CHAPTER 12: CHAPTER 12: BREAKING THE ARRAY, BLOOD POOL

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Upon entering the abandoned house, the sense of decay grew even stronger, with the air filled with a musty smell that was quite unpleasant, and the three of them didn’t look very happy.

The entire house was extremely quiet, except for the sound of their footsteps and breathing, there was no other sound at all, which was completely abnormal. It was summer now, and with weeds everywhere, there should have been plenty of insects making noise.

This also further proved that there was indeed an array here, and it was a very powerful one!

Following the path from the entrance, through a garden-like area, the scene before their eyes suddenly changed.

The surrounding dilapidated houses suddenly disappeared, replaced by a thick fog. The fog was so dense that, apart from the spot where they stood, nothing else could be seen.

Si Lin and Rong Ye stood on either side of Gu Qingqing, vigilantly looking around.

Suddenly, a rain of arrows appeared from the fog, rushing towards the three of them.

Rong Ye waved his hand, and several talismans flew out from his hand, hovering in front of the three. The talismans flashed brightly and suddenly enlarged, forming a wall that blocked the arrows. The arrows collided with the talismans, a white light flashed, and both the talismans and arrows vanished.

The three did not relax their vigilance, continuing to guard against their surroundings.

After five breaths, heavy footsteps sounded from within the fog.

The three stared closely at the white fog, awaiting the emergence of what was inside.

Soon, a group of "people" came into view.

Rather than people, it was more apt to call them zombies. Portions of their bodies were already decayed, their movements somewhat stiffened. Green fur grew on their bodies, two sharp teeth protruded from their mouths, and their nails were long and sharp.

About twenty zombies surrounded Gu Qingqing and the others, and upon sensing their presence, suddenly moved swiftly, charging straight towards them.

"A bunch of ants!" Rong Ye snorted coldly, not considering these zombies as a threat, despite them all being at about the fourth tier in cultivation.

If it were someone else, they might not handle these zombies, but Si Lin and Rong Ye were not among those people.

Si Lin waved his hand, and twenty or so talismans flew out from his hand, hovering in front of him. Under his control, each talisman flew towards a zombie. The zombies, sensing the talismans, extended their hands to destroy them, but before they could touch them, a golden light flashed from the talismans, shattering them. Instantly, a flame appeared before the zombies, and before they could react, it engulfed them.

In just a moment, the twenty or so zombies turned to dust, truly reduced to ashes.

"I found the eye of the array," Si Lin suddenly spoke, glancing at the surrounding fog.

Gu Qingqing and Rong Ye looked towards Si Lin, only to see a sword appearing before him.

The sword was about three feet long, completely black, with a dragon carved on its blade, which was Si Lin’s lifebound magical artifact, the Dragon Capturing Sword!

After the Dragon Capturing Sword appeared, it seemed to sense something exciting and flew naturally into Si Lin’s hand. As he gripped the sword, the dragon on the blade blinked, as if coming to life.

With the sword in hand, Si Lin’s entire presence changed.

Previously, in Gu Qingqing’s eyes, Si Lin was somewhat aloof, like a high mountain flower that instilled fear. Now, he was like a sharp treasure sword that no one dared to face directly!

Si Lin didn’t know Gu Qingqing’s thoughts; he simply held the Dragon Capturing Sword, tapped his toe, and hovered in mid-air. He then thrust the sword towards a spot in midair, delivering over a dozen rapid strikes, causing the sword’s tip to explode into a bright white light.

After the white light disappeared, so did the surrounding fog. They returned to the abandoned house, surrounded by the dilapidated rooms and waist-high weeds.

Si Lin and Rong Ye exchanged glances, bringing Gu Qingqing to continue searching the abandoned house for traces of the Demon Cultivator.

...

Underground, a man in a black robe threw a young boy to the ground. The boy rolled awkwardly and turned around to look at the black-robed figure with fear.

If Gu Qingqing were here, she would recognize the boy as the one she had met at the entrance, but at this moment, the boy was much more disheveled than before.

The boy, Zhuo Tingqiu, felt incredibly unfortunate, gazing at the fearsome black-robed man, his heart filled with regret.

Zhuo Tingqiu was the young master of the Zhuo Family, one of the five great families on the Xuantian Continent. This time he was in Qingfeng City because he had reached the peak of the second tier and couldn’t break through, so he decided to train in the Ten Thousand Miles Mountains, hoping to achieve a breakthrough in the midst of danger.

Of course, the Zhuo Family couldn’t just let him go out like that; they sent plenty of people to protect him. The two middle-aged men following him were sent by the family for his protection, both being experts at the peak of the fifth tier, considered top-level cultivators on the Xuantian Continent, more than enough to protect Zhuo Tingqiu.

They hadn’t encountered any major trouble along the way, and Zhuo Tingqiu even complained about it. Unexpectedly, on their first day in Qingfeng City, they ran into big trouble when he got kidnapped!

Furthermore, the person who kidnapped him was extremely powerful. The two middle-aged men he brought weren’t a match for the black-robed figure. Judging by his appearance, the black-robed guy was obviously not a good person, which put Zhuo Tingqiu in a dire situation!

With these thoughts, he sneakily surveyed the surroundings. When he finally took in his surroundings, Zhuo Tingqiu, who had been protected by the family since childhood, was nearly dumbfounded.

They were likely in a basement now, and not far from him lay many people, motionless, with blood stains on them. It was unclear whether they were dead. Next to these people was a pool, bubbling on the surface. The dim, eerie lighting of the basement revealed a liquid inside, and judging from the blood stench permeating the entire space, Zhuo Tingqiu guessed that the liquid was probably blood.

Realizing why those people had bloodstains, he surmised they had been bled without being bandaged.

The thought of possibly ending up like these people, drained of blood, made Zhuo Tingqiu involuntarily step back, filled with despair, feeling that he was certainly doomed!

Just as Zhuo Tingqiu was scared by his speculation, the black-robed man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face twisted with an expression that was somewhat hideous.

"Haha, who would’ve thought someone could break my array? Seems like heaven is helping me!" The black-robed man suddenly laughed sinisterly, casting an eerie glance at Zhuo Tingqiu.

Frightened by the black-robed man’s reaction, Zhuo Tingqiu hugged his arms and retreated further back.

When he thought the black-robed man was about to make a move against him, the man suddenly turned and walked out. Zhuo Tingqiu was taken aback, but heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the black-robed man’s back with tense focus. Just moments ago, the black-robed man had sealed his cultivation, leaving him powerless to even truss a chicken, unable to do anything.

The black-robed man had just arrived at the basement’s exit when he sensed footsteps coming from the passage, deciding not to proceed further. Instead, he stood there, waiting for the newcomer.