Chương 395: Lian Bao

A split second after he used his soul power to activate the Immortal's Sight, a piercing pain filled Long Feng's head, causing him to groan. He instantly dispersed the technique, causing the pain to decrease greatly. At the same time, his eyes were suddenly filled with blood red veins, evidence of the great pressure that brief moment placed on them. At the same time, ninety percent of his soul power was exhausted, leaving him feeling extremely weak. But the results... Long Feng was beyond himself with shock.

He didn't expect it to be so powerful, directly drawing Ren Ji's soul out of his body. Everything about Ren Ji was open before his eyes. He could see his exact cultivation, his soul power, his foundation, even trace his cultivation manual. There was nothing he didn't see. At that moment, he overlooked Ren Ji's soul from the sky, and the feeling was beyond description. It was like he could quench the flames of Ren Ji's soul with a single thought if he wished. Of course, it wouldn't have been that simple.

Ren Ji was still a deity, and his soul was nearing the limits of a mortal. Long Feng would have had to pay a price to exterminate the latter's soul, since his own soul was much weaker.

"I didn't expect the Immortal's Sight to have such an ability... and there are probably a lot more I still don't know about it." He realized that he was sitting on a literal treasure, but he couldn't utilize it well. His headache was getting weaker, but his soul power was greatly overdrawn and his soul was taxed under great pressure. If he hadn't dispersed the technique in that millisecond, he would have lost his sight permanently at best, and caused irreversible damage to his soul at worst.

Luckily, he had already seen all he wanted to see. As for unveiling this new ability of the Immortal's Sight, it was an unexpected turn of events. Sensing the wave of confusion coming over from behind, he couldn't help but smile. Ren Ji was extremely lucky that Long Feng couldn't hold the technique for more than a millisecond. Otherwise, he wouldn't have even known how he had died.

"I'll need to find some time to advance my soul power before I try to unravel more of the abilities of the Immortal's Sight." He decided while massaging his forehead gently. While the silver radiance Immortal's Sight had always been powerful, it had never been to this extent, which was likely due to his greater soul power compared to before. He had already noted the exact location of the largest hall, which could only be the center of the clan before he dispersed the ability.

He kept his findings to himself, naturally. Ren Ji's heart was unable to calm down as they went further. A shadow of the silver eyes had appeared in his heart, and anytime he closed his eyes, he could see them, gazing at him with ruthless indifference, like a god staring at an ant. He was so terrified that he didn't dare to even blink. At the same time, bitterness appeared in his heart.

"What in the world was that?... Could the killer of the Teng clan still be here? Why would someone so powerful target me? That bastard Long Feng is ahead, he should be the one facing such dangers..." he groaned as the eyes surfaced in his mind again. In his mind, only an extremely powerful person could possibly have such inconceivable ability to draw his soul straight out of his body. And it should be a soul cultivator, one equivalent to the true spirit realm.

Only this explanation would sound logical enough to Ren Ji. But... what were those eyes? Was it a technique? It was too overwhelming, and the presence it commanded was unlike anything Ren Ji had ever sensed in his entire life.

"I need to do something about this, otherwise I'll develop a heart demon that will impede upon my cultivation!" When he imagined developing a heart demon of those eyes... he didn't even want to imagine it. But his cultivation would most certainly come to a premature end. He kept his guards up, constantly looking around just in case the senior decided to do something else, even though he wouldn't even be able to resist.

But since the senior didn't kill him back then when he could, them he likely didn't care about a mere Ren Ji. Even though this left a bitter feeling in his heart, he still felt extremely relieved. For once, being weak was such a blessing. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Long Feng wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry if he could read Ren Ji's thoughts.

They continued fumbling through the fog for several more minutes before the outline of the huge Central building appeared before them, towering into the sky.

"That's it! We've reached the center!" Chen Zhaofeng muttered.

"We should hurry up! It's almost night." Ren Ji was already struggling to suppress his instincts to flee. Right now, even a casual noise would terrify him.

"We'll take a brief look and leave. We're returning directly to the sect tomorrow morning!" He ordered. Everyone glanced at him with strange expressions but no one said a word. He was the leader. Just as they were about to step into the palace, light sounds of footsteps approached from within the palace, causing the five youths to freeze on the spot. Ren Ji and Zhou Zheng felt like their souls had departed their bodies instantly, and even their legs wouldn't obey them and move.

Long Feng's pupils shrank as his heartbeat spiked at once, while the alarms in his head began to ring. The footsteps were light and measured, sounding like the approach of the grim reaper to them.

"L-long Feng... go ahead and find out who it is... t-try to buy some... time." Ren Ji forced out these words with difficulty, as his brain was slowing down. Long Feng rolled his eyes amidst his own tension, wondering what sort of batteries Ren Ji's brain ran on. Finally, the footsteps exited the palace and a strong looking middle aged man appeared before them. He was surrounded by a faint barrier that kept the blood fog and the aura of resentment meters away from him.

His appearance seemed to place a weight upon the shoulders of the five youths, forcing them to lower their backs.

"Dao realm!" Long Feng's breathing turned uneven as he realized the threat they were facing. This feeling was the same as whenever he was before the Head warden, or the deacons. It was the suppression of a higher lifeform over lower lifeforms... a spiritual being over mortals.

"Who are you all? What're you doing here?" The man question coldly. Four pairs of eyes focused on Ren Ji at once, causing him to curse at them as he lowered his head. But the Dao realm master also focused his gaze on him, making Ren Ji to feel like crying.

"G-greetings senior! W-we are disciples of the S-supreme heaven sect... on-on a mission! We didn't mean to bother senior!" The silver eyes were still fresh in his mind, crushing any spine he had and causing him to stutter as he spoke. The man's left brow lifted slightly as he assessed them.

"Supreme Heaven Sect's inner disciples?" He asked.

"Y-yes! Yes! That's right! We're inner disciples!" Ren Ji and Zhou Zheng both nodded simultaneously.

"Where are your proofs?" Each of them instantly took out their identity tokens, which was an indisputable proof of their identities.

"So it really is young friends of the Supreme Heaven Sect! It is a honor to meet you all. You're all just as exceptional as the rumors stated!" The man suddenly laughed and approached them amiably. At the same time, his subconscious pressure vanished, causing them to all feel several times lighter. The confusion was still there as they exchanged glances, unable to react instantly.

"You should all be at ease. We have been awaiting your arrival for days now." The five youths immediately began to have guesses about the man's identity.

"Senior is...?" Chen Zhaofeng asked cautiously.

"Oh. Where's my manners. I am Lian Bao, the clan chief of the Lian clan. We are subordinated to the Supreme Heaven Sect, similar to the Teng clan, and we are among the clans under the Teng clan's jurisdiction." He explained. Their expressions instantly brightened as they felt extremely relieved. As a subordinate clan of the Sect, Lian Bao was unlikely to harm them. And there wasn't much space to doubt his identity. Why would a Dao realm master need to lie to a few deities?

He could kill them on the spot and the no one would ever know.

"So it's senior Lian Bao! I am Ren Ji, and these are my fellow disciples. It is a pleasure to meet you." Ren Ji's spine reappeared out of nowhere as he stepped forward, walking past Long Feng and speaking like a leader.

"The pleasure is all mine. You're all so exceptional... I am in awe." They merely smiled to that, not saying anything.

"You are also here to find clues regarding the mysterious annihilation of the Teng clan right?" Lian Bao asked.

"That's right. Did senior find something?"

"Unfortunately not. I've been coming here everyday since I heard about it, unable to sleep peacefully. The Teng clan was the strongest in the surroundings, and it was destroyed so silently. I fear that my Lian clan is in extreme danger, and relocating isn't a viable option." He shook his head with a sigh.

"It's truly unfortunate, but senior Lian Bao doesn't need to worry. The supreme heaven sect won't let this slide, and whoever is behind this atrocious act will be found." Ren Ji assured. Lian Bao nodded.

"I don't suppose you figured out anything out here. I've scanned through the calm dozens of time and couldn't find any clue. The palace behind me is the center of the clan, but there's also nothing to see. You can all come with me to take a quick look. Night is fast approaching, I don't recommend waiting here till nighttime." He proposed. Ren Ji couldn't be happier to hear this. What could be better than this? They would receive the free protection of a Dao realm master.

He also couldn't wait to leave this cursed place and never return again for the rest of his life!

"We'll listen to senior." He nodded. Lian Bao led them through the palace doors, forcing the dense fog aside with his energy while strolling down the wide hall. Corpses were strewn everywhere in the hall, and a literal river of blood seemed to be flowing from deep within the hall. The sounds of their footsteps were exceptionally loud in the hall, causing them to be flustered. But when they looked at Lian Bao before them, all fear would vanish and they would feel safe.

Long Feng observed Lian Bao carefully but couldn't spot anything unusual. His cultivation was certainly at the Dao realm, but Long Feng couldn't tell the exact stage. He was dressed in casual robes that was untainted by the blood here due to his energy barrier. Nothing seemed out of place, so Long Feng calmed down by about fifty percent. After a few minutes, they left the long hall and entered a large room.

At a glance, it looked like an important place for great clan discussions, and there were only a few corpses here. But there was an overwhelming amount of aura of resentment here, so much that they defenses would have crumbled if Lian Bao wasn't here. Long Feng looked around, counting a total of eight corpses in the room. He lightly approached one of them and knelt down beside it, carefully sensing the bit of remnant energy that was dispersing.

"This looks like a peak deity realm elder, so those in the hallway should be elders between the early, mid and late stage deity realm." He deduced mentally. Everyone was casually moving through the room, trying to get some clue, so his movements wasn't unusual. He apprached another corpse and sensed it's cultivation as well.

"Also peak deity." He avoided the corpse that lay at the center of the room, carefully examining the other corpses. Once he was done, he apprached the final corpse thoughtfully.

"I sensed the auras of peak deities from six corpses. I couldn't sense anything from the remaining one, so I can't deduce their cultivation, though it's possible that he was also a peak deity and his energy simply dispersed faster. But this should be their clan chief." He stared at the final corpse thoughtfully.

"If I'm right, then he should have been at the Dao realm. But... if the Teng clan was so powerful, they should have had more than one Dao realm master, right?" He frowned and approached the wall as causally as he could before asking loudly, "How many Dao realm masters did you say the Teng clan had again?" His voice resounded through the silence room, drawing attention.

"One."

"Two." Two different voices responded. Ren Ji glanced at Lian Bao and expressed his surprise.

"So it was one? I heard rumors that they had two Dao realm masters?" Lian Bao shook his head.

"The rumors weren't true. It was only one, but he was at the mid stage, making the Teng clan the strongest."