mouth of the well, even rising about half a person’s height before solidifying into firm ice blocks in an instant.

The cold was intense.

“Indeed, a supreme-grade ice spirit root,” Wei Zhi commented softly, then nonchalantly blinked away the frost on his eyelashes.

Lin Du, feeling a bit cheeky, reached out and tapped the solid ice blocks of the well water.

She suddenly noticed something, withdrew her hand, turned her head nonchalantly, and looked away from the person beside her.

On the exposed portion of Wei Zhi’s neck, under the moonlight, there was a faint silver glow.

It was dragon scales.

Wei Zhi had asked her to leave earlier, probably not wanting her to see that he couldn’t suppress the demonic aura effectively.