Chapter 117: The Fisherman's Profit

"They have utilized formation flags to create a sealed space ahead; unless one is specifically searching for it, it is nearly impossible to detect." Given the urgency of the situation, Old Wu had no time to lecture Lin Xiaobao further and immediately relayed the coordinates of the hidden space to him.

Lin Xiaobao’s spiritual sense swept across the area, initially finding nothing out of the ordinary. However, as he adjusted the frequency of his consciousness, he realized that this specific spot indeed possessed properties distinct from its surroundings. Logically, Lin Xiaobao was only at the fourth stage of the Spirit Realm, and a formation-flag space of this caliber would be difficult for even a master at the Dao Embryo stage to detect.

Yet, aided by Old Wu’s warning and the fact that his practice of the Mind-Spirit Wave technique had elevated his cultivation far beyond his peers, Lin Xiaobao was able to perceive the anomaly. Having reached the third level—the Emergence of the Divine Wave—he could manipulate the frequency of his spiritual sense, allowing him to uncover the hidden layer. Without this, discovery would have been impossible.

Sensing the existence of the space, Lin Xiaobao attempted to synchronize his spiritual frequency with it to peer inside. No matter how hard he tried, however, he could not match the high-frequency vibrations of the formation, and he was eventually forced to give up.

"Let me handle it," Old Wu said, taking control of Lin Xiaobao’s body and projecting his own spiritual sense outward.

Lin Xiaobao’s spiritual sense was far stronger than it had been initially, and though his body was under Old Wu’s command, he could still perceive every piece of information relayed back by the elder. As he witnessed the scene within the space, Lin Xiaobao gasped. He had not expected that what appeared to be merely a few miles across from the outside would contain such a vast expanse within. The ground was scarred with countless intersecting fissures, and bottomless pits were scattered everywhere.

The three individuals wearing the robes of the Profound Sun Palace lay dead on the ground, each with a bloody hole in their abdomen, their life force completely extinguished. The three figures in black robes were engaged in a horrific act that made even Lin Xiaobao, despite his two lifetimes of experience and steely resolve, shudder.

Hovering directly in front of each black-robed figure was a miniature, crimson-red humanoid projection. These figures were identical in appearance to the three fallen disciples of the Profound Sun Palace, though scaled down significantly. These red specters appeared to be suffering intense agony; their lips moved, yet they could produce no sound. A blood-red thread connected each specter to its respective black-robed captor, and Lin Xiaobao could feel the pure energy being drained from the specters and channeled into the bodies of the black-robed men.

As they absorbed this energy, the vitality of the three black-robed figures was rapidly being restored. Their garments were stained with blood, indicating that they had paid a heavy price to eliminate the Profound Sun Palace disciples—the man on the far left even had a gaping, mangled wound on his chest. Yet, Lin Xiaobao could sense from their spiritual fluctuations that they showed no signs of injury; in fact, their life force seemed even more robust than before.

It was terrifying.

"Do you finally understand the horror of demonic cultivators? Every cultivator they kill becomes their prey. They use Soul-Devouring Arts to absorb the blood essence of their victims to strengthen themselves," Old Wu remarked, sounding entirely unsurprised by the carnage.

"What should we do now?" Lin Xiaobao asked, visibly shaken. This was the first time he had ever witnessed such a gruesome spectacle.

"There is nothing to fear! This is a world of the strong devouring the weak. If you do not want to be the prey, you must strive to be the hunter," Old Wu advised, sensing his protégé’s distress. "In the eyes of a demonic cultivator, other practitioners are no different from beast cores to an alchemist—they are merely resources, materials that can be used to their advantage."

Lin Xiaobao took a deep breath. He understood the logic, but the psychological impact remained severe. Although he had lived in this world for nearly a decade, he found it impossible to completely shed the values he had carried over from Earth.

"Now that the three from the Profound Sun Palace are dead, if we eliminate these three black-robed figures as well, no one will ever suspect you. This is a golden opportunity," Old Wu said, his tone turning grave as he sensed the activity within the space. "We must act now. If we wait for them to fully refine those three Dao Embryos, it will become much more troublesome. I am moving in."

"Old man, let me do it," Old Mo interjected.

"Do not argue with me. You are more useful staying behind," Old Wu replied with a faint, melancholic smile. "I must admit, in this regard, an Alchemy Cultivator is more valuable than a Formation Cultivator. My future depends on you."

Before Lin Xiaobao could fully grasp the meaning of Old Wu’s words, he felt his body move on its own. With a flick of his mind, the Pale Flame Sacred Sword appeared in his palm. Old Wu projected his spiritual sense to envelop Lin Xiaobao, perfectly matching the frequency of the formation space. Moving with extreme caution, he guided the body through the barrier, entering the space without causing a ripple or making the slightest sound.

The three black-robed men were preoccupied with refining the Dao Embryos. Believing the space to be completely secure, they remained oblivious to the intrusion. Suddenly, Old Wu propelled the body forward. In a flash of movement, the figure split into three, and the Pale Flame Sacred Sword transformed into three arcs of intense fire, striking toward the black-robed men.

Once the attack was initiated, Old Wu could no longer hide his presence. The black-robed man at the late stage of the Dao Embryo realm was the first to react. After swallowing the Dao Embryo before him, he darted backward in a desperate attempt to evade the fatal strike. The other two, though slightly slower, abandoned their refinement and scrambled to escape.

However, the moment they moved, Old Wu pinpointed the Chaos Mirror fragment held by the strongest of the three. With a sharp shout, the three silhouettes merged back into one. The Pale Flame Sacred Sword glowed with a blinding, crimson brilliance, and the surrounding air grew so hot that even the flow of space itself seemed to sluggishly grind to a halt.