Chapter 31

Beside the two corpses, two tokens fell out. These were the identity tokens of inner disciples, and the fresh red numbers on them caught Zichen's attention.

"Are these contribution points?" Picking up the tokens, Zichen's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had discovered a new continent.

Cao Kai's token had a '3', indicating three contribution points, while Yi Ping's token had a '4'.

Zichen was overjoyed. True Qi surged in his fingertips, and he took out his own token. With a swipe of his finger, a '3' and a '4' from the other tokens transferred to his own, turning into a '7'.

Seven contribution points.

"This, this is a windfall." Zichen's eyes sparkled, as if he had found a shortcut to obtaining contribution points.

...

Lin Mi did not die. Zichen did not kill him but let him return to report.

Stumbling and trembling with fear, Lin Mi finally returned to the Lingwu Sect.

Wang Meng had been waiting there. Seeing Lin Mi return alone and in a daze, his face changed abruptly, sensing something was amiss.

"What happened? Where are the others?" Wang Meng asked coldly.

"Dead, all dead." Lin Mi said in a daze, clearly terrified.

"Dead? Damn it, what exactly happened?" A cold glint appeared in Wang Meng's eyes.

Lin Mi stammered, unable to speak for a long time. Wang Meng, furious, then dragged the dazed Lin Mi towards the inner sect.

In the inner sect, at Wang Xiong's residence.

Apart from Wang Meng and Wang Xiong, four other inner disciples were present, all looking at Lin Mi coldly.

"Speak, what exactly happened? What about Cao Kai and Yi Ping? Or else, you die!" A murderous intent flashed in Wang Xiong's eyes.

Wang Xiong's gaze was very similar to Zichen's, making Lin Mi shiver and instantly become more alert.

"Speak." Wang Xiong urged coldly.

"It was Zichen. Zichen used despicable means to kill the two of them." Lin Mi lowered his head, a hint of despair in his eyes.

"Be specific."

"Zichen discovered us and ambushed the two senior brothers who were talking. Senior Brother Cao Kai was severely injured, and Senior Brother Yi Ping was lightly injured. Zichen used a fusion combat technique, and they fought for a long time. In the end, the two senior brothers..." Lin Mi's voice trembled with fear.

"Because the two senior brothers were entangled with Zichen, I managed to escape. I hope Senior Brother Wang Xiong will kill Zichen and avenge them." Lin Mi's legs gave out, and he fell to the ground.

"Where is Zichen now?" Wang Xiong asked again.

"Near a prominent hill at the edge of the Silent Forest." Lin Mi clearly stated Zichen's exact location.

"Good, very good. Lin Mi, you did well. Go rest. Wang Meng, see him off." Wang Xiong said calmly, but a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Wang Meng nodded and kicked Lin Mi. "Come, I'll see you off."

"No need, Brother Meng, I can go back myself." Lin Mi's body trembled.

"Stop talking nonsense, come on." Wang Meng dragged Lin Mi out.

Lin Mi did not beg for mercy. This scene seemed to have been anticipated. His dead eyes had a glint of madness and resentment.

"You are not righteous, so don't blame me for being unrighteous. If you want to kill me, you will have to pay the price." The moment Lin Mi saw the murderous intent in Wang Xiong's eyes, he anticipated that Wang Meng would kill him to silence him. Just as he regained his senses, he thought of a poisonous plan.

So he lied.

Since he was going to die anyway, why not let those who caused his death pay the price? Lin Mi believed that Zichen had the strength to kill them.

Lin Mi was taken to the outer sect. As expected, Lin Mi did not scream or beg for mercy. He was very calm, which surprised Wang Meng.

After leaving the outer sect, they entered a dense forest.

"Alright, let's stop here." Lin Mi said calmly.

"Oh, you know what I'm going to do?" Wang Meng looked at Lin Mi in surprise.

"Brother Meng is going to kill me." Lin Mi was very calm, even smiling.

"Aren't you afraid of death?" Wang Meng was puzzled.

"Afraid."

"Afraid and still smiling?"

"Yes, because I believe Brother Meng will soon come to find me." Lin Mi said calmly.

"Looking for death." A murderous intent appeared in Wang Meng's eyes. He pointed his finger, and a white light appeared, instantly slashing towards Lin Mi's chest.

Facing a sixth-layer True Qi practitioner like Wang Meng, Lin Mi had no means of resistance. He did not intend to resist either. As he died, a strange smile remained on his face, his eyes calmly looking at Wang Meng, giving him a chilling feeling.

Wang Meng did not understand. When he returned, he found that his brother had already left, taking the four closest senior brothers with him.

"There should be no problem. My brother is at the peak of the eighth layer of True Qi. Among the other four, two are at the seventh layer, and two have just broken through to the eighth layer. Their strength is formidable." Wang Meng muttered, then returned to his residence and waited for news.

After Lin Mi left, Zichen dealt with the corpses and sat cross-legged on the hill again. In front of him was a clear lake, with fish swimming in the water.

Zichen's mind quickly calmed down, and he began to refine the True Qi pills.

The Thunder Body Tempering Technique was in operation. The surrounding heaven and earth energy and the essence of plants and trees converged on Zichen. While refining the True Qi pills, Zichen also absorbed the energy of heaven and earth.

The same scene played out. His heart absorbed all the energy, trembled, and then released even purer energy, which spread through his blood and meridians into every part of his body.

His physique was transforming, and his sixth-layer True Qi was also changing.

The two True Qi pills were consumed in a short time, and Zichen's strength stabilized at the peak of the sixth layer, while his physique stabilized at the peak of the seventh layer.

"Phew, hah."

Zichen stood up, leaped into the lake, and began to punch continuously. The resistance of the lake water quickly drained his strength. After half an hour, Zichen was completely exhausted.

He was seeking his limits and the feeling of reaching them.

With the last bit of strength, Zichen forced himself to punch again. Instantly, his heart trembled again, and a pure energy appeared, surging through his limbs and restoring his strength.

"Phew, hah."

In the lake, the sounds of his breathing could be heard, and the entire lake was stirred by his punches. Many fish fled in panic, but a few were still caught in the water.

Time passed, and Zichen repeatedly challenged his limits. He often did this.

The old man did not come today. Half a day later, Zichen caught a fish, emerged from the lake, wrung out his wet clothes, and then cleaned and cooked the fish.

Soon, the smell of fish spread, and night fell.

"They should be here soon." After eating the last piece of fish, Zichen extinguished the fire, a cold glint in his eyes, and disappeared into the darkness. Before that, he needed to check the surroundings.

Wang Xiong led four others, moving without stopping towards the Silent Forest. As night fell, they arrived at the edge of the Silent Forest.

"Be careful. This kid is cunning and even knows how to ambush." Wang Xiong warned.

"Wang Xiong, you're overthinking it. With so many of us, it's already good that Zichen didn't run when he saw us. Expecting him to ambush us, he probably ran long ago." One of them laughed disdainfully.

"Linchuan, it's always better to be cautious. This kid's talent is even better than Chen Feng's. Be careful, all of you." Wang Xiong said solemnly.

"Don't worry. We'll make sure Zichen doesn't return." The others nodded.

"Look, there are signs of a fire here, and some fish bones. The charcoal is still warm, indicating someone just left." Someone found where Zichen had cooked the fish.

"There are also signs of a fight. What are these black things? Charcoal?" Linchuan also noticed the signs of a fight.

Since the corpses had been dealt with, the signs of the fight were only slightly disordered, without any traces of lightning. It was also night, and the visibility was not very clear, so they did not notice.

"It must be Zichen. Here are Yi Ping and Cao Kai's tokens." Under the moonlight, the white tokens glowed faintly, and Wang Xiong, being meticulous, found them. The other four gathered around.

"Damn kid, he even took the contribution points." Linchuan cursed and then looked at Wang Xiong. "What do we do now?"

"Chase him. He can't have gone far."

Wang Xiong threw the tokens away and said coldly.

The other four nodded and pursued him.

"Sure enough, they came, and all five of them." From a distant tree, Zichen saw the group on the hill through the gaps in the leaves.

They found all the clues and quickly left. Zichen guessed they were heading deeper into the forest.

Quickly descending the tree, Zichen followed them cautiously.

Time passed, and the night path was not easy to navigate, even with moonlight. Occasionally, the sounds of fierce beasts could be heard, indicating that the area was not peaceful.

After a long night, Wang Xiong stopped first.

"We can't keep walking aimlessly. Let's rest for the night and continue tomorrow." After a moment of thought, Wang Xiong said calmly.

"Alright." The others were also tired.

"Linchuan, you and Qiyuan will keep watch." Wang Xiong said.

"This place is a mess, not even a fierce beast. Do we need to keep watch?" Linchuan, at the eighth layer of True Qi, stared at Wang Xiong.

"Better to be cautious. Zichen ambushed and severely injured Cao Kai, proving his strength." Wang Xiong said.

"Come on, you know his strength. Didn't that fool Lin Mi say they were talking and got caught off guard? They even fought for a long time." Linchuan said, "If I were ambushed and severely injured, I would have the strength to kill him with one strike. A fusion combat technique is nothing against my eighth-layer True Qi."

"Better to be cautious. Rest, and we'll try to find Zichen tomorrow." Wang Xiong said calmly.

"I hope he ambushes us at night." Linchuan sneered.

"I also want to see what means Zichen used to kill Cao Kai and Yi Ping." Qiyuan said.

Then, Linchuan and Qiyuan dispersed.

They said they didn't care, but after dispersing, they were more alert, looking around cautiously.

But this alertness gradually faded as the night passed. By the early morning, when even the sounds of beasts had disappeared, they were completely relaxed.

They each leaned against a tree, closed their eyes, and fell asleep.

A black shadow slowly approached from the distance.