Chương 155: Chapter 44: A Descent into Chaos (1)

The black-robed cultivator's expression soured until it resembled curdled milk. He had waited in the shadows like a patient viper, his breath stilled and his presence erased, only for a single heartbeat of carelessness to render his elaborate killing field utterly useless. He had arrived long before the battle between Reyn and the chameleon demon beast had concluded. Though his greed for the treasure burned hot, he had suppressed his killing intent, fearing Reyn's displayed prowess.

He had intended to wait for the exact moment Reyn claimed the prize—the moment of inevitable psychological relaxation—to strike with the force of a thunderbolt and claim both the life and the loot. He possessed a rare, exotic treasure that, when activated, could completely nullify his aura. Combined with his Invisibility Cloak, he had successfully assassinated countless cultivators whose cultivation bases far exceeded his own. Yet, against Reyn, his streak of lethal success had finally hit a wall of iron.

"Hmph! I did not expect you to be so paranoid," the black-robed man spat, his face oscillating between pale indignation and dark calculation.

"Fine. I have no desire to engage in a life-and-death struggle here. I shall relinquish my claim on these two treasures. We shall go our separate ways." As he spoke, the man began a slow, measured retreat, his muscles coiled and ready to ignite his escape light at the slightest provocation.

"Wait," Reyn's voice was like a shard of ice cutting through the humid air. A cold, predatory smile played across his lips as his gaze locked onto the retreating figure.

"Fellow Daoist, you attempted a sneak attack on my life. Do you truly believe that once discovered, you can simply walk away as if nothing happened?" The cultivator's face darkened further. His eyes turned venomous as they swept over Reyn. He let out a harsh, grating laugh.

"I have already granted you the mercy of leaving those treasures in your possession. That is your greatest stroke of luck today. Do you truly think you have the capability to keep me here?"

"I have no interest in keeping your person here," Reyn replied, his tone dropping into a low, ominous register.

"But an assassination attempt requires a price. I find myself quite interested in that aura-hiding treasure of yours, as well as that black Invisibility Cloak you're wearing. Hand them over as compensation."

"Hahahaha!" The black-robed man laughed until his voice sounded like freezing water from the depths of a sunless ocean.

"I sought to avoid a mess by retreating, yet you are so blind that you mistake mercy for weakness! A mere North Yue State cultivator dares to speak to me in such a manner? Today, I will ensure you pay a price you cannot afford!" A layer of sickly green light erupted from his body, and his presence vanished instantly. With a sharp flick of his sleeves, his physical form dissolved into the air, leaving only a mocking echo.

"Boy, I will make you regret your arrogance!" Reyn's brow furrowed slightly. He had no patience for the theatrical posturing of a dead man. Without a word, he unleashed the Soul-Piercing Awl, sending a wave of concentrated mental energy sweeping through the space where the man had vanished.

"Gah!" A muffled groan erupted from the empty air. The invisibility faltered, and the black-robed man stumbled back into reality, his eyes wide with sheer terror.

"Golden Core... a Golden Core soul!" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. During Reyn's previous struggle with the demon beast, the man had kept his own Divine Sense tightly retracted to avoid detection, missing the subtle fluctuations of Reyn's mental attacks. Had he known Reyn's soul was comparable to the early Golden Core stage, he would have fled the moment his ambush failed.

"Senior, spare me! Mercy, Senior!" The man collapsed to his knees, kowtowing frantically. However, beneath the facade of cowardice, his hand crept toward his storage bag, gripping a Trial Stone. Just as he prepared to crush it, Reyn's voice struck him like a physical blow.

"The Trial Stone takes at least one full breath to activate the teleportation array. Within that breath, I have ten different ways to annihilate your soul. If you doubt me, by all means, try it." The cultivator froze, his body turning as rigid as stone. After a long, agonizing silence, he forced a trembling smile.

"Senior... please, calm your anger. This junior... this junior wouldn't dare..."

"Hand over the aura-hiding treasure and the cloak," Reyn commanded.

"Or I shall simply kill you and take them from your corpse. The result is the same to me." Agony twisted the man's heart. These treasures were the foundation of his survival and success. Losing them would cripple his combat effectiveness. But with death staring him in the face, he had no choice.

"Yes... here they are!" He acted with decisive desperation, pulling a small, moss-green stone from his robes and stripping off the black cloak, handing them over with a bowed head. Reyn accepted the green stone, channeling a sliver of mana into it. A soft green radiance enveloped him in a half-meter radius, instantly masking his life signature. Satisfied, he swept the cloak into his storage bag.

"Senior, I have surrendered everything. May I leave now?" The man looked to be in his twenties, his face a mask of pathetic fear as he clutched the Trial Stone. Reyn nodded impassively, signaling his consent. Joy flashed in the man's eyes. He made a show of lowering the Trial Stone, but in that split second, his fingers surged with hidden strength. He lunged forward, a hidden blade of dark energy manifesting in his palm for a final, desperate counter-kill. Reyn, however, had been waiting.

Before the man could even close half the distance, Reyn's wrist flicked. A bolt of concentrated spiritual force slammed into the man's chest with the force of a falling mountain. The cultivator's body convulsed. The malice in his eyes hadn't even faded before the light of life was extinguished. He crumpled to the ground, a puppet with its strings cut. Reyn shook his head coldly, reclaimed the storage bag and the Trial Stone, and summoned the Shura Secret Bone to strip the flesh.

Finally, a burst of spiritual flame reduced the remains to nothing but drifting ash.

Deep within a dense, ancient forest, two streaks of light tore through the canopy in a frantic chase.

"Jin Chuanchuan! I have refrained from fighting you to the death only because you are Granny Jin's direct granddaughter! Do not push me too far!" The lead cultivator was a grim-faced youth, his robes stained with blood and his complexion ashen.

"The Trial Realm is vast and filled with riches. Why must you obsess over my Three-Flower Five-Seed Fruit?" Ten yards behind him, a beautiful female cultivator pursued him with effortless grace, her fingers dancing as she manipulated a ring-shaped magic treasure.

"Hmph! Any spirit herb I lay my eyes upon belongs to me!" Jin Chuanchuan sneered.

"If you were wise, you would drop the fruit and sever your own arm. Otherwise, even if you use a Trial Stone to flee this place, I will hunt you down across the provinces!"

"Bitch! You go too far!" The youth roared, hurling a top-grade Spirit Tool backward in a desperate attempt to slow her down.

"A top-grade Spirit Tool? Such trash is beneath my notice. Break!" Jin Chuanchuan tapped her forehead, summoning a scimitar-shaped magic treasure. With a wave of her hand, the scimitar shrieked through the air, shattering the Spirit Tool into fragments before continuing its trajectory. It tore through the youth's chest in a spray of crimson. The youth's body plummeted to the forest floor, landing with a heavy thud. Jin Chuanchuan landed beside the corpse, her expression one of arrogant triumph.

She reached out to claim his storage bag, but the 'corpse' suddenly exploded with movement. A flash of spiritual light erupted, and before Jin Chuanchuan could process the trap, her beautiful head was sent spinning into the air, followed by a fountain of hot, surging blood.