The Mustard Seed Secret Realm did not have much space; its total area was about 100 acres.
After all, it was a disassemblable and movable secret realm—if it were too large, it would be inconvenient.
At that moment, an extremely arrogant voice suddenly appeared within this hundred-plus-acre space.
It was remarkably conspicuous, no less than someone suddenly shouting an announcement in a crowded shopping mall.
Master Mysterious Yin looked toward the sound and saw a girl in black clothes slowly walking in.
The girl looked back at her, put her hands on her hips, and flipped her off—a gesture full of provocation.
Lin Huanhuan laughed arrogantly, as if she didn’t care at all about the wooden puppet clone of Master Mysterious Yin before her.
Master Mysterious Yin instinctively frowned.
Although she didn’t know what the gesture the girl had just made at her meant, she instinctively felt annoyed.
Given the situation, it wasn’t hard to guess that it was something insulting.
“An arrogant ant.”
Master Mysterious Yin muttered softly.
“Lin Huanhuan, it’s you.”
Yijia and You Yuelan raised their heads at the same time, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.
They wanted to say more, but the pressure from the Mustard Seed Secret Realm didn’t stop for a moment.
It continued to increase, forcing them to keep bending over and lowering their heads just to feel a little better.
Lin Huanhuan watched them and couldn’t help pursing her lips slightly.
“Damn it!”
She felt even more annoyed inside.
Seeing this, Master Mysterious Yin gave a cold laugh and said, “You’re here to save them, aren’t you? How interesting. Knowing this place is a trap, you still dared to barge in. It seems you’re quite confident in yourself.”
“But after all, I’ve raised these two disciples for so long. To put it bluntly, they’re two medicinal herbs I’ve been cultivating for a long time. I can’t just let them go. How about this—you kneel down, kowtow to me as an apology, and compensate me with 20,000 spirit stones. Perhaps I’ll spare their lives. What do you think? Pretty good deal, right?”
Master Mysterious Yin spoke in a bargaining tone, as if she were genuinely discussing a business transaction.
She didn’t seem to care much about You Yuelan and Yijia.
“No, don’t trust her.”
You Yuelan forced herself to speak through the terrible pressure, struggling greatly.
“This one is lying. Don’t believe a single word she says, Lin Huanhuan…”
Yijia took over You Yuelan’s words and said quickly.
Although she coughed up some blood with each sentence, her cultivation was higher, so she could manage to finish what she had to say.
“This old thing’s clone is at the late Foundation Establishment stage. She’s lived for over a thousand years and has an immense amount of battle experience. You’d need to be at Peak Foundation Establishment to suppress her. Run now and find someone to avenge us—that’s enough.”
Master Mysterious Yin only gave a faint smile and replied, “You two don’t understand. To put it plainly, you’re just two medicinal herbs I’ve watered for a long time—two items. Since you’re items, you can be traded.”
“But since you trespassed into my secret realm and offended me, if you want to trade with me, you must kneel and apologize. If you do that and also pay me 20,000 spirit stones, I don’t want to go against the Lingyun Sect either, right? This is a perfectly normal transaction. Don’t you agree?”
Lin Huanhuan said in a deep voice, “Oh, it seems so.”
“Of course it is. After all, all my scheming has been for profit.”
Lin Huanhuan narrowed her eyes and smiled coldly. “That sounds reasonable, but sorry, I choose to refuse. Kneeling down is still too hard for me.”
“Oh? Aren’t they worth a single kneel from you? It seems they don’t hold that important a place in your heart. What a pity. This was your only chance to save them.”
A hint of sarcasm mixed with a large dose of regret came through in Master Mysterious Yin’s voice, as if she truly intended to release You Yuelan and Yijia.
But Lin Huanhuan didn’t believe a single word from this woman.
That damn old thing hadn’t said one honest thing.
In the original work, she had already planted a Demon Seed inside Yijia and You Yuelan, one that would devour their fear and despair and grow alongside them.
What counted as fear and despair?
If their beloved shijie or shimei died tragically before them while they were powerless to stop it—that counted.
If You Yuelan and Yijia died in front of each other—that counted too.
All that pain would become nourishment for the Demon Seed, allowing it to thrive and become a proper ‘medicinal herb.’
With her sudden intervention, a person who risked danger to save them, being deceived by their own Shizun, cruelly humiliated, and killed on the spot—dying before them in that way—would also count as infinite suffering and despair.
“In the original work, that damn Master Mysterious Yin used this same method on Bai Lingfeng. I didn’t expect to experience the protagonist’s treatment too. How interesting.”
Lin Huanhuan smiled calmly.
“I’ve seen through your tricks long ago. You don’t need to keep acting. How about we…”
Before Lin Huanhuan could finish speaking, a black-purple banner appeared in her hand.
The banner flipped rapidly, then was waved forward.
Master Mysterious Yin suddenly felt an invisible wind rising from somewhere, continuously scouring the soul of this clone.
The cries and screams of vengeful spirits rang in her ears.
“Soul Dao techniques!”
Terror surged in Master Mysterious Yin’s heart.
She never imagined that the Soul Dao, which had vanished a million years ago, would reappear in the world today—and attack her by surprise.
Caught off guard, she could hardly defend herself!
Lin Huanhuan gave a cold laugh.
The reason she had rambled so much earlier wasn’t just to chat with Master Mysterious Yin.
It was simply because the Soul-Breaking Wind needed time to cast. She had been stalling for that.
She had dragged things out long enough, and the Soul-Breaking Wind had just finished brewing, then launched a fatal blow under her guise.
A chill flashed in Lin Huanhuan’s eyes.
She knew she must not give Master Mysterious Yin any chance to catch her breath, so she immediately flung out several Wind Blades.
But as fast as she was, Master Mysterious Yin reacted even faster.
After realizing she had been struck by this Soul Dao technique, she understood at once that it was time to make a sacrifice.
She decisively slashed at the soul that had been entangled by the Soul-Breaking Wind, forcibly cutting off part of her own soul.
Then, reclaiming control of the wooden puppet body, she leaped into the air and evaded those Wind Blades with an almost masterfully graceful motion.
After landing steadily, Master Mysterious Yin smiled faintly and said, “Soul Dao techniques… nothing more than that.”
Lin Huanhuan turned around to see that You Yuelan and Yijia had already broken free.
They were gasping for air, like people who had just been saved from drowning, breathing in the hard-earned air.
Lin Huanhuan gave a light chuckle and said, “Truly worthy of being an old thing. Even though you almost got killed just now, you still act as if nothing happened. I have to admire that.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.