Chapter 302 |
Gritting her teeth, Xia Si took a deep breath. "If—and I mean if—I let you have me and bear your children, will you grant me my total freedom?"
Lin Hui stared at her, stunned, unable to follow her logic.
"Yun Xiazi told me you still don't have an heir, which bodes ill for the entire Clear Wind Dao," Xia Si said earnestly. "Therefore, if I bear your children, I'd become the sect's greatest contributor. You'd have every reason to grant me my freedom then!"
"I..." Lin Hui was speechless. He knew the Clear Wind Dao had more than its fair share of lunatics. "Those are just rumors."
"No, I'm completely ready. Come—let me try and give you one!" Recalling Liu Xiao's condition and the outside rumors that the Dao Master's overuse of aphrodisiacs had rendered him infertile, Xia Si's expression grew solemn. "The Madam's constitution is too weak—far inferior to mine. I can absolutely give birth to an heir that meets your requirements!"
She had finally worked it out. Since she could never overtake Lin Hui in a direct confrontation, she might as well take an unorthodox path. The Dao Master's strength lay in his terrifying comprehension and natural aptitude. If she relentlessly bore his children, even one in a hundred with aptitude comparable to his—combined with her own powerful constitution—would produce an expert more terrifying than the Dao Master himself.
Corruption was coming. The Dao Master was destined to perish by it; her child would become the greatest hope of inheriting the Clear Wind Dao.
The more she turned it over in her mind, the more Yun Xiazi's suggestion felt like her only real path to surpassing Lin Hui. When the time came, an aging Lin Hui on the verge of Corruption would face her child—a youth rising like the midday sun, magnificent and unstoppable. The lingering dread that had long pressed down on Xia Si's heart finally found somewhere to go.
"You need to sort out your thoughts and figure out what you truly want," Lin Hui said, entirely at a loss for words. "In three days, you are free to leave."
He was afraid—genuinely afraid.
Watching him flee, a real flicker of hope ignited in Xia Si's chest.
Sure enough. She had always dismissed the outside rumors—that the Dao Master was a lecher who couldn't produce an heir and quietly agonized over it, that it was nothing but the petty gossip of small-minded people. Who would have thought she had been the fool all along?
In a straight contest of cultivation and raw strength, she still couldn't catch so much as Lin Hui's shadow. But by taking a different road entirely, she had finally found what he valued most.
…
Three days later, the bindings within her body were lifted, and her law seals returned of their own accord. With her cultivation fully restored, Xia Si chose not to leave. Instead, she visited Liu Xiao in the Rain Palace, then sought out Qiu Yiren to strike a deal. Finally, at Su Yaping's urging, she escorted the fleet heading toward Tuyue.
Time passed. As the outside world grew increasingly volatile, the leaking power of the Sea Cry began to make itself known.
Around Black Cloud, people started manifesting physical mutations: black scales spreading across their skin, eyes bleaching to pale blue, bodies carrying a faint, foul reek of the sea. With the appearance of these half-mutated individuals came a surge of unprovoked attacks—sudden fits of madness that struck without warning.
In response, the Black Army intensified its patrols throughout Black Cloud, while the great families moved swiftly to reinforce the defenses around their territories.
Lin Hui, meanwhile, remained absorbed in his comprehension of the Sacred Form of Heaven. His cultivation climbed steadily; he had only just begun condensing the phantom of his third Sacred Form when a sudden piece of bad news shattered his long-held tranquility.
While out for a stroll, his master Mingde had been attacked and grievously wounded. He now stood on the verge of Corruption.
Inside a spacious manor on Clear Emerald Mountain, Tao Changsheng, Weiwei, Li Yuanyuan, and Liu Xiao gathered in the courtyard, their gazes fixed tightly on Lin Hui, who sat at Mingde's bedside within the room.
Mingde lay half-propped against the headboard. His hair had gone pure white, his body was drenched in blood, and his eyes had turned entirely crimson—the hallmark symptom of the Blood-Eyed Afflicted. His breathing came in labored drags. A faint smell of the sea clung to him, laced with the unmistakable stench of rotting flesh; even the thick quilt draped over him could no longer suppress the stench thickening with every passing moment.
"I've lived for so many years..." Mingde managed a faint smile. "I've broken even."
Lin Hui said nothing. He funneled Disaster Energy steadily into Mingde's body in an effort to hold the Corruption at bay, but it was utterly futile.
The Corruption fused into every living being in this world had long since become one with their very essence—it could not be cut away. As his comprehension of the Sacred Form of Heaven deepened, Lin Hui saw the underlying currents of energy with increasing clarity. In this world, the vitality of living beings was born from Corruption itself.
"Ah-Hui... after I'm gone, take good care of... Weiwei, Changsheng..." Mingde reached out and seized Lin Hui's hand in a death grip. His clouded crimson eyes grew more bloodshot by the second.
"I will." Grief settled over Lin Hui. He had granted Mingde the enhanced Eye of Life, but the vast gulf in their strength made those extra chances at revival utterly meaningless.
"No—you're just... saying what I want to hear... I can't trust that..." Mingde gritted his teeth. His body had begun to convulse, black blood threading from the corner of his mouth. "Promise me... you and her... leave an heir... for my sake."
Lin Hui was silent. He tried gently to pry Mingde's fingers away, but the withered hand only clamped down harder.
"Ah-Hui, Master and I have already discussed this." Liu Xiao's soft voice came from beside him. "I know my own body. I can't hold on much longer... You still need someone to walk this road with you, so you won't be alone."
Lin Hui looked down at Mingde's violently trembling frame and the wide, fixed stare demanding an answer. Behind him, he could feel Liu Xiao's quiet, earnest gaze.
He exhaled softly and nodded. "Alright. I promise."
At those words, the tension drained from Mingde's body all at once. With a soft crack, his head tilted back against the pillow—eyes still wide open—as wave after wave of black blood welled from his mouth.
"I have... no regrets..."
Mingde's breathing stopped.
With that final, barely perceptible movement, he had spent his last shred of strength to pulverize his own organs and tissues from within, severing his final thread of life to keep the Corruption from claiming him.
Lin Hui exhaled a slow, ragged breath, rose to his feet, closed his eyes, and bowed deeply.
Outside the room, Weiwei and Tao Changsheng had sunk to their knees, kowtowing through muffled sobs. In the courtyard beyond, more members of the Clear Wind Dao had gathered, bowing in solemn unison toward the room.
…
The funeral was held several days later. The Clear Wind Dao mobilized swiftly, and shortly after, a detailed account of Mingde's attack was placed on Lin Hui's desk.
It had not been a premeditated assassination—it was a tragedy of circumstance. A Wanhua Sect disciple sheltering in Black Cloud had been corrupted by the Sea Cry and undergone a deep-sea mutation. Driven mad, his strength skyrocketed; he attacked a mother and daughter on the street. Mingde had intervened, repelled the attacker, and sustained fatal wounds in the process.
The attack had occurred within a ten-li radius of Clear Emerald Mountain—a zone ordinarily considered firmly within the Clear Wind Dao's sphere of safety. The area was tightly secured. But the mutated disciple had lived as a local resident for twenty years, and the entire incident had unfolded in under ten seconds. There had been no way to prevent it.
"The Wanhua Sect..." Standing in the courtyard of the Clear Wind Dao, hands clasped behind his back, Lin Hui stared at Mingde's memorial tablet in the newly built mourning hall. "I haven't heard that name in a long time." He paused. "From today, carefully screen and purge all suspicious elements in the vicinity—the Wanhua Sect included, but not limited to them. At the same time, find me the current location of their headquarters."
"Dao Master, the Wanhua Sect's headquarters has always been nomadic. Their disciples move in secret and cover their tracks extremely well. Our intelligence sources aren't sufficient to verify their whereabouts." Su Yaping's voice was measured. "We understand your anger, but our network is still too thin to handle this alone. If we could draw on Black Cloud's resources, or work through other channels, we might be able to—"
"If you wish to move, my faction will fully cooperate."
Gongsun Xinlian materialized outside the courtyard gate without a sound. "It so happens that unrest has been breaking out frequently in the surrounding territories. Black Cloud needs a target to make an example of—to demonstrate our strength and drive these hidden dangers back into the shadows."
"I intend to take this opportunity to thoroughly cleanse the surrounding territories," Lin Hui said, turning to her. "With great chaos on the horizon, our sect's manpower falls far short of what we need. The best course is to assimilate the surrounding factions entirely—gather as much strength as possible before the Sea Cry truly erupts."
He had harbored this intention for some time. As the outside world grew more dangerous, the Clear Wind Dao needed far greater strength to protect itself. Cultivating their own forces guaranteed loyalty, but the pace was too slow for the threat bearing down on them.
Plunder, then, was the answer.
Those who submitted would prosper; those who resisted would be destroyed. In an era of mounting chaos, to refuse to fight, annex, and expand was to invite one's own end.
"Good. Whatever you need, just ask—the stronger the Clear Wind Dao becomes, the better it is for all of us." Gongsun Xinlian nodded vigorously.
The Mingxin Society was already expanding on all fronts, plundering and annexing factions to bolster their array formations—they weren't even sparing Mist Gods. If Lin Hui's side didn't move now, waiting until the opposition swelled into something unstoppable would mean acting too late.
She and Second Brother had long harbored similar ambitions, but unfortunately, Eldest Brother was simply too indolent to act. Now that Lin Hui—whose strength was equally unfathomable—planned to take the lead, they were more than glad to back him.
"Many thanks," Lin Hui said, inclining his head. "If I need anything, I will ask."
He swept his gaze over those assembled. Su Yaping, Pang Jiu, Yun Xiazi, and now Xia Si—these were the strongest pillars of the Clear Wind Dao today. For the purpose of laying low and living in peace, this group would be enough; they were all Mistborn-level experts. But against the tide of the approaching apocalypse, this strength fell tragically short.
"From today onward, we throw the mountain gates open," Lin Hui said after a moment, his voice low and deliberate. "Anyone who passes the aptitude test may receive the Righteous Virtue Law Seal—no limit on numbers."
"Additionally, expand the defensive arrays around Clear Emerald Mountain and push our garrison perimeter out to encompass three towns. Su Yaping, you will oversee the aptitude reviews. Organize those who pass into squads for instruction."
"Yun Xiazi, you are in charge of recruiting experts who already possess martial arts foundations to form patrol squads. Every patrol squad member will be bestowed with the Righteous Body Law Seal and will handle all security patrols within the new garrison range."
"Pang Jiu, you will hold watch over the Dao Academy, stabilize the surrounding area, and stand ready to provide support at a moment's notice."
Lin Hui issued the commands without pause.
"And what about you?" Gongsun Xinlian asked, frowning.
Lin Hui closed his eyes. "Prolonged stillness breeds a restlessness I can no longer ignore. I'll use the search for the Wanhua Sect as a reason to go out and take stock of the world. There may be people of common purpose waiting to be found."
His mind was made up. He needed to capture more Mistborn and bring them back before the disaster fully arrived—willing ones if possible. If they refused, he would kill them, force their Evil Weapons to choose new masters, and eliminate the latent threat in a single stroke. Left to their own devices, those experts might later be corrupted by the Sea Cry and turn into deadly enemies.
There was also the matter of the Mist God that had recently reached out to him. He could take a few of those entities back for study. If the Mingxin Society could ally with Mist Gods, there was no reason he couldn't do the same.
Framed that way, he was simply eliminating threats before they could strike.
Compared to a few years ago, his Sacred Form of Destruction had been fully enhanced, and his Sacred Form of Heaven was progressing smoothly. His physical strength, Disaster Energy cultivation, mind-spirit realm, and every other attribute had long since climbed to a level that defied easy measure.
Now, at last, he could properly test himself—and find out exactly what heights he had truly reached.