Chapter 23

Cheng Hui squeezed Lin Qingyang’s hand hard, signaling him not to get distracted, as the enemy was about to arrive.

Lin Qingyang gently squeezed back to show he understood, then quietly tossed several red crystals around the area. These crystals were refined from a red crystal stone he obtained after defeating someone… what was their name again?

Oh well, it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, he used that red crystal stone to refine these blood crystals.

The person he defeated was at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Even though their combat power was weak due to relying on pills, their cultivation level was genuine. Refining blood crystals from the red crystal stone was costly, but the refined blood crystals had no side effects.

Initially, Lin Qingyang planned to feed the blood crystals to Cheng Hui to boost his strength, but he was later advised that before the first refinement, it was best not to give any pills to the life-bound corpse.

Although these blood crystals weren’t pills, Lin Qingyang decided to keep them for safety.

Unexpectedly, they found another use this time.

The techniques of the Blood Slaughter Sect were not only brutal but also known for their strangeness. These blood crystals could be used as array eyes besides being consumed.

With prior preparation, Lin Qingyang wasn’t afraid of the blue-robed man; he was even eager to try. He originally thought it would take some time to get revenge, but the man came to him, so he wouldn’t hold back.

“Hui Hui, that flower is so pretty. Can you pick it for me?” Lin Qingyang pointed at a wildflower by the roadside.

Cheng Hui gave him a surprised look, then nodded, swaying as he walked towards the wildflower.

The two refined corpses were already very close, with the faster one ambushing less than ten meters ahead. The flower Lin Qingyang pointed to was in the opposite direction, so Cheng Hui could avoid the refined corpse’s attack by walking that way.

The blue-robed man saw the actions of the person and the corpse through his copper-armored corpse from afar and couldn’t help but sneer.

Kids are just kids, getting distracted by a flower.

But this was good; separating them made it easier to defeat them one by one. The blue-robed man’s goal was to extract the secret of refining corpses to increase intelligence from the kid. Given how much the kid valued the refined corpse, as long as he captured him, he wouldn’t worry about getting the secret out of him.

He controlled the wandering corpse to approach Cheng Hui, and just as Cheng Hui bent down to pick the flower, it lunged at him.

Cheng Hui was prepared, rolled on the ground to dodge the attack, and began to counterattack.

The blue-robed man was surprised but not too shocked. Wandering corpses were relatively slow, and since the kid’s refined corpse had complete intelligence, even if its body was somewhat uncontrollable, it could still hold its own against his wandering corpse once it gained the upper hand.

Of course, a walking corpse was a level lower than a wandering corpse, so Cheng Hui could only hold on for a while; turning the tables was almost impossible.

The blue-robed man’s focus was still on Lin Qingyang. Capturing Cheng Hui would save some effort, but even if he couldn’t, he was confident he could extract the information from Lin Qingyang.

He controlled the copper-armored corpse to emerge from hiding and charged towards Lin Qingyang.

In his mind, the kid should show a frightened expression, but instead, he saw a strange smile on that pretty face.

The blue-robed man was startled, and then his vision turned blood-red. He felt as if he had been struck hard, severing his connection with the copper-armored corpse.

“Impossible!”

The blue-robed man was shocked and angry, unable to understand how a kid could sever the connection between him and his refined corpse. He instinctively tried to regain control of his refined corpse, but he realized he had lost contact with the copper-armored corpse and couldn’t locate it.

“How could this happen?”

The blue-robed man quickly shifted his view. Fortunately, the wandering corpse entangled with Cheng Hui was still under his control. He formed a hand seal, intending to quickly deal with Cheng Hui.

Just as he raised his hand, a sudden alarm rang in his mind. He dodged swiftly, and a nimble figure flew past him.

A chill ran down the blue-robed man’s spine. As the figure flashed by, a large gash was cut into his side. If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he might have been disemboweled.

“You…!!”

The blue-robed man looked at the figure and was shocked to find that the person who nearly took his life was the eight-year-old boy.

“This is impossible!” he exclaimed.

Lin Qingyang’s mouth twisted into a strange smile. His fingers were covered in a layer of blood light, with the nails twisted together to form a sharp dagger. The tip of the dagger was pitch black, making the blue-robed man dizzy just by looking at it…

Wait, was this dizziness real??

He quickly looked down and saw that the blood from his wound had turned black. Lin Qingyang’s nails were stained with a potent poison.

“How dare you!”

The blue-robed man was furious and shocked. He never expected that the boy he saw as a stepping stone would almost take his life.

The strength of the Puppet Sect lay in their refined corpses. Once they lost them, their power would plummet. Originally, the blue-robed man wouldn’t have been so vulnerable, but Lin Qingyang had trapped his most powerful copper-armored corpse with an array.

The other wandering corpse was still dealing with Cheng Hui, and he himself had been stabbed and poisoned, leaving him in a dire situation.

“Good kid! I really underestimated you! Do you think this is enough to kill me? Dream on!”

The blue-robed man laughed instead of getting angry, his eyes filled with killing intent.

Lin Qingyang suddenly flashed a bright smile, his tone innocent:

“Senior brother, you’d better not move. The Seven Steps Fall poison is very potent. If you move too much, you might lose your life.”

The blue-robed man didn’t dare to act rashly for a moment. He sneered, his eyes fierce:

“Kid, you’d better hand over the antidote. I might leave you with a whole corpse.”

Lin Qingyang tilted his head, looking at him as if he were an idiot:

“Since you’re going to kill me whether I give you the antidote or not, why should I give it to you?”

Blue-robed man: …

“Are you crazy? We’re from the same sect. Fighting among ourselves is a big taboo. Aren’t you afraid of being expelled?”

The blue-robed man was a bit panicked, habitually threatening.

Lin Qingyang tapped his chin with his slender fingers, seemingly in thought. The blue-robed man thought he was scared and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

Fool, who cares about sect rules at a life-and-death moment?

Once he got rid of the poison, he’d break this kid’s limbs and take him back. He glared at Lin Qingyang viciously.

For making me suffer such a serious injury, I’ll make you pay!

“Kid, you’d better hand over the antidote quickly. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

The blue-robed man said, while actually trying to expel the poison. The kid’s poison was indeed potent, but as long as he kept circulating his energy, he wouldn’t die immediately. Once he controlled the poison, he’d capture the kid, and the antidote should be on him.

“Well, I still don’t want to give you the antidote. You look so fierce; you’ll definitely take revenge on me later, right?”

Lin Qingyang looked troubled.

The blue-robed man was secretly furious, but said:

“How could I? We’re from the same sect. As long as you hand over the antidote, I promise not to trouble you.”

Lin Qingyang stared at him for a while. Just when the blue-robed man thought he was about to agree, Lin Qingyang suddenly burst into laughter:

“Hahaha… Did you really think I’d give you the antidote? You’re too old to be so naive!”

By the end, he looked utterly disdainful.

“Damn it, you’re playing me!”

By now, the blue-robed man realized he had been tricked and couldn’t help but curse.

Lin Qingyang wasn’t angry:

“You think I don’t know you’re stalling for time? Then guess why I’m cooperating with you?”

The blue-robed man was suddenly alarmed, feeling something bad was about to happen.

Lin Qingyang smiled and told him:

“Because this poison is called Firework. It’s like a firework; it only explodes when it reaches the highest point. And now… the poison has penetrated your internal organs. Soon, we’ll see…”

Boom!

The blue-robed man exploded like a firework, his flesh scattering in all directions, glowing in a myriad of colors.

The originally foul-smelling poison turned into a rich floral fragrance after the explosion. If it weren’t for the scattered limbs on the ground, no one would have thought someone had died so miserably here.

Lin Qingyang watched as the blood on the ground gradually disintegrated and disappeared, a smile playing on his lips:

“Fireworks… nothing remains after their brilliance.”

The blue-robed man was gone, his limbs and flesh disintegrating into ashes under the poison’s effect, blown away by the wind without a trace.

Over there, Cheng Hui, who was entangled with the wandering corpse, suddenly felt a sense of ease.

The wandering corpse, which was originally strong and troublesome, began to slow down, and eventually stopped moving altogether.

Cheng Hui: ?

He pushed the wandering corpse off himself and got up from the ground. The wandering corpse still showed no reaction, its already pale face gradually taking on a deathly hue.

Cheng Hui: … Did it die again?

He looked towards the direction where the sound had come from earlier. The forest was dense, making it hard to see. When he tried to extend his divine sense, he felt a splitting headache, realizing he had overused it and couldn’t use it for now.

So, he staggered over.

Before he got close, he smelled a strange fragrance. The scent was strong, not unpleasant, but Cheng Hui instinctively disliked it. Soon, the fragrance disappeared, as if it had never existed.

“What…”

Lin Qingyang understood Cheng Hui’s inquiry and smiled:

“It’s settled. Wait here for me while I handle the aftermath.”

Cheng Hui nodded.

He didn’t ask where the blue-robed man went, nor did he blame Lin Qingyang for killing. He’s not a child, and this world isn’t black and white.

If someone wants your life, should you keep them around for the New Year? Kill when necessary; stopping killing with killing is also a method.

Cheng Hui pressed his forehead, feeling something was off.

Was he too accepting of killing?

It felt like a sudden change… as if he had been offline for a long time.