The Decaying World

Gritting her teeth, Xia Si took a deep breath.

"If—and this is just a hypothetical—if I let you sleep with me and bear your child, would you grant me my complete freedom?"

"???" Lin Hui froze, momentarily unable to process what kind of crazy logic this was.

"Master Yunxia told me you still don’t have an heir, which isn’t a good thing for the entire Qingfeng Dao. Therefore, if I can bear your child, I’ll be the Qingfeng Dao’s greatest heroine, so you’ll definitely be happy to set me free!" Xia Si said earnestly.

"...I..." Lin Hui was speechless. He just knew some lunatic had to be involved. There was no shortage of them within the Qingfeng Dao.

"Those are all just rumors."

"No, I’m all ready. Come on, let’s give it a try!" Xia Si said, recalling Liu Xiao’s condition and the rumors circulating outside that the Daoist Master had taken too many aphrodisiacs, causing infertility. Her expression instantly turned serious. "Liu Xiao’s constitution is too weak, nowhere near as good as mine. As the maternal vessel, I can absolutely bear an heir who meets your requirements!"

She suddenly had an epiphany. Since she could never surpass the Daoist Master through conventional means, she might as well take an unorthodox path. The Daoist Master’s strength lay in his terrifying insight and aptitude. If she just kept having his children, as long as one out of a hundred had an aptitude comparable to his, then combined with her own powerful constitution, a supreme expert even more terrifying than the Daoist Master himself would emerge!

Decay was inevitable. The Daoist Master was destined to perish in the future, and her child would be the greatest hope for inheriting the Qingfeng Dao!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the path Master Yunxia had suggested was her only hope of ever surpassing Lin Hui.

Then, a decrepit and decaying Lin Hui would have to face his own child, who would be brilliant, magnificent, and at the height of their power...

The weight on Xia Si’s heart and the flicker of fear she felt seemed to finally have a path to resolution.

"You need to get your thoughts straight. Think about what you really want..." Lin Hui was utterly speechless. "You can leave freely in three days."

Without another word, he turned and vanished from the courtyard.

He couldn’t deal with this! He just couldn’t!

Seeing his reaction, a glimmer of genuine hope sparked in Xia Si’s heart.

So it was true!

’I used to think the rumors were all false—that the Daoist Master was a lecher, tormented by his inability to produce an heir. I thought it was just ridiculous nonsense spread by petty people.

Who knew... I was the fool all along!’

In terms of cultivation and power, she was so far behind she couldn’t even glimpse his shadow. But now, taking another route, she had finally discovered what Lin Hui truly valued most...

「Three days later...」

The seals within her body were released, and her Dharma Seal returned to her. Once her Cultivation was fully restored, however, she didn’t leave. Instead, she first went to the Rain Palace to visit Liu Xiao, and then she went to see Qiu Yiren and made a deal.

Only at Su Yaping’s urging did she finally escort a fleet of ships to Tuyue.

Time passed. As the turmoil in the outside world intensified, the first signs of the leaking Sea Roar Power began to emerge.

People around Black Cloud gradually began to show signs of physical mutation: black scales sprouted from their skin, their eyes slowly turned a pale blue, and their bodies faintly reeked of a foul, oceanic stench.

With the emergence of this partially transformed populace, the number of frenzied, sudden attacks rapidly increased.

The Black Army of Black Cloud swiftly increased its patrols, and the major clans all scrambled to reinforce the security around their territories.

Just as Lin Hui was focused on comprehending the Celestial Sacred Form, his Cultivation rising steadily as he began to condense the phantom of a third Sacred Form...

A piece of sudden, terrible news shattered the calm of his heart.

His master, Mingde, had been attacked and severely wounded while out for a stroll. He was on the verge of succumbing to decay.

*

*

*

Within a spacious estate on Qingfei Mountain.

Tao Changsheng, Weiwei, Li Yuanyuan, and Liu Xiao were all gathered in the courtyard, their gazes fixed on the room where Lin Hui sat by Mingde’s bedside.

Mingde was propped up in bed, white-haired and covered in blood. His eyes had turned completely red—a symptom of Blood-Eye.

He gasped for breath, his body faintly emitting an oceanic stench mixed with the smell of rotting flesh.

Even the thick blanket covering him couldn’t contain his increasingly potent, foul odor.

"I’ve... lived a long life. It’s been more than enough," Mingde managed, forcing a smile.

"..." Lin Hui kept trying to channel Disaster Energy into his master’s body to suppress the decay, but it was useless.

In this world, decay was an inseparable part of every living being, impossible to eradicate.

As his comprehension and observation of the Celestial Sacred Form’s aura deepened, it became increasingly clear that in this world, the very life force of living beings originally sprouted from decay itself.

"Ah Hui, after I’m gone, please... take care of Weiwei... and Changsheng..." Mingde reached out, gripping Lin Hui’s hand tightly. His murky, crimson eyes filled with even more broken veins.

"I will..." Lin Hui’s heart ached. He had given his master the enhanced Eye of Life organ, but against such a massive disparity in power, the few extra revivals it offered were meaningless...

"No! You’re... just saying that... I won’t be here to see it..." Mingde grit his teeth, his body starting to convulse as black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Promise me... You... and her... for my sake... you must have a child!"

Lin Hui fell silent and tried to pull his hand away, but the withered palm gripped him in return, holding on with desperate strength.

"Ah Hui, Master and I have already discussed it," Liu Xiao’s soft voice came from the side.

"I know my own body; I don’t have much time left... You need someone to continue on with you... so you won’t be alone..." Liu Xiao continued.

He looked at his master’s trembling body, at the eyes staring deathly still at him, and felt Liu Xiao’s earnest, pleading gaze from behind.

Lin Hui sighed softly and nodded.

"Alright. I promise."

Hearing this, the tension in Mingde’s muscles abruptly vanished. With a soft CRACK, his head fell back against the bed. His eyes were wide open as even more black blood gushed from his mouth.

It came in spurt after spurt.

"I... have... no regrets..."

Then, his breathing slowly ceased.

In that final moment, he had used his last ounce of strength to shatter every organ in his body.

With that, he extinguished his last spark of life.

With a sigh, Lin Hui stood, closed his eyes, and bowed deeply to Mingde.

Outside the room, Weiwei and Tao Changsheng knelt and kowtowed, their faint sobs echoing in the courtyard.

More members of the Qingfeng Dao stood outside, bowing in unison toward the courtyard.

Several days later, the funeral was held. The Qingfeng Dao rapidly mobilized its forces, and soon, a full report on the circumstances surrounding Mingde’s attack was placed on Lin Hui’s desk.

It hadn’t been a deliberate assassination, just a pure accident. A Wanhua Sect Cultist hiding in Black Cloud had been corrupted by the Sea Roar Power, undergone a deep-sea transformation, and gone berserk. His strength had surged, and he had attacked a mother and daughter who were out shopping. Seeing this, Mingde intervened to help. He drove off the attacker but was gravely wounded in the process.

The attack had occurred within the ten-li radius surrounding Qingfei Mountain, an area under the Qingfeng Dao’s influence and usually considered extremely safe.

The area was normally very secure, and the transformed Cultist had been living there for twenty years. The attack itself was over in less than ten seconds, making it impossible to prevent.

"The Wanhua Sect... I haven’t heard that name in a long time," Lin Hui mused, standing in the Qingfeng Dao courtyard.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at Mingde’s memorial tablet in the newly constructed shrine.

"Starting today, thoroughly investigate and eliminate all suspicious individuals in the surrounding areas, including but not limited to the Wanhua Sect. Also, find me the current location of the Wanhua Sect headquarters."

"Daoist Master, the location of the Wanhua Sect’s headquarters is always changing. Its members are incredibly secretive and hide themselves well, making them impossible to track. We don’t have many intelligence sources on them," Su Yaping said gravely. "We understand your anger, but our intelligence network is too weak to handle this alone. If we could borrow strength from Black Cloud, or pursue this through other channels simultaneously, we might be able to..."

"If you intend to make a move, I will offer my full cooperation."

WHOOSH!

Gongsun Xinlian’s figure instantly appeared at the courtyard gate.

"Perfect timing. Turmoil is erupting all around, and my Black Cloud needs to make an example of someone to assert our strength and suppress some of these troublesome spirits."

"I plan to take this opportunity to clean up the surrounding region once and for all. The great calamity is approaching, and our sect is short on manpower. We might as well completely integrate the surrounding forces. That way, we can consolidate as much power as possible before the Sea Roar erupts," Lin Hui said, looking at Gongsun Xinlian.

He had been entertaining this idea for a long time.

As the outside world grew more dangerous, the Qingfeng Dao required more and more power just to protect itself. Relying on training their own members ensured loyalty, but the pace was far too slow to keep up with the escalating threats.

Therefore, the best method was...

Conquest!

Those who submit will prosper; those who resist shall perish.

In such an age of great struggle, to not fight, to not conquer and strengthen oneself, was to choose death.

"Good. If you need any support, just say the word! The stronger the Qingfeng Dao becomes, the happier we’ll be," Gongsun Xinlian said with an emphatic nod.

The Bright Heart Association was expanding everywhere, plundering and annexing other factions to bolster the power of their formations. They didn’t even spare the Fog Spirits.

If their side didn’t act soon, their enemies would snowball in power, and by then, it would be too late to make a move.

She and her Second Brother had wanted to do the same, but unfortunately, their Eldest Brother was too indolent. Now that Lin Hui, whose strength was equally unfathomable, was planning to take action, they were naturally delighted to support him.

"Thank you," Lin Hui nodded. "I’ll let you know if I need anything."

His gaze swept over everyone present.

Su Yaping, Pang Jiu, Master Yunxia, and now Xia Si. These were currently the strongest individuals in the Qingfeng Dao.

They were more than enough to live a quiet, hidden life. After all, they were all experts on par with Fog People.

But to face the coming storm, this small amount of power was far from sufficient...

"From this day forward, we will open our gates to all. Anyone who passes the aptitude test may come and receive the Zhengde Seal Technique. There will be no limit."

Lin Hui said in a low voice after a moment of thought.

"Also, expand the security formations around Qingfei Mountain. The defensive perimeter is to be extended to cover three towns. Su Yaping, you will be responsible for aptitude screening. Organize those who pass into squads for training."

"Master Yunxia, you will be responsible for recruiting already-skilled experts to form patrol teams. All patrol teams are to be granted the True Body Seal. They will be responsible for all security patrols within our defensive perimeter."

"Pang Jiu, you will be responsible for holding down the fort at the Daoist academy, stabilizing the surrounding area, and providing support as needed."

Lin Hui issued several commands in a single breath.

"And you?" Gongsun Xinlian asked with a frown.

Lin Hui closed his eyes.

"I have been idle for too long. It’s time to get moving. I’ll take this opportunity to search for the Wanhua Sect and see what’s happening in the outside world. Perhaps I’ll even encounter some fated individuals."

His mind was made up. He had to capture more Fog People to prepare for the great catastrophe that was about to erupt.

If they were willing, all the better. If not, he would kill them and let the Evil Soldiers find new hosts. This would also eliminate potential future threats. After all, if they were to be corrupted by the Sea Roar, they might become enemies down the line.

There were also the Fog Spirits who had contacted him before. He could try capturing a few of them, too. If the Bright Heart Association could ally with Fog Spirits, why couldn’t he?

From that perspective, he was simply eliminating threats ahead of time. Compared to a few years ago, his Annihilation Sacred Form was already complete, and his Celestial Sacred Form was well underway. His physical strength, Catastrophe Ability Cultivation, Heart and Spirit Realm—all his attributes had long since reached an unfathomable level.

Now, he could finally put himself to the test and see just how powerful he had truly become.

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