Chapter 406: The Forbidden Art Returns

Though he was wounded and his spiritual power was nearly depleted, he remained untouchable by cultivators of the Dao Seeking Realm.

Dao Seeking and void harmony differed by only a single character, yet the gulf between them was as vast as the heavens and the earth.

A massive palm shadow descended from the sky, compressing the air into a piercing sonic boom. Zuoqiu Yi felt her body sink under the crushing pressure, unable even to lift her sword.

The stark difference in power materialized before her eyes.

“Heh…”

Zuoqiu Yi had long anticipated this. She closed her eyes, accepting death with composure. She harbored no fear of death itself, only regret at failing to avenge her nephew.

Whoosh—

A shadowy figure pierced upward through the palm, shattering the colossal phantom. Zuoqiu Zhen felt only a gentle breeze sweep past, leaving her unharmed.

Xu Sanyan frowned, his gaze fixed on the still-trembling black sword. Deep curiosity stirred within him.

What kind of magic artifact is this, to possess such power?

The Li Clan’s Chief Steward was also slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected his casual strike to be thwarted, prompting him to finally take the pair before him seriously.

Lin Fan floated on the water’s surface, the black sword hovering above his head, poised to strike. Beside him, Zuoqiu Yi glared at the chief steward with undisguised hatred.

Sensing a familiar aura, the chief steward turned to look at the figure approaching from a distance. “Li Hai? You’re still alive?” he exclaimed in surprise.

Though Li Hai wore leather armor, which could alter his appearance, it couldn’t conceal his aura. The chief steward recognized him instantly.

Li Hai pushed aside the undergrowth and bowed respectfully from afar. “Greetings, Uncle.”

The chief steward’s gaze shifted to Xu Sanyan, who stood beside Li Hai. He didn’t recognize this man, but Li Hai’s restrained demeanor suggested he was under Xu Sanyan’s control.

Zuoqiu Zhen had no patience for their reunion. With a flick of her wrist, the Clearwater Longsword split into hundreds of golden sword beams that shot forth like a swarm of locusts.

“Petty tricks,” the chief steward scoffed, extending a single palm. A cyan barrier materialized before him, and the sword beams dissipated upon contact, vanishing into the air like melting snow without leaving a ripple.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Lin Fan immediately joined the attack. But even their combined efforts posed no threat to the chief steward.

Boom!

At that moment, a thunderous explosion erupted from the distance. The Li Clan Patriarch, having exhausted all other options, had finally resorted to his trump card.

A swirling mass of inky blackness stained the sky, its putrid stench drifting across the land. Beneath it, Huai Lake, once crystal-clear, was now tainted, its waters murky and foul.

“A forbidden art?!” Zuoqiu Shen’s voice was heavy with dread. He never imagined the Li Clan Patriarch would resort to such a dark practice.

Those who aspired to greatness and sought the Great Dao would never taint themselves with forbidden arts. Though these techniques offered fleeting power, they severed one’s pathway to enlightenment, forever barring the Li Clan Patriarch from reaching the sage realm.

Like Chen Yunzi of Suspended Bitter Mountain, who had refrained from using forbidden arts out of reverence for the Great Dao, the Li Clan Patriarch had now crossed that line.

Forbidden arts, though flawed, also offered advantages. While they severed one’s path to enlightenment, without them, one might never attain even their current realm.

Everyone turned to gaze at the sky. The sun, once blazing overhead, seemed to dim as the black ink swallowed its light.

Boom!

The inky mass exploded, splattering droplets of black across the sky. Each drop that landed in the lake stained the surrounding area black, accompanied by a rising stench. The once pristine lake was transforming into a fetid sewer.

Hiss~

The original Li Clan Patriarch had vanished, replaced by a grotesque mass of filth.

Xu Sanyan stared unblinking into the distance, struggling to describe what he was seeing.

It was like a massive pile of coal, gleaming black on the surface, yet beneath that dark exterior, countless bulging lumps pulsed and writhed.

This entity lacked any traditional limbs, torso, or head. Instead, it was a mass of constantly tearing, pitch-black material, like a lump of soft, collapsing rubber.

Xu Sanyan murmured, “What… what is that thing?”

Including this one, Xu Sanyan had now encountered three similar entities: Miss Mei, the Eighth-Generation Ancestor of the Wang Family, and this creature.

Though their forms varied, they shared a common trait: “filth.”

Each was equally foul, nauseating, and permeated with an aura of chaos.

“I don’t know either…” Li Hai shook his head silently, never having imagined this hidden side of the clan head.

The Li Clan’s Chief Steward felt a chill run down his spine. Abandoning all concern for Lin Fan and Zuoqiu Yi, he vanished from his spot in an instant.

“Don’t run!” Zuoqiu Yi, whether genuinely foolish or simply reckless, actually gave chase.

“Yi’er, wait!” Lin Fan called out, desperately trying to stop her.

Immediately after the chief steward vanished, the ink-like monster, as if harboring deep resentment and remembering its earlier betrayal, ignored the Zuoqiu Clan members nearby and instead relentlessly pursued the chief steward.

“Follow, but don’t get too close,” Zuoqiu Shen ordered.

Given the current situation, the Li Clan Patriarch might as well be dead, even though he still lived. Killing the Li Clan’s Chief Steward would resolve everything.

Meanwhile, Lin Fan couldn’t stop Zuoqiu Yi and, unwilling to let her go alone, had no choice but to follow along.

Suddenly, everyone had left, leaving only Xu Sanyan and Li Hai staring at each other.

“Should… we retreat?” Li Hai ventured, clearly wanting no further involvement.

Xu Sanyan pondered briefly before deciding to follow and observe. He was intensely curious about what this so-called forbidden art truly was.

Li Hai sighed inwardly but dared not disobey, obediently trailing behind.

After transforming into a monster, the Li Clan Patriarch’s consciousness had been largely eroded, leaving only one overriding thought: Kill Li Xiong!

Compared to enemies, betrayal by one’s own kin undoubtedly ignited greater fury and hatred.

The Li Clan’s Chief Steward fled frantically ahead, pursued relentlessly by the ink-like monster. Behind them came Zuoqiu Shen, followed by the Zuoqiu Clan’s Soul Refining Realm family elders, with Zuoqiu Yi and Lin Fan bringing up the rear.

Among the group, Zuoqiu Yi and Lin Fan had the lowest cultivation levels, barely managing to keep up.

Xu Sanyan hung back at the rear, coldly observing the unfolding situation. He wanted to see the final outcome of the ink-wash monster.

Soon, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from ahead. When Xu Sanyan arrived, he saw the Li Clan’s Chief Steward completely enveloped in ink-wash, only his head and arms visible. His face was contorted in agony as he struggled futilely against the encroaching darkness.

The ink-wash slowly seeped in, gradually submerging his mouth and nose until he was completely engulfed. The chief steward vanished without a trace.

The ink-wash writhed like maggots, as if digesting its prey, completely ignoring the surrounding onlookers.

A barely perceptible smile flickered across Zuoqiu Shen’s lips. To him, this was the perfect outcome: one death, and the other merely a lamb awaiting slaughter.

“Yi’er, where are you going?” Lin Fan asked, trotting after Zuoqiu Yi as she turned back.

Zuoqiu Yi stopped, her voice low and heavy. “To retrieve the corpses of my second sister and nephew.”

Her nephew’s body had been completely obliterated. She wondered if she could even find enough flesh to constitute a corpse.

Xu Sanyan had no time for their concerns. His gaze remained fixed on the ink-wash monster, his brow furrowing deeper with each passing moment.

Something’s not right…

(End of the Chapter)