Chapter Eighty-Six: A Spear Through and Through

Old Chen looked at Sun Bin lying on the ground, then at Lin Yi, who remained as calm and unruffled as the breeze, and a glimmer of relief flashed in his eyes.

His strength was about equal to Sun Bin's. If he had been the first to strike just now, then the one lying there would not be Sun Bin, but Old Chen himself.

"This boy is no ordinary man. Everyone, attack together," Old Chen said in a low voice.

The others all nodded at once. Lin Yi was not without ability at all; he had merely been hiding his strength and luring the tiger out of the mountain.

Sun Bin had stumbled only because he knew nothing about Lin Yi.

"Baji Fist!"

Old Chen barked, and his overwhelmingly fierce fist shot toward Lin Yi.

A faint layer of earthy-yellow inner energy clung to his knuckles.

That single blow could probably have killed an ox in an instant.

Lin Yi neither dodged nor retreated, which made Old Chen somewhat angry. Was this a deliberate slight against him?

Just as Old Chen's fist was about ten centimeters from Lin Yi's chest, Lin Yi suddenly struck.

He seized Old Chen's wrist and yanked downward.

With a thud, Old Chen had not even reacted before his whole body was slammed flat onto the ground.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, terror surging through him. That single move alone had shattered his internal organs.

"Old Chen, we'll help you!"

The other fighters rushed in. They knew very well that a one-on-one fight would never be enough to defeat Lin Yi.

But with so many of them, even the strongest man could not fend off so many hands with just two fists.

Lin Yi's expression remained indifferent. Faced with the assault, he was unhurried, striking one after another and sending them flying. Each of them crashed to the ground, life and death uncertain.

In less than a minute, not a single one of those martial artists could stand again.

Zhang Xinyi bounced over to Lin Yi's side, her face bright with excitement. "Mr. Lin, you're amazing."

Lin Yi ignored her, his gaze fixed on the distance. "Come out. People of the Mo family."

The smile on Zhang Xinyi's face instantly faded. The Mo family was unquestionably powerful.

Fortunately, they had no desire to fight for territory; otherwise, the ten great powers of Shan Province would have to be reshuffled.

"Mr. Lin, we'd better not clash with the Mo family," Zhang Xinyi said with some concern.

Although Lin Yi was also a grandmaster, the Mo family had several. If a conflict truly broke out, there would be no advantage to be gained.

The Zhang family now relied entirely on Lin Yi for support from behind the scenes. If anything happened to him, the Feng family would surely take the chance to retaliate.

"That depends on how the Mo family chooses," Lin Yi said with his hands clasped behind his back.

As soon as his words fell, several figures emerged from the distance.

It was the Mo family.

Mo Cangqin let out a cold laugh. "Our Mo family has chosen for you to die. Still, boy, you really have been hiding yourself well. You even kept me in the dark."

He was, after all, a grandmaster. Yet he had failed to see Lin Yi's true strength. That left him extremely displeased.

Lin Yi answered truthfully, "That's because your own strength is too poor."

Veins bulged on Mo Cangqin's forehead. He gave a savage smile. "Boy, do you really think that after killing a few half-step grandmasters, you're invincible under heaven? Let me tell you, in my eyes, those half-step grandmasters are nothing more than ants."

"So what?" Lin Yi said indifferently.

In his eyes, were grandmasters not also ants?

"Arrogant enough."

Mo Cangqin licked his lips and stamped the ground, shattering the earth beneath his feet.

With a flick of his finger through the air, a scarlet burst of true energy shot toward Lin Yi.

Mo Cangqin was certain this stream of true energy would rip Lin Yi apart in an instant.

Those beneath the grandmaster realm would never understand how formidable a grandmaster truly was.

Even if Lin Yi could dominate all half-step grandmasters, facing a true grandmaster was like a mayfly trying to shake a towering tree.

From not far away, Die Nishang grew anxious at the sight.

She was just about to intervene when she saw that Lin Yi was already holding a golden spear in his hand, and along its shaft flickered strands of pale violet lightning.

"What is this, Dao cultivation or sorcery?" Die Nishang exclaimed in surprise.

No wonder Lin Yi could deal with those fighters so easily.

But it was still not enough. Mo Cangqin was among the stronger grandmasters.

Lin Yi flung the golden spear forward. Before the scarlet true energy even made contact, the violet lightning on the spear had already shredded it completely.

A low hum rang out.

In the blink of an eye, the golden spear arrived beside Mo Cangqin.

His pupils contracted. Every hair on his body stood on end, for he felt a dense, suffocating aura of death from that spear.

"No!"

Mo Cangqin roared, and the true energy within him instantly formed a solid defensive barrier.

Not only that, he hurriedly activated every protective artifact on his person.

In an instant, multicolored radiance enveloped Mo Cangqin, wrapping him up perfectly.

With such a defensive layer, even if several grandmasters struck in succession, it would still take a long time to break through.

Yet despite all those layers of protection, the golden spear still pierced through at once, as easily as if it were puncturing a balloon.

Then, with undiminished force, it continued straight toward Mo Cangqin's chest.

Mo Cangqin's body swayed slightly as he barely avoided the fatal strike. The spear pierced through his left shoulder instead, nailing him directly to the ground.

That terrifying blow sent a chill through everyone present.

Die Nishang asked herself whether she could have blocked it if she had been the one facing it head-on.

The answer was no.

Everyone in the Butterfly Valley relied on pills to raise their strength, and in the same realm they were somewhat weaker than martial artists.

Not to mention that even Mo Cangqin, with all those protective artifacts, had nearly been killed.

"Terrifying. This boy's strength is actually this formidable."

Die Nishang gave a bitter smile. She had originally wanted to use this chance to help Lin Yi, and at the same time ask about the origin of those Essence-Refining Pills.

It turned out she had been flattering herself; he had never needed her help at all.

"Senior Sister, should we go help that young man?" the petite beauty teased.

"Are you itching for a beating?" Die Nishang shot her a fierce glare.

...

Lin Yi strode toward Mo Cangqin, but several members of the Mo family blocked his way.

"Stop."

Why would Lin Yi ever listen to them? He was like a sheep walking straight into a tiger's den. In less than ten seconds, he had knocked all those people flat.

"Don't, don't kill me."

Mo Cangqin was terrified now. He had thought Lin Yi was just an ordinary man, but who could have guessed that not only could he effortlessly kill half-step grandmasters, he had nearly suppressed even a grandmaster like himself on the spot.

Lin Yi looked at Mo Cangqin with calm indifference. His shoulder had been pierced through, and the wound had been scorched black by violet thunder.

At that moment, Die Nishang also leaped down from the rooftop.

Seeing her, Mo Cangqin immediately cried out for help. "Miss Die, our two families have been on friendly terms for generations. You must save me!"

A trace of disgust appeared in Die Nishang's eyes, but she did not refuse. Instead, she said to Lin Yi, "Young man, Mo Cangqin is a direct descendant of the Mo family. Killing him will bring a great deal of trouble. The Mo family alone has several grandmasters."

Lin Yi said calmly, "So what? If the Mo family does not know better, then it can simply be uprooted."

His voice was flat, yet it carried immense confidence.

Die Nishang smiled helplessly. Lin Yi thought too simply. Their Butterfly Valley's strength was roughly on par with the Mo family. Having stood in Shan Province for over a hundred years, how could the Mo family have no hidden means?

Just the family formation alone would take even a Spirit Venerable a long time to break.

No matter how strong Lin Yi was, there was no way someone his age had already broken through to the Spirit Venerable realm.

Die Nishang said, "You're thinking too easily. Not to mention the Mo family's hidden methods, just the fact that they are skilled in artifact refinement has brought them many grandmaster friends across the provinces. No matter how strong you are, you can't possibly deal with all the grandmasters, can you?"

Lin Yi fell slightly silent.

Die Nishang pressed her advantage. "The Mo family has plenty of ores. Didn't you want them? You can take this chance to make a huge profit."

Mo Cangqin saw a glimmer of hope for survival and quickly said, "Yes, yes, our Mo family may not have much else, but we certainly have plenty of ores."

Lin Yi hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Then let me ask you this: do you have paired mother-and-child stones?"

Paired mother-and-child stones were a rather marvelous material for artifact refinement. Artifacts forged from them could allow one artifact to control many others.

"Yes, yes!" Mo Cangqin nodded repeatedly. To save his life, he no longer cared whether the Mo family's treasury actually had them. He agreed first and thought about the rest later.

Lin Yi said, "Bring me a jin of paired mother-and-child stones, ten jin of green firefly stones..."

One by one, Lin Yi named more than a hundred kinds of ores, among them several rare treasures of heaven and earth.

The list sounded long, but for cultivators, remembering such things was still quite easy.

"Isn't that too much?"

Mo Cangqin's face went pale. It was hard to tell whether he had lost too much blood or simply been frightened by the sheer number.

"Too much?" Lin Yi narrowed his eyes.

Mo Cangqin immediately shook his head. "Not much, not much at all."

"Good. You may go now," Lin Yi said.

"Ah? I can leave now?" Mo Cangqin froze slightly. Was he not supposed to be held hostage so that the Mo family's grandmasters could bring the ores over?

That way, he could seize the chance to have his own people capture Lin Yi.

"If you do not wish to go, you may stay here. Remember, my patience is limited. Otherwise, do not blame me for coming to collect them myself," Lin Yi said.

He believed that with the Mo family's strength, they would surely be able to find his address without difficulty.

Mo Cangqin gave Lin Yi a long, deep look, his eyes carrying a trace of hidden hatred.

"Hmph, you brat. Letting me escape this time will be your greatest mistake."

After Mo Cangqin left, Die Nishang asked curiously, "You're so trusting of him? What if he refuses to admit it later?"

"No one dares covet my things," Lin Yi said with a faint smile.

"Ha." Die Nishang shook her head.

In her heart, however, she guessed that Lin Yi was probably afraid, and that was why he deliberately acted this way, simply to save face.

Lin Yi then looked at Die Nishang with a half-smile. "Your Butterfly Valley has also been here for quite some time. Are you perhaps planning to rob me as well?"

Die Nishang smiled. "How would we dare? We just happened to be passing by."

"Oh." Lin Yi smiled and asked no more.

"Young man, did you really say those Essence-Refining Pills were all made by you?" Die Nishang asked, her eyes turning slightly.

She was beginning to believe his claim.

"That's right," Lin Yi said with a nod.

"Then I wonder if you can also refine Beauty-Preserving Pills?" Die Nishang asked again.

Beauty-Preserving Pills were on the same level as Essence-Refining Pills, but their refinement technique and difficulty were even greater.

As long as an Essence-Refining Pill took shape, it would have medicinal effect. But a Beauty-Preserving Pill had to form pill patterns before its beautifying effect would appear.

"I can," Lin Yi said.

Die Nishang was somewhat excited. She licked her lips seductively and said, "Then could you refine one for me? I'll provide the ingredients, and in addition, I'm willing to pay three red fruits as your reward."

Lin Yi was delighted. He still had quite a few Beauty-Preserving Pills on hand.

This kind of pill was not particularly demanded by men, but for women, likely not a single one could refuse it.