Translator: CinderTL
"There's nothing to see here," Hui Zhen said, instinctively touching his chest.
"For a great master like you, the Jade Buddha might seem unremarkable. But for rogue cultivators like me, it's a treasure we could never hope to possess in our lifetime," Song Wen replied.
Song Wen then turned to Mingcheng.
"What do you think, young friend Mingcheng?"
Whether Mingcheng spoke from genuine feeling or to deliberately flatter Hui Zhen, he said with sincere earnestness, "We truly could never hope to possess such a treasure in our lifetime."
"Alas!" Song Wen sighed, his voice tinged with disappointment. "It seems neither of us is destined to witness such a treasure."
After a moment's hesitation, Hui Zhen relented.
"Very well, I'll show it to you."
He reached for his neck and pulled out a thin black cord. With a gentle tug, he drew a palm-sized Jade Buddha statue from beneath his robes.
The statue was pure white, radiating a potent Buddhist aura that made it seem as if a high monk had descended.
"This Jade Buddha was personally crafted by my father," Hui Zhen said with pride. "It can withstand the full-force attack of an early-stage Void Refinement cultivator. Should I face a mortal threat, the Jade Buddha will automatically protect its master."
As Song Wen gazed at the Buddha Image, he immediately understood: Hui Zhen's confidence in venturing into North City late at night with only his lackey Mingcheng stemmed from this Jade Buddha.
The Jade Buddha's ability to actively protect its owner meant that virtually no one in Cloudveil City could threaten Hui Zhen.
Even Void Refinement Stage cultivators would think twice before attempting to kill him.
After all, triggering the Jade Buddha would inevitably draw the attention of Void Refinement Stage cultivators from Du'e and the Dry Zen Temple.
"This treasure truly lives up to its reputation as a creation of Great Master Du'e himself," Song Wen said with feigned reverence. "Even the faintest aura it emits fills me with awe."
Yet inwardly, Song Wen sneered coldly.
A true trump card, meant to save one's life, must remain hidden from the enemy. If the opponent knows its capabilities, it's merely a tactic, not a trump card.
The Jade Buddha would activate only when Hui Zhen faced a fatal threat. But what if the threat wasn't lethal?
Hui Zhen's expression remained arrogant. "Naturally. This is a life-saving artifact my father bestowed upon me. It's no ordinary trinket."
Before he could finish speaking, a crimson shadow surged from Song Wen's body and darted into Hui Zhen's open mouth.
Hui Zhen's face twisted in terror.
The crimson shadow was a creature resembling a small snake.
It exuded no discernible aura of power, preventing the Jade Buddha from activating before it burrowed into Hui Zhen's mouth, heading straight for his brain.
"You'd best not make any sudden moves," Song Wen said, his voice calm. "The Gu worm inside your head can devour your entire brain in an instant."
As he spoke, Song Wen grabbed Hui Zhen by the neck and sped away.
Their location was already on the outskirts of North City.
In the blink of an eye, the pair vanished into the vast darkness beyond the city walls.
Mingcheng stood alone, frozen in shock.
Mingcheng, my young friend, please deliver a message to Great Master Du'e. I've invited Hui Zhen to visit my clan. If Master Du'e wishes for his swift return, he must prepare a thousand Bodhi Spirit Cores, each over four hundred years old, with intact root systems suitable for transplantation. Furthermore, this matter must remain strictly confidential. Should word leak out, Master Du'e will need to raise another heir.
Song Wen's spiritual sense transmission echoed in Mingcheng's mind.
Mingcheng realized with horror that Hui Zhen had been abducted by Mi Hai!
Though he was Hui Zhen's lackey, he cared little for Hui Zhen's life or death.
Hui Zhen was dead. At worst, he could simply find another brainless young master to fawn over.
What truly terrified him was that Hui Zhen had been abducted right before his eyes. Moreover, Mi Hai had instructed him to deliver a message.
He could almost visualize the scene: when he reported this to Du'e, the great master would fly into a rage and tear him limb from limb.
Yet he couldn't flee.
The Dry Zen Temple held his soul lamp. If he escaped, he would inevitably be branded a traitor.
The temple's methods for punishing traitors were no less brutal than the torturous practices of demonic sects.
But if he concealed the truth, Du'e would eventually discover Hui Zhen's disappearance and launch an investigation into the night's events. In that case, death would be inescapable.
Mingcheng sank into despair.
In that moment, he understood why the burly female cultivator had begged for death after her defeat.
Back then, he had joined the other young masters and ladies in their frenzied cheers, celebrating the cultivator's soul scattering and spirit vanishing.
Now, in the blink of an eye, the same fate had befallen him.
Perhaps this was the karmic cycle the scriptures often spoke of.
Simultaneously, he pondered the words he had heard in his mind.
"From a clan? Could it be that Mi Hai comes from some family?"
A gale whipped across Hui Zhen's face.
The already pitch-black surroundings blurred into fleeting shadows that streaked past his eyes.
Hui Zhen sensed a surge of immense spiritual power from the withered claw gripping his neck, suppressing his own spiritual power into a stagnant pool, rendering it utterly useless.
"Mi Hai, you dare to kidnap me—"
Before he could finish, the withered claw suddenly exerted tremendous force, instantly sealing his throat and silencing him completely.
A suffocating sensation washed over Hui Zhen, his face turning a dark purple.
His eyes bulged slightly, filled with agony and the terror of impending death.
He struggled to raise his right hand, desperately pounding against the withered claw.
"Spare... me! Don't kill me!"
Song Wen glanced at Hui Zhen and withdrew the force from his grip.
Having finally captured Hui Zhen alive, he couldn't afford to let him die so easily.
"You'd better behave yourself," Song Wen said coldly. "Otherwise, I won't hesitate to send you to meet your Buddha."
In his other hand, Song Wen held Hui Zhen's Storage Ring.
His divine sense forcefully shattered the Spirit Sense imprint Hui Zhen had left on the ring, revealing its contents in full view.
The ring contained over three hundred high-grade spirit stones—enough to partially compensate for the thousand spirit stones Song Wen had lost.
One by one, the high-grade spirit stones flew out of Hui Zhen's Storage Ring, brushed against the back of Song Wen's hand, and entered his own Storage Ring.
Song Wen acted this way because he feared the spirit stones might bear divine sense imprints left by Du'e or other Void Refinement Stage cultivators, allowing them to track him.
If the spirit stones made contact with his physical body and carried such imprints, they would be devoured by the Sea of Consciousness Black Hole.
However, it turned out Song Wen's precautions were somewhat excessive. None of the three hundred-plus high-grade spirit stones bore any divine sense imprints.
After transferring the high-grade spirit stones and a few Communication Jade Slips from the Storage Ring, Song Wen casually tossed Hui Zhen's Storage Ring away.
The ring still contained many items, but they held little value for him. Moreover, he didn't have time to meticulously check each item for imprints, so he simply abandoned it.
Next, Song Wen's gaze fell upon Hui Zhen's chest.
He was certain Hui Zhen's body carried no divine sense imprints. However, the Jade Buddha had been crafted by Great Master Du'e at the cost of his own cultivation, imbuing it with Du'e's Spiritual Power.
There was a high probability Du'e could use some method to track the Jade Buddha's location.
The Jade Buddha was undoubtedly a rare and invaluable protective treasure. Moreover, like a Talisman, it could be activated by whoever wore it without requiring refinement. Otherwise, Gao Cang wouldn't have coveted it so fiercely.
Yet keeping the Jade Buddha posed far too great a risk.
Song Wen gritted his teeth, tore the Jade Buddha from Hui Zhen's chest, and hurled it away with all his might.
Hui Zhen could only watch helplessly, powerless to resist as Song Wen dragged him toward the pitch-black horizon.
(End of the Chapter)
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