Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Acting Right Away

In the next instant, the Flood-Dragon Rope bound Ye Zhao Zhao from head to toe.

She struggled by reflex and realized her spiritual power would not respond.

“Peak Master Lin, what are you doing!” Ye Zhao Zhao cried in panic.

Lin Qing Ling ignored her.

She raised her hand and struck Ye Zhao Zhao.

With that palm, she did not aim to kill. She aimed to cripple her completely.

It was not that Lin Qing Ling did not want Ye Zhao Zhao dead.

Last time, right under everyone’s noses, Ye Zhao Zhao had already pulled off Corpse-Seizing Rebirth.

If they killed her outright, who knew if she would try Corpse-Seizing Rebirth again.

That was one reason.

Another was this:

Lin Qing Ling had a cultivator’s intuition.

If she killed Ye Zhao Zhao here, she felt it might cause some irreversible disaster. Once such an intuition appears, the best choice is not to doubt it.

No matter how you looked at it, the safer plan was to bring her back to the Sword Sect and set up a world-shaking Sword Formation around her.

Then, no matter what Ye Zhao Zhao really was, she would be wiped out, body and soul.

Neither Ye Zhao Zhao nor the Devil Seed inside her expected this. Lin Qing Ling had barely said a word, yet she was already striking to take Ye Zhao Zhao down.

The System’s tone turned fearful.

An Integration Stage full-force blow was not something he could block right now.

If Ye Zhao Zhao died, he would be forced to come out too early.

If he came out early, he would only be the weakest kind of True Devil. He would have True Devil power, but he still might not be Lin Qing Ling’s match.

And Sword Sect reinforcements kept coming.

A savage thought flashed through the Devil Seed’s heart. If Lin Qing Ling truly dared to go all out, then even if he returned to chaos, he would drag everyone here and the whole city into the abyss forever.

Lin Qing Ling’s palm smashed into Ye Zhao Zhao’s dantian.

The blow was overwhelming. Ye Zhao Zhao’s dantian shattered at once.

Her spiritual power turned into a chaotic mess.

Ye Zhao Zhao screamed in pain.

Her eyes went red as she glanced at Li Shuang.

Back then, Li Shuang had taken a similar palm from Immortal Ling Xu.

And now, Lin Qing Ling had returned the same palm to her.

[What is this? Fate?]

Her body hurt all over, but since Lin Qing Ling had not killed her, a spark of hope rose in Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes. She gasped through clenched teeth: “Peak Master Lin, why, why would you…”

“Peak Master Lin!”

Not far away, angry shouts rang out. Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue had just woken up. The moment they were freed, they came to confront Li Shuang.

Instead, they saw Lin Qing Ling strike Ye Zhao Zhao without hesitation.

Sheng Yuan rushed over, shock on his face: “Peak Master Lin, this Fellow Daoist Fang helped us a lot in this mission. How can you strike her? If we act like this, are we still a righteous sect?”

Lin Qing Ling’s tone stayed even.

Ye Zhao Zhao was crippled already. All that remained was to bring her back to the Sword Sect.

Facing Sheng Yuan’s accusation, she said quietly: “Sheng Yuan, you called me Peak Master Lin.”

Sheng Yuan fumed: “What is wrong with that?”

Lin Qing Ling nodded toward Ye Zhao Zhao: “She also called me Peak Master Lin the moment she saw me.”

“So what?” Sheng Yuan still did not understand.

Lin Qing Ling sighed and gave Li Shuang a sympathetic look: “How did you live before this?”

Li Shuang showed a helpless smile.

No one had ever told Ye Zhao Zhao about Lin Qing Ling. If she were truly a rogue cultivator, how would she know that Lin Qing Ling was the Peak Master of the Sword Sect?

Ye Zhao Zhao was not actually clever. Her actions were full of holes. Besides those two fools, everyone else had already seen through her.

“Peak Master Lin, what do you mean by that!” Stung by her look, Sheng Yuan straightened his back and glared at Li Shuang: “On the way here I already heard about last night. The Devil Path caused chaos in the palace, and everyone panicked. This mission was supposed to be done together. But Li Shuang knocked me and Second Junior Brother out to steal the credit. She also locked this Fellow Daoist Fang in the Hall of the National Preceptor!”

“Peak Master Lin, did she badmouth Fellow Daoist Fang to you, saying nonsense like she is actually Ye Zhao Zhao? She is so greedy for credit. How can you believe her?”

Sheng Yuan’s anger at Li Shuang grew.

Earlier he had felt a little guilty toward her.

Now he only felt she was unreasonable.

[When did she turn into someone like this? So disappointing.]

Li Shuang sighed, unwilling to waste breath. She spoke to Lin Qing Ling: “Master, to avoid new trouble, let us return at once. Ye Zhao Zhao’s demonic taint is hard to purge. If we can ask the Supreme Elder to sit in, nothing will go wrong.”

Lin Qing Ling nodded: “Then we leave now.”

She waved her hand and a flying boat appeared.

“You…” Sheng Yuan reached out, ready to continue accusing them.

“Soul Severing,” Li Shuang said without expression.

Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue rolled their eyes up and fainted again.

Li Shuang tied them with skill and tossed them into the flying boat.

“Junior Sister, nice technique,” Luo Ming Yue said with a grin.

“Practice makes perfect,” Li Shuang sighed.

[But this is not the kind of practice I want.]

If she could help it, she never wanted to do missions with fools like this again.

Seeing Luo Ming Yue’s easy smile, Ye Zhao Zhao’s heart sank.

Hadn’t Luo Ming Yue grown distant from Li Shuang before? Why did they look so close now?

She could not help looking to Sui Jin.

She was sure Sui Jin liked her. He would speak for her.

Sure enough, Sui Jin walked over.

Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes brightened with hope: “Fellow Daoist Sui, I…”

Sui Jin grabbed her like a sack and threw her down beside Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue.

With a heavy thud she hit the deck, eyes wide with disbelief.

The Emotionless Peak group boarded the flying boat. They chatted and laughed, showing not the least bit of strain with each other.

Ye Zhao Zhao fell into despair.

She suddenly understood.

[They tricked me. The people of Emotionless Peak were acting for my sake.]

A sharp pain stabbed her chest and she spat a mouthful of blood.

No one paid her any attention as the flying boat sped toward the Sword Sect.

Ye Zhao Zhao shouted in her heart: “System! You told me not to run and not to run. Now look, there is no escape!”

The System fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a cold tone: “They made the right choice.”

Otherwise, with True Devil power in hand, he could have dragged everyone present and the entire city down into the abyss with him.

But inside the Sword Sect, there were many experts.

If they truly spread a heaven’s net around him, he might not get away.

“So they made the right choice. What about me? What should I do? Just wait to die?” Ye Zhao Zhao roared inside.

“Do not panic,” the System said coldly. “There is still a chance. Before we reach the Sword Sect, you may yet escape. But you must pay a price.”