Time passed, and before long, it was late at night. Lin Yuan stood tall, sweat forming on his forehead. Entering the beginner level of Cicada Shedding wasn’t difficult—what was hard was mastering it.
He took a deep breath, gathering most of his spiritual power into his legs, and then exploded with force.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, his body shot backward like an arrow leaving the string, retreating three meters.
The entire movement resembled a cicada shedding its shell, except it was hundreds or even thousands of times faster.
“Cicada Shedding is finally at entry-level, but for now, I can only move backward.”
Lin Yuan calmed his breathing, his expression slightly odd. The technique was indeed powerful, but before mastering it, he could only retreat using it. If he wanted to move forward, he had to turn around first to activate it.
“Still, it’s a movement technique. Better to have it than not.”
Brushing off the dirt from his body, Lin Yuan found a large tree and climbed it, preparing to meditate through the night.
Sleeping wasn’t an option. As soon as he felt drowsy, he’d transfer it to someone else. That way, he could gain one more day’s worth of cultivation than others.
As the ancients said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; a mighty river is formed from small streams.” Short-term effects might not show, but over time, the gap would become frightening.
Sitting cross-legged on a thick branch, he placed the warning array in front of him. The array not only served as an early warning but could also hide his aura—very useful.
As he slowly activated the Bloodburn Technique, Lin Yuan’s aura gradually stabilized.
Who knew how much time had passed? Just as the sky began to lighten with the first pale glow of dawn, Lin Yuan suddenly snapped awake.
It wasn’t the morning light that woke him—it was a wicked and overpowering aura he sensed approaching.
Without hesitation, he activated the Concealment Technique to suppress his presence.
Soon, a figure in a green robe with graying hair sped past beneath him.
Lin Yuan’s breath caught.
Besides the overwhelming power radiating from the man, there was also a nauseating stench of blood.
Damn… how many beings had he slaughtered to accumulate such a strong scent?
Instinctively, Lin Yuan locked onto him.
[Side effect bearer selected: Chen Qi (Blood Demon Sect disciple, early stage Foundation Establishment Realm).]
Seeing the message in his vision, Lin Yuan’s eyes flashed with disbelief.
The Blood Demon Sect—how bold, to dare step into the Immortal Gate Sect’s territory.
Suddenly, a bad feeling welled up in his chest.
The direction Chen Qi had come from… wasn’t there a village of over 200 people?
Thinking of the bloody aura on Chen Qi, Lin Yuan’s heart sank.
Please don’t let it be what I’m thinking…
After he was completely out of sight, Lin Yuan leapt down and rushed toward the village.
Dozens of kilometers passed in the blink of an eye.
Before he even reached the village, a metallic stench of blood hit his nose—like breathing in rusted steel.
Lin Yuan’s face changed as he rushed into the village.
Then, he suddenly retreated in shock, eyes filled with horror.
Over 200 corpses were piled together, all covered in wounds. Their blood had been funneled into a massive coffin through carved channels.
The huge coffin had already been soaked in blood. Liquid seeped from the bottom, dripping to the ground, one drop at a time.
There was no way such a coffin could hold all that blood. There was only one explanation.
Someone had already taken it.
Lin Yuan felt a chill in his heart.
No wonder the Blood Demon Sect was considered demonic, hated by all.
To act like this… they weren’t human. They were true demons.
“Chen Qi, I’ll remember you!”
Just as that thought flashed through his mind, a cold aura suddenly surged from behind.
Without thinking, Lin Yuan spun around and used Cicada Shedding.
In an instant, his figure shot backward rapidly.
Only then did he see clearly—the attack had been a dark red energy orb.
It missed him, smashing into the ground and forming a crater two meters wide. The edge of the pit faintly emitted wisps of black energy.
There was no doubt—whatever that was, it wasn’t ordinary.
“Such a fast movement technique. I didn’t expect you to dodge that!” A surprised voice followed, and Chen Qi’s gaze landed on Lin Yuan.
Seeing the man, Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.
A disciple of the Blood Demon Sect—Chen Qi.
“A mere Qi Refining cultivator managing to dodge my casual strike—you should be proud. Unfortunately, I’m in a hurry. Otherwise, I’d play with you a bit longer.”
Chen Qi raised his hand, and another dark red energy orb began forming, growing larger by the second.
“You killed everyone in that village?” Lin Yuan asked, not in a hurry to run.
“So what if I did? Just a bunch of mortals. Their blood has some value. It’s a shame I haven’t learned the Soul Extraction Technique. Otherwise, draining their souls would’ve been a real treat.” As he spoke, Chen Qi licked his lips and hurled the energy orb.
Lin Yuan had no intention of meeting it head-on. He triggered Cicada Shedding again and instantly retreated.
In just a few seconds, after continuous use, he had retreated dozens of meters.
Chen Qi’s eyes burned with greed as he gave chase, making no effort to hide his desire.
It was one thing to dodge once, but to repeatedly evade him—this movement technique had to be extraordinary.
If he could obtain it, he wouldn’t fear being surrounded after razing villages or towns again.
“Spare my life? I think the one who should die… is you!” Lin Yuan growled and pulled out a handful of iron balls, swallowing them like candy.
Chen Qi assumed he was taking pills and didn’t suspect a thing.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach—like something was yanking his intestines.
He circulated his spiritual power to investigate but found nothing abnormal, so he ignored it and continued chasing.
Lin Yuan didn’t expect the iron balls alone to kill Chen Qi.
Seeing that the man was still in pursuit, he took out the Life-Burning Pills he had gotten from the He family.
Without checking how many, he stuffed them all into his mouth.
The effect was instant. Waves of spiritual Qi surged around him, forming visible white mist.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yuan absorbed the surrounding Qi into his body and rapidly converted it into spiritual power.
“This… what kind of cultivation technique is this? It’s even scarier than the legendary Bloodburn Technique!” Chen Qi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He had seen people cultivate before—but never like this.
Before he could think further, he felt his limbs grow weak.
Lifting his hands with difficulty, he saw that the once-smooth skin was now wrinkled, like cracked bark, covered in grayish-brown spots.
He recognized those—liver spots.
Only those nearing the end of their lifespan developed those.
But how…?
“My lifespan… my lifespan is gone!” He muttered in shock.
The maximum lifespan of someone in the Qi Refining Realm was 120 years. After entering the Foundation Establishment Realm, that number could reach around 200.
Even with the lifespan-reducing effects of demonic cultivation, he should have had at least a century left.
But in just moments, it felt like his entire lifespan had been drained.
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan didn’t stop after consuming the Life-Burning Pills.
With a wave of his hand, several jade bottles appeared.
During his time at the Fragrant Pill Pavilion, he’d collected a lot of waste pills. Aside from being used as fertilizer in the Spirit Plant Garden, they were basically worthless.
Thanks to his connection with Sang Xiaoya, it had been easy to acquire them.
“Let’s see if feeding you all these waste pills at once won’t kill you!”
Like popping candy, Lin Yuan downed the pills one bottle at a time.