Duosheng Danyuan

I knew the speaker's voice all too well; in fact, I could never forget it.

Thus, driven by instinctive fear and the subconscious self-protection that arose in the brain in a split second, the power of the Hundred Meridians Returning to Origin instantly erupted from the tip of my right middle finger. Accompanied by my right fist, a backfist swiftly slammed into the head of the person behind us.

The slurping sound of blood mingled with the cracking of bones as the senior brother behind us had his head shattered in Zeng Yixi's astonished and surprised gaze.

Without hesitation, I wiped the blood from the back of my hand, grabbed Zeng Yixi's wrist, and flashed to a position ten steps away from my senior brother. As Foundation Establishment cultivators, our physical abilities are already much stronger than ordinary people. Even without the Swift Step Technique, I can still unleash speeds far exceeding those of mortals in a short period of time.

Zeng Yixi, who was still confused, tried to break free from my embrace, but I tightened my grip on her even more.

My gaze was fixed on the corpse lying on the ground not far away. I said coldly, "You used your technique. This person came to us because you disturbed him."

"What? How could this be! I definitely didn't..."

"Are you an idiot?!" I snapped. "The Quiet Abode isn't a thatched hut; the thatched hut is just one place within the Quiet Abode! The first line of the rules you found in the thatched hut says 'Quiet Abode Rules,' which means that even if you're not in the thatched hut, as long as you're within the Quiet Abode's boundaries, you must abide by the rule of not practicing!"

My words struck Zeng Yixi like a bolt from the blue, leaving her speechless for a long time. She finally managed to stammer, "I...I really didn't notice this. I'm...I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize, just get the situation straight." Seeing that Zeng Yixi understood the urgency of the situation, I released my left hand from hers and pulled out the "Hundred Meridians Return to Origin" cultivation manual from my pocket. "You can only use this when necessary."

Stunned, Zeng Yixi took the book "Hundred Meridians Return to Origin" that I handed her and subconsciously leaned closer to me.

"Hoo..." I took a deep breath, still staring intently at the corpse lying on the ground, not daring to blink.

I know the identity of this corpse all too well; in fact, I've been on guard against it until now.

The tenth senior brother who disappeared in the Refining Heart Hall, whom Su Wanqing met when he entered the inner gate of the Shengdan Academy yesterday, the one who stared at him with him. He was that strange fellow whose flesh was withered and whose bones were as thin as a poisonous ghost.

Silence, a brief yet long silence, after I smashed his skull with one punch, this senior brother really lay motionless on the ground until now.

"Why? Did I really kill him?" In an instant, the second rule of the Refining Heart Hall flashed through my mind—the weak are born with original sin in the face of survival, and all fear stems from insufficient firepower.

Although this is now the Tranquil Abode, I still haven't been able to verify whether the rules between the various buildings are interconnected. Perhaps, the senior brother I've been wary of for so long really is just a useless coward who's all bark and no bite?

"No, impossible! The course I audited yesterday was for the Core Formation stage, which is a realm above the Foundation Establishment stage. I was using a mortal martial arts technique. How could I possibly kill him with just that one move?! Impossible, stop dreaming..."

Under immense pressure, a bead of cold sweat slid down my cheek.

But this drop of sweat doesn't belong to me.

"Huh!" I looked up abruptly and saw a man hanging upside down appearing out of thin air above me, his gaping maw dripping greedy saliva onto my face.

As if by instinct, my ankle suddenly turned, and in an instant I was dozens of steps away.

Startled, I lost my bearings for a moment, and this dodge created distance between me and Zeng Yixi. The man who had appeared to be hanging upside down was now standing between us.

"As if facing a formidable enemy... Heh heh, this is the formidable enemy." I chuckled self-deprecatingly, then took a deep breath, trying to suppress my inner fear.

Unexpected situations followed one after another, and only now have I managed to forcibly pull myself out of the fear and allow my body to relax.

"You smashed the corpse with one punch, junior brother, your spiritual root is not bad." The man hanging upside down in the air began to walk, as if walking in an invisible wheel. Slowly, he actually straightened his body and then lightly jumped down to the ground between me and Zeng Yixi.

"We meet again," the man said with a faint smile.

"Senior brother, why aren't you resting so late?" I twitched my lips and forcefully wiped the drool dripping onto my face, pretending to be nonchalant as I said, "Besides, we're not that close, are we?"

"We're familiar, very familiar. Hehe, why are you alone? Where's my other lovely junior sister?" Ignoring Zeng Yixi's presence, the skinny senior brother pressed his hands against his chin, trying to close his gaping maw, revealing a human-like smile.

"She has her own things to do." I maintained my smile and tried to suppress the restlessness in my lower abdomen.

Logically speaking, it wasn't me who used the technique in the Quiet Abode, but Zeng Yixi. Therefore, the rules shouldn't punish me, but Zeng Yixi. However, the man in front of me is special; he's been watching me for a long time, and now, because Zeng Yixi violated the rules, he finally has a reason to confront me.

The punishment at Jingxi Lodge, which Chen Yu tested for us, involved physical pain caused by Elder Jianshan's reprimands, in order to cultivate the section on the five internal organs in the method of cultivating the elixir.

However, I currently have two pieces of information that are unknown.

First, I don't know whether the current punishment for violating the rules applies to a scope or an individual. If it's an individual violation, it's manageable; as long as I restrain the urge to use my techniques, this skeleton man can't do anything to me. I can interpret his repeated threats as an attempt to force me to use my techniques. But if it's a scope violation, things will definitely be much more complicated.

Secondly, I don't know if the penalties for breaking the rules are the same for each section. Even within the same section, if I break different rules, will I necessarily receive the same punishment? The sample size of the ten disciples who were punished is too small; I can't judge whether I'm capable of bearing the consequences of breaking the rules. If I could, I would want to use the "Rapid Movement Technique" to escape with Zeng Yixi, even at the cost of breaking the rules. After all, our respective dormitories are not far behind us.

Because of these two unknown pieces of information, I dared not make any rash moves in front of this dangerous individual.

"What's there to be afraid of? The Tranquil Abode is absolutely safe, and there's a faint light around us to ensure our safety. He can't do anything." After quickly flipping through "The Hundred Meridians Return to Origin," Zeng Yixi naturally put it into his pocket and smiled at me.

"..." I didn't know where Zeng Yixi's confidence came from. I pursed my lips and carefully took another half step back.

I don't know why, but I always feel that I should stay as far away from this skeleton man as possible.

"Ghostly light? You actually consider something as protection when it's just a mere source of illumination?" The skeleton man's lips curled into an exaggerated grin. He glanced back at Zeng Yixi with a vacant look, then stomped his foot hard. In an instant, a gust of wind rose from beneath his feet.

The storm came unexpectedly, and the wind and waves carried mud from the roads of the Tranquil Lodge, which blurred my vision for a moment, making it difficult for me to open my eyes.

But from the skeleton man's words, I could roughly understand what he meant.

"The eerie light is just for illumination? That's impossible! The elder clearly stated it was there to protect us. What is he trying to do by stirring up this gust of wind? Could it be...!"

Shocked and flustered, I quickly looked to my left and behind me, only to see the eerie lights on both sides of the road beginning to sway precariously in the storm stirred up by the skeleton man.

Upon seeing this scene, Zeng Yixi, who had been calm, finally began to panic, and her gaze kept drifting towards the thatched hut not far behind her.

"Annihilate, along with these rows of green lights and your souls..." In the eye of the storm, the skeleton man chuckled, spreading his arms as if awaiting a beautiful, grand finale.

And we, at least I, have absolutely no idea what we can do right now. No, to be precise, it seems I can't do anything at all.

Struggling, I silently used the Hundred Meridians Return to Origin technique to barely stabilize myself, looking up at the power the skeleton man was using.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

As time passed, the storm gradually subsided, but the eerie light that had been swaying violently in the gale still flickered, albeit faintly.

"What? How could this be!?" Gasping for breath, the skeleton man stared at the scene before him in disbelief. Gritting his teeth, he tried to intensify the storm, even as his eyes were about to bleed.

"Click!"

A crisp sound rang out, and to my and Zeng Yixi's puzzled gaze, the skeleton man stood there dumbfounded, and the storm subsided completely.

In the darkness, the dim light remained the same dim light; the only change was the road surface of the Quiet Abode, which seemed to have been swept cleaner by the wind.

"How could this be... how could this be, how could this be, how could this be!?" In a frenzy, without any warning, the skeleton man collapsed to the ground in agony, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Faced with this scene that made me feel physically uncomfortable, I couldn't help but take another half step back.

As I stepped back, I clearly felt myself bump into someone.

"Huh!" I turned around abruptly, and another familiar face was just inches away from me.

However, perhaps because I was numb from being frightened by the skeleton man, this time, I didn't instinctively throw a punch at the woman who suddenly appeared behind me.

"Hi." The woman smiled and extended her right hand to greet me.

"Wen Guanmiao?" Zeng Yixi recognized the person who came from a distance between me and the woman.

Behind me is Sister Wen Guanmiao, whom I met at Mingling Residence not long ago.

"We meet again, you two." Wen Guanmiao nodded and said to Zeng Yixi with a smile.