Chapter 110: The Treasury of the Three Pure Ones Sect

Ruan Zhen’s pupils constricted, his vigilance sharpening instantly. The young man before him showed no signs of internal energy; he was either an ordinary person or a formidable master of hidden strength. Yet, judging by how effortlessly he had shattered his techniques just moments ago, Ruan Zhen deduced that Lin Yi belonged to the latter.

"Where did this brat come from? If he were truly a prodigy, I would surely have heard of him," Ruan Zhen thought to himself. To parry his attack with such ease, Lin Yi had to be at the level of a Grandmaster.

"My young friend, everything just now was a misunderstanding," Ruan Zhen said, taking a step back. A Grandmaster so young surely had a terrifying organization backing him.

"A misunderstanding? I don't think so. Your attacks just now were clearly intended to take my life," Lin Yi replied calmly.

Ruan Zhen felt a surge of irritation. As an elder, he had already lowered his pride, yet this junior was still pushing it. "Then what do you want?" Ruan Zhen asked, his tone turning cold.

"I don't want anything," Lin Yi shook his head.

Ruan Zhen breathed a slight sigh of relief, fearing that Lin Yi might be one of those hot-headed youths who refused to let things go. But Lin Yi’s next words made his expression shift violently: "I only want your life."

Ruan Zhen’s face darkened. Having roamed the North Province for so many years, he wasn't one to be intimidated. "Fine, brat. Since you insist on seeking death, don't blame me."

A flicker of deep malice flashed in Ruan Zhen’s eyes as he produced a small red bell from his storage bag.

*Ding.*

As the bell rang, the surrounding area fell into an instant, dead silence. Angel felt as if something had slammed into her brain; she grew dizzy, her eyes turning dull and vacant.

Lin Yi’s gaze turned icy. He stepped forward, his hands transforming into blades.

*Swish.*

Two white arcs of energy flew rapidly toward Ruan Zhen.

"No! You were struck by my Soul-Seizing Bell—how can you be unaffected?" Ruan Zhen was in disbelief. Simultaneously, the arrival of the white arcs made the hair on his neck stand up. It was an instinctual perception of impending doom.

Ruan Zhen scrambled to pull a thin sword from his storage bag, slashing out a dozen white sword auras in mid-air. The sword auras collided with the white arcs but were torn to shreds as if they were nothing more than tofu. The two white arcs continued toward Ruan Zhen with undiminished power.

*Puchi.*

The two arcs pierced directly through Ruan Zhen’s chest, leaving a cross-shaped wound.

At the moment of his death, Ruan Zhen stared with wide, unwilling eyes. "Who... who exactly are you? There is no one like you in the North Province."

Lin Yi stood with his hands behind his back, speaking indifferently: "Who told you I was from the North Province? I am from the Jiang Province. People there call me Mr. Lin."

"Mr... Mr. Lin..."

Ruan Zhen’s pupils dilated. He finally realized who the young man before him was. In the Jiang Province, the only person referred to as Mr. Lin was that terrifying existence who had slain a Spirit Venerable. He never expected to die at his hands.

*Thump.*

Ruan Zhen’s body fell stiffly to the ground.

Lin Yi shook his head. He had never intended to get involved in these troublesome matters; he just wanted to find the Sanqing Sect’s treasury in peace. But some people simply didn't know their place and insisted on throwing their lives away.

***

After Lin Yi left, a small head poked out from the bushes. It was Yu Xiaoyu, who had fled and now returned. She crept softly toward her grandmother. Granny Qiu was not yet dead; she still held a breath.

Feeling her grandmother’s faint pulse, Yu Xiaoyu hurriedly pulled a Soul-Restoring Pill from her storage bag. It was a Tier 3 pill, far more effective than a Tier 1 healing pill, capable of curing both external and internal injuries. She crushed the pill and placed it in Granny Qiu’s mouth, then carefully fed her some water.

"Grandma, please don't let anything happen to you."

A few minutes passed, and seeing no reaction, Yu Xiaoyu grew frantic. She hurriedly fed her the last two Soul-Restoring Pills. Perhaps the medicine took effect, as Granny Qiu finally managed to open her eyes.

"Grandma, thank goodness! You’re awake," Yu Xiaoyu wept with joy, her eyes red.

"Where... where is Ruan Zhen?" Granny Qiu asked in a weak voice.

At the mention of that name, Yu Xiaoyu gritted her teeth in hatred. If not for him, her grandmother would never have been so severely injured. "Grandma, that old wretch is dead," she said.

"Dead?" Granny Qiu was incredulous. Ruan Zhen was perfectly fine; how could he be dead? Could her young granddaughter have done it? But that was impossible—Yu Xiaoyu was only at the Half-Step Grandmaster level; even with a sneak attack, she stood no chance.

"It was that young man from earlier. He killed Ruan Zhen in a single strike," Yu Xiaoyu said with a complex expression. She had provoked Lin Yi earlier, and the thought sent a cold chill down her back.

"Killing Ruan Zhen in one strike? How is that possible? *Cough, cough.*" Granny Qiu spoke with such agitation that it aggravated her internal injuries, causing her to cough violently.

"Grandma, don't get so excited," Yu Xiaoyu said hurriedly.

After a moment, Granny Qiu calmed down. Yu Xiaoyu continued, "Grandma, I heard him say he is Mr. Lin from the Jiang Province. When did someone like that emerge from Jiang Province?" She had been in seclusion for a while and was out of touch with outside news.

Granny Qiu muttered the name to herself, and suddenly, her expression changed drastically. "It’s him!" she exclaimed in horror.

"Why, Grandma, do you know him?" Yu Xiaoyu asked curiously.

Granny Qiu gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "Mr. Lin of Jiang Province—he is a figure like a divine dragon. How could I know him? But I have heard of him. Not long ago in the Shan Province, Mr. Lin acted with the posture of a powerhouse, defeating a Spirit Venerable in a few strikes, and in a single thought, he slaughtered several Grandmasters in succession."

"Furthermore, he possesses a terrifying spirit beast, a black python, which has swallowed over a dozen Grandmasters alive. Among them were Master Jingkong of Shaolin, Wu Deguang of the Xingyi school in Sichuan, and Ding Qian, the master of hard-body cultivation from Miao."

With every name Granny Qiu mentioned, the shock on Yu Xiaoyu’s face grew deeper. A Spirit Venerable was too distant, but the fall of so many Grandmasters was truly soul-stirring.

"Huff." Yu Xiaoyu let out a long breath, her hands and feet trembling slightly. But soon, a fierce competitive spirit ignited in her eyes. In that moment, she made Lin Yi her target. Granny Qiu watched her, smiling bitterly; she feared her granddaughter would only ever be able to see his back in the distance.

...

Lin Yi and Angel wandered through the primeval forest for four days before finally reaching the Sanqing Sect’s treasury. Along the way, Lin Yi’s harvest had been quite rich; he had collected over a hundred medicinal herbs over a century old, along with a dozen spirit herbs. Though none were exceptionally rare, they were perfect for refining common pills.

The treasury was located in a clearing, in the center of which sat dozens of stones of varying sizes. They looked ordinary, and most people would never have given them a second glance. However, Lin Yi saw it instantly: it was a teleportation array. The formation patterns had been scrambled and needed to be rearranged to be functional.

With a quick glance, Lin Yi restored the disrupted patterns. He then took out a thousand low-grade spirit stones. Fixing the array was not enough; it required energy to activate. With a flick of his fingers, the spirit stones turned into streaks of light, embedding themselves precisely into each formation groove.

Once all one thousand stones were set, the previously dull stones began to emit a golden radiance. These lights converged, forming a teleportation circle one meter in diameter.

Lin Yi stepped into the array, his vision momentarily darkening. When his sight cleared, he found himself standing on a massive platform. The area was the size of a soccer field, paved entirely with white jade—an extreme display of luxury. Surrounding the platform stood hundreds of pillars, all crafted from low-grade spirit stones. Even so, Lin Yi couldn't help but sigh at the sheer wealth of the Sanqing Sect.

*Hum.*

As Lin Yi surveyed his surroundings, a figure appeared—it was Angel.

"Huh? Mr. Lin, where are we?" Angel asked, surprised.

"The Sanqing Sect’s treasury," Lin Yi smiled. He reached out into the void with his hand, and the entire platform, including the surrounding pillars, began to lift into the air.

"Store!"

With a thought, Lin Yi used his qi-manipulation technique to store the white jade and spirit stones. He was quite pleased with the haul. He calculated that if these low-grade stones were converted into mid-grade ones, he would have at least 1,500 jin worth.

Lin Yi walked deeper inside and, after about three minutes, found five pavilions, each seven stories high. However, having been neglected for so long, they were covered in a thick layer of dust. Every step Lin Yi took left a deep footprint.

Entering the leftmost pavilion, he immediately spotted many iron-wood bookshelves. Iron-wood was a type of spirit wood, incredibly durable; using it for furniture ensured it would not rot for thousands of years. On the shelves sat many thin jade slips.

"Transmission Jade Slips!"

Lin Yi’s eyes lit up. These were the standard way for cultivators to record information, requiring divine sense to read. Though this wasn't the main treasury, it still held a vast collection of techniques. While others might be restricted by their cultivation paths, Lin Yi had no such limitations; whether it was righteous immortal arts or heretical techniques, he could practice them all.

Without hesitation, Lin Yi began his sweep. After clearing out all the jade slips in the pavilion and scanning them with his divine sense, he found he had obtained 103,000 slips.

"Now I certainly have something to do," Lin Yi thought to himself.