Decaying World

Chapter 51 051 Perilous Situation Three

The former site of Qingfeng Temple.

In the area belonging to the sword sect, elderly men and women leisurely held wooden swords and followed the lead of Xiao Hu to learn the slow-paced version of the Seven-Section Fast Sword, exercising their bodies.

This perfected version, refined by Lin Hui, can still provide significant exercise benefits for the elderly, even without mastering the key points of exertion.

Although it's difficult to learn, you can learn one move at a time and be solid before moving on to the next. These old men and women don't have much else, but they have plenty of time.

In the afternoon, outside the Qingfeng Sword Sect's headquarters.

Lin Hui's father, Lin Shunhe, led two newly recruited burly guards towards the courtyard where Lin Hui of the Sword Sect lived.

The two guards each carried a large bag of concentrated medicine packets on their backs, all of which were pre-packaged in yellow paper bags.

"It's just ahead, then another building to the left. Yes, look at the house number, the one with the character 'Hui' on it."

Lin Shunhe directed the two men to quickly arrive at the courtyard gate and knock on the door.

There was no movement inside.

"Could it be that Ahui went out?" He looked around, trying to find someone to ask, but there was only a group of old men and women practicing swordsmanship in the training ground not far away, and a disciple who was busy teaching. He couldn't see anyone else.

Just as Lin Shunhe was about to go to Mingde's residence to inquire about the situation,

Suddenly, not far away, a group of tall figures dressed in pure white robes stepped into the open gate of the Sword Sect.

The white robes worn by this group of people were fitted and clung to their bodies, clearly highlighting the strong physiques beneath.

What's most striking is that the average elderly people here, even the young tigers and chubby boys from the Qingfeng Sword Sect, are only about 1.8 meters tall, while the shortest of these people are over 2 meters tall, and the tallest of them is close to 3 meters.

She was a strong woman with snow-white skin and three thick braids on her head that resembled three black horns.

She moved her arms, each one as thick as an adult's waist, and her green eyes constantly scanned the area.

"Is this Qingfeng Temple? The martial arts school closest to Beifeng Forest Road?" the woman asked coldly.

A burly man behind her bowed and stepped forward.

"Yes, sir. If you want to inquire about the specific situation of Lin Dao in recent years, the people here should know the most."

"Call someone," the three-meter-tall woman said impatiently. "If you can't call someone within thirty breaths, I'll hold you accountable."

"Yes!" The burly man trembled, quickly took his leave, glanced around, and then charged straight toward the bewildered Little Tiger.

puff!
He ran up to Xiaohu, grabbed Xiaohu by the collar, and lifted him up.

"Boy, where's the person in charge here?! Quickly call your master out! Lady Amamiya Yuying has arrived in person, come out and see her immediately!"

"My master... went out, I don't know." At this moment, only Xiao Hu and Xiao Pang were in the entire sword sect, along with a few ordinary handymen who had been temporarily recruited. Ming De had gone drinking, Wei Wei had gone swimming, Wang Yun rarely came, and Lin Hui had gone to another town to hunt for materials. For a while, he and Xiao Pang were the only ones in charge of the entire sword sect.
At this moment, Xiao Hu was grabbed by the collar by the strong man. He felt the immense pressure of the man's blood aura as he approached, and his heart immediately became three parts timid. He tried to struggle again, but found that the man's strength far exceeded his own, so he dared not move anymore.

"Nobody? Impossible! You can't be the only one in charge of this place, can you? Where are the others? Where are the adults?! Call them out now!" The burly man was getting anxious.

"I...I..." Little Tiger's mind went blank for a moment, and he was a little dumbfounded.

Seeing his foolish appearance, the burly man glanced at the group of timid old men and women. These people were all shrewd, and as soon as they heard the name Amamiya, even those who were originally dissatisfied instantly lost their temper.

"Damn it! Useless trash!" The burly man grabbed Xiao Hu, lifted him high, and his face began to contort with rage. If he failed the mission, he would be crippled when the time was up. As You Ying's temporary bodyguard, he was already the seventh this month!
The first six were either dead or mentally impaired.

Thinking this, he grew increasingly anxious, and his grip tightened, squeezing the little tiger's neck so tightly it was almost suffocating him. At the same time, his eyes searched around for someone who could take charge.

*
*
*
Fog area in Shiqiao Town.

Lin Hui stared at the giant tree scorpion in front of him and silently activated the special effect of transforming into a feather.

With his body tempered to its limit, he gently bent down and gripped his sword.

laugh!
In an instant, he vanished from his spot, transforming into a gentle breeze, and unleashed the Gentle Breeze Sword Technique, relentlessly stabling the tree scorpion.

Sparks flew everywhere as the Qinghe Sword collided with the tree scorpion's shell.

Ding ding ding ding.

As sparks flew, Lin Hui searched for the tree scorpion's possible weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

He tried stabbing the joints, the abdomen, the eyes, the mouth—everywhere he could think of—but it seemed to have no effect. They were all impenetrable barriers.

The Qinghe Sword felt like it was constantly stabbing a metal model; his hand was numb from the recoil, but he still couldn't find the tree scorpion's weakness.

Amidst the clanging sounds, Lin Hui finally understood how Baohe Daoist felt when he faced Song Zhanlong, the Black Dragon Sect Master.

It is flawless, impeccable, and impossible to breach.

'No wonder tree scorpion tails are so rare; one tail is enough for ten doses of medicine, yet there's still not much of it on the market. Turns out, this guy is incredibly difficult to kill.'

With this in mind, Lin Hui no longer hesitated. The toxins from the sealing array, which he had never used before, quietly lingered around the tip of the Qinghe Sword.

With his next strike, he suddenly circled behind the tree scorpion and stabbed it in the scorpion's rear end, near its excretory opening.

Just then, the tree scorpion raised its tail high, about to launch its venomous stinger again, which also revealed its rear excretory opening.

puff!
The sword failed to penetrate again; the hard shell around the excretory opening was incredibly tough, making it impossible to break through.

This made Lin Hui realize that without the support of internal energy, it was unlikely that speed and the sharpness of the sword alone would be enough to kill a fog monster of the Tree Scorpion level.

But the purpose of this sword strike was not to kill the opponent, but to test the toxins in the sealing array.

Click.

The sword tip struck the scorpion's excretory opening hard, instantly injecting the invisible sealing toxin into its body.

An invisible force instantly jolted the tree scorpion's massive body to a standstill.

It lasted a full second. Only then did the tree scorpion resume its movements, but startled by the seal, it was clearly different from its previous fearless self. Now, the tree scorpion began to panic.

The inexplicable stiffness made it panic, and after realizing it couldn't hit Lin Hui no matter what it did, it turned and ran into the depths of the fog.

Two seconds later, it was caught up with by Lin Hui again while trying to escape.

clang!
With a crisp sound, the tree scorpion's massive body, over four meters tall, froze in place once again, unable to move.

Taking advantage of this time, Lin Hui accelerated wildly, searching for the weakest point on the body.

Finally, after pinning the guy down in several places, he found a weakness that wasn't exactly a weakness.

—A brown arc-shaped pattern runs where the tree scorpion's tail connects to its body.

The pattern was protected by a hard shell, but this shell was much thinner than the shells in other places when the body was immobilized.

After Lin Hui kept dodging and looking for an opportunity, he stabbed this spot more than thirty times.

There was a crisp sound.

Finally, the tree scorpion's entire tail was split in two and cut off.

The excruciating pain terrified the tailless tree scorpion, which frantically fled into the depths of the fog and soon disappeared into the mist, never to be seen again.

What remained was a complete set of materials that Lin Hui wanted – a tree scorpion tail.

'It took a full half hour. It was too difficult to kill.'

He stepped forward and picked up the enormous scorpion tail, which was over five meters long. Its surface was covered with a shiny black shell, and at the end was a black and red venomous stinger. It was quite exaggerated.

'Fortunately, it was still successful.' The difficult process of breaking through the defenses made Lin Hui even more eager for the second tempering of the Qingfeng Sword Technique. If he could generate internal energy, it wouldn't be so difficult to kill the tree scorpion.
The arduous task of gathering materials quickly extinguished any lingering pride he felt after killing the two members of the Hundred Flowers Sect.

He couldn't even kill a tree scorpion; even with all his might, he could only cut off its tail. Let alone deal with a martial artist with high internal energy defense like Song Zhanlong of the Black Dragon Sect.

It now appears that Song Zhanlong's defense is far superior to that of the Tree Scorpion. Even the sword imbued with the inner force of the Abbot Baohe could not pierce it, demonstrating its formidable strength.

"Internal strength, internal strength, I still need internal strength," Lin Hui sighed, dragging his scorpion tail, which weighed at least several dozen kilograms, and turned back the way he came.

This tail alone is enough for at least ten portions of the complete essence powder.

*
*
*
The training ground of Qingfeng Sword Sect.

Click
With a slight creaking sound as the fabric tightened, Xiao Hu was lifted high by the strong man. He struggled and thrashed at his own arms, but the difference in strength was too great, and it was all in vain.

As his face grew increasingly red, Xiao Hu's struggles became more and more violent. As time went on, it became clear that his breathing was severely obstructed.

He was on the verge of death.

"Brother, you're using too much force. If you choke him, even if the child knows the answer, he won't be able to say anything, right?"

Just then, Lin Shunhe, accompanied by two guards, called out loudly with a smile from not far away.

"What? You want to stand up for yourself?! Do you know where the big shots are here? Or are you the big shots here?!" The burly man was getting more and more anxious as he calculated the time.

“Of course not, but if you’re asking about the current situation of the North Wind Forest Road nearby, I do know a thing or two. Please put this young man down before you speak,” Lin Shunhe said quickly.

Upon hearing this, the burly man relaxed, threw aside Xiao Hu, and with a flash, he left a trail of afterimages, abruptly traversing more than ten meters and instantly appearing in front of Lin Shunhe.

If Mingde were to see his speed and agility, he would surely be astonished.

Because of his speed and agility, he is comparable to practitioners of the Qingfeng Sword Technique who have reached the Inner Force Realm.

This was merely a temporary bodyguard of You Ying, whose position could be rendered useless at any moment.

puff.

The burly man grabbed Lin Shunhe, lifted him up, and then turned and rushed towards You Ying at top speed.

The two returned to their original spot and stopped in front of You Ying.

Their heights are 2 meters and 1.7 meters respectively. Compared to You Ying, who is nearly 3 meters tall, they are like children compared to adults, petite and laughable.

But after Lin Shunhe was put down, he did not show any fear or timidity. Instead, he looked up calmly at You Ying.

"My lord, I know the situation in the fog-free zone of the North Wind Forest Road, but outside the fog zone, you have to find the caravans that frequently travel through it. As far as I know, Zhao's dried goods caravan is the one that travels this route the most frequently. You can go and ask them for details."

“Go find someone.” You Ying looked at him calmly. “Go to town from here. I’ll give you one hour.”

"One hour is a bit tight."

“If you can’t do it, then die. I only have one hour of patience left,” You Ying interrupted.

Lin Shunhe felt a chill run down his spine. He had only intervened to save Xiao Hu because he couldn't bear to see him being killed, but he hadn't expected this man to be even more ruthless.

"I will do my best!"

Seeing the other person's cold eyes, he, having seen countless people, instantly realized that the other person was indeed a high-ranking and influential figure in the inner city who kept his word.

If one cannot do that, one's life and death truly depend on a single thought.

He had met people like this before, but none as direct as the one in front of him.

The crux of the matter isn't just the travel time to town, but also the possibility that the person in charge at Zhao's dried goods shop might be unavailable. That would be a huge problem.
It requires a certain amount of luck.

A bead of cold sweat seeped from his back. Lin Shunhe's mind raced, but his expression remained calm. He quickly beckoned to the two guards, signaling them to come over.

He clearly instructed the two men on who they needed to find and where they needed to go, promising them a great reward. Immediately, their eyes lit up, and after remembering everything, they took off running, rushing towards the town.

(End of this chapter)