PDLP Chapter 110 Concealing Form and Shadow
Chapter 110 Concealing Form and Shadow
This Foundation Establishment aura was extremely weak, indicating that the person was seriously injured and was in seclusion deep underground healing.
The dissipated death energy was leaked unintentionally, not intentionally.
If it really is a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Demonic Path healing from injuries, then the strange events in White Stone Town make sense.
Even the weakest Foundation Establishment cultivator has already begun to grasp the power of heaven and earth.
The deathly aura he unintentionally emitted was enough to turn the entire town into a dead zone.
Those undead and skeletal golems were merely byproducts of the death aura infection.
Zhang Lin's mind raced, but his face remained calm: "First, explore the outer perimeter of the town. Don't go too deep. The death energy corrodes spiritual consciousness, and going in for too long will cause problems."
Su Wan glanced at him and nodded in agreement.
The three patrolled the outskirts of the town for about half an hour, noting the distribution of the living corpses and the activity range of the skeletal puppets, before retreating.
It was noon when we returned to the camp.
Meng Chen and Chu Tianxing have not yet returned.
Su Wan reported the situation in the town to Liu Yi. Liu Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "It's somewhat unexpected that the death energy infection was not a deliberate formation."
He looked at Zhang Lin, "What do you think?"
"The source is still unclear, and we need to go deeper into the town center to reach a conclusion." Zhang Lin pondered for a moment and said that he had other plans regarding that demonic cultivator and was not in a hurry to do so.
Liu Yi nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Zhang Lin returned to his tent and sat down cross-legged. Just as he was about to report his safety to the sect, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the tent.
Shen Qing lifted the curtain and entered, his face grave: "Brother Zhang, something has happened. The Patrol Division just sent an urgent message that something has gone wrong on the Western Border defense line. Senior Sister Su Wan and Senior Brother Meng Chen have been urgently transferred to support the Western Border."
Zhang Lin frowned slightly: "When are you leaving?"
"Immediately," Shen Qing said. "Chu Tianxing will also be transferred away. The Patrol Division has assigned a Foundation Establishment cultivator to lead the team, and all of us outer disciples will have to go."
"And what about you?" Zhang Lin asked.
"I'll be leaving in half an hour." Shen Qing looked at him. "Deputy Commander Liu said that things in Baishi Town will be put on hold for now, and will continue once the western border is stable. Brother Zhang, will you come with me?"
Zhang Lin paused for a moment: "I haven't received any notification, I can't leave."
The western defenses have been compromised, and it just so happens to be at this critical juncture.
Unfortunately, it was the disciples of Biluo Palace and Zifu Immortal Sect who were transferred away, leaving him all alone.
This is not a coincidence; it's a diversionary tactic. Someone is afraid to let the disciples of the Purple Mansion Immortal Sect and the Azure Palace mingle with him.
Zhang Lin understood, but remained outwardly calm. "You go first. I'll send a message to the sect to see if the mission can be changed."
Shen Qing didn't suspect anything and nodded, saying, "Then be careful here by yourself."
He turned and left the tent, his footsteps fading into the distance.
Only Zhang Lin remained in the tent.
He sat on the straw mat, his face calm, but his eyes were slightly narrowed. Everyone was gone.
Even four people from Biluo Palace and Zifu Immortal Sect could be transferred away, demonstrating the unimaginable power and influence of aristocratic families.
It seems the Zhou family will be arriving soon.
Zhang Lin stood up, straightened his robes, and lifted the curtain to go out.
The camp was much emptier than before. Liu Yi stood in front of the inner tent. When he saw him come out, he was silent for a moment before asking, "Everyone has been transferred. The mission in Baishi Town is temporarily suspended. Will you come back to Zixia City with me, or return on your own?"
"Go back on your own." Zhang Lin cupped his hands in greeting. "I have some personal matters to attend to, so I won't trouble Deputy Commander Liu."
Liu Yi nodded without saying anything more. He only spoke up now because he didn't want to push things too far. Since Zhang Lin refused, he would completely withdraw from the matter.
He completed the task assigned by the aristocratic family, and he didn't offend the master and disciple lineage to death, so even if they made trouble, it wouldn't be his fault.
After everyone had evacuated.
Zhang Lin turned and walked towards the gate of the village. Since the powerful families had set up a trap specifically for him, how could he not enter?
The moment he stepped out of the camp, he felt a gaze fall upon him, a gaze that came from a distance, at least two or three miles away.
He seemed oblivious, his steps steady as he walked eastward along the official road.
After walking two miles, he suddenly stopped, as if he had discovered something, and turned back west, running quickly towards Baishi Town.
The two miles were covered in an instant, and at the same moment he turned back, the gaze behind him began to approach him.
As they approached Baishi Town, Zhang Lin turned into a grove of dead trees by the roadside, his figure disappearing among the dry tree trunks.
The third-order Concealing Breath Technique was activated, suppressing the aura to its lowest level. Simultaneously, Concealing Form and Shadow was activated, and the character "Conceal" lit up in the dantian. The figure slowly faded among the withered trees and finally disappeared completely.
The instant he disappeared, a spiritual sense swept over from a hundred feet away.
The spiritual consciousness, like an invisible tide, advanced from the east to the west, covering an area of two hundred feet in radius.
Wherever it passed, the spiritual energy fluctuations of plants and trees, the microbial scents in the soil, all became clearly visible.
Zhang Lin lay prone in the grass, holding his breath and concentrating. The spiritual sense swept over his head without lingering.
But he clearly sensed that the master of the spirit was moving, flying towards him in the air.
The Zhou family members were still at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Zhang Lin didn't move, just lay there quietly. This was the first time he had faced the Foundation Establishment stage directly, and the tip of the iceberg it revealed was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
The sweep of spiritual sense was like the wrath of heaven descending upon the world; it was a power that even Qi Refining cultivators could not withstand.
The overwhelming advantage of Foundation Establishment over Qi Refining cultivators lies not in the superiority of their techniques, but in the difference in their levels. Qi Refining cultivators are still using true qi to drive their techniques, while Foundation Establishment cultivators can already control the power of heaven and earth with their true essence.
Qi Refining cultivators need to see their enemies with their own eyes before they can take action, while Foundation Establishment cultivators' battlefield is wherever their spiritual sense reaches.
You can't even see where he is before he's attacked by the forces of nature around him.
This is the oppressive feeling of Foundation Establishment over Qi Refining, a dimensional reduction attack on the level of life.
Zhang Lin was fully aware of this.
No matter how many spells he has mastered, he would die within ten breaths if confronted head-on.
But he doesn't need to confront them head-on; he just needs to hide.
He hid in the Zhou family's Foundation Establishment stage and collided with the demonic Foundation Establishment cultivator underground, causing them to kill each other, while he reaped the benefits.
However, the Zhou family's Foundation Establishment stage did not enter Baishi Town immediately, but instead searched the surrounding areas.
Seeing this, Zhang Lin slowly retreated from the bushes, silently withdrawing from the range of the spiritual sense, and then crept towards the town of Baishi.
To be a fisherman, one must be the bait.
The closer you get to the demonic cultivators in White Stone Town, the denser the deathly aura becomes.
Zhang Lin pushed the Concealing Breath Technique to its limit; the death aura could conceal his presence, but it would also erode his spiritual consciousness.
Fortunately, he had Yu Youwei's Mind-Concentrating Pill, and the enhanced moonlight energy could greatly nourish his spiritual consciousness, so he was temporarily unharmed.
He found an abandoned livestock shed on the outskirts of Whitestone Town. The thatched roof was still there, barely enough to keep out the wind and rain.
Zhang Lin crawled inside, sat cross-legged in the haystack, and extended his spiritual sense out of the shed like a thread.
After waiting for about half an hour, the Foundation Establishment stage spiritual consciousness reappeared. It must have circled around White Stone Town after losing sight of him.
Finding no one, they returned, now only two hundred feet away from where Zhang Lin was hiding.