TY Chapter 41: Black Flames of the Dead

The gray rabbit cowered backward and continued to stare at the person who just appeared warily. However, there didn’t seem to be an obvious killing intent coming from that person. Thus, the simple-minded rabbit did not immediately turn around to flee.

Both of its ears were however, still taut upwards. Soon, it realised that it should keep a distance away from the dangerous human, thus, it pulled its stretched-out head backward and prepared to escape.

At the instant that it lowered its head, the two long ears of the gray rabbit twitched suddenly. At that instant, that little animal seemed to hear something, a shrilling and desolate sound of an object ripping through the air.

The gray rabbit lifted its head, but it was too late. A wave of coldness enveloped it. Reflected in its eyes in its final moments was a cold merciless black dagger slicing through the air. Without a single sound, it pierced through the chest of the rabbit easily.

The gray rabbit collapsed and fell into the bushes. A short moment later, a trail of blood flowed from the bushes. Walking over, Lu Chen squatted beside the bush and grabbed the lifeless rabbit. Taking a glance at it, he retrieved his dagger.

The black dagger had pierced through the chest of the gray rabbit, causing it to die instantaneously.

Lu Chen quietly watched as crimson-red blood flowed from its wound. Without warning, his body jolted. In that instant, his expression was indescribably profound and bizarre. In it, a hint of shock, surprise, comprehension and finally, as well as incredulously, fear.

※※※

A wisp of black spirit energy quietly seeped into his body once again. It slowly moved through his meridians, as though a black apparition. Within his dantian spirit sea, a black Five Elemental Divine Compass rose, causing his dantian to transform into a world of darkness. At the center of this bizarre world, a flicker of black flame burned unspectacularly.

That wisp of black spirit energy circulated through the meridians of his entire body once before silently entering his dantian. Then, as though a water droplet converging as one with the ocean, it was propelled by an intangible force and melded into the black flames.

The black flame shuddered and wavered for a moment before calming down yet again.

Nothing seemed to have changed.

However, Lu Chen knew and sensed a change. It was so minor that it could be negligible, but he still felt the black flame, upon absorption of the wisp of black spirit energy, grew stronger by a slight bit.

What exactly was that black spirit energy?

Lu Chen lowered his head to look at the lifeless rabbit, and his face suddenly turned peculiarly pale.

Two times, by the clear stream at the bottom of the mountain and by the bushes in the tea mountain, a small fish and a gray rabbit. The two events seemed to be completely unrelated with one another, but they had a common point of similarity.

That was, when the two were struggling for their lives, when their lives were about to come to an end and when death was approaching them, Lu Chen felt a wisp of the fearsome and terrifying black spirit energy seeping into his body.

That kind of power and that kind of spirit energy was something that was unheard of. It did not belong to the five elements and vaguely roamed between life and death.

It seemed to… smell of death, death spirit energy?

※※※

Zhang Jiu Ping was thirty-seven year old. With a responsible personality, he did his job seriously. He originated from a renowned sect, Tianluo Sect, and his cultivation realm wasn’t weak. He was entrusted by his sect to work in the Immortal Alliance. After roaming among several halls, three years ago, he came under the Fleeting Cloud Division that was under the command of the trusted subordinate of Tianlan Zhenjun, Xue Ying, and became a sentinel.

A sentinel was a great yet terrible job. The advantage to it was that it didn’t involve much killing. Sentinels were only responsible of contacting those ‘Shadows’ with mysterious backgrounds, and sometimes, they could even earn some additional Spirit Stones. It was a safe and lucrative job. On the other hand, the Shadows under the Fleeting Cloud Division, other than the few who managed to muddle into their ranks to make a living out of it, most of them were peculiar individuals with bizarre personalities. Furthermore, having to patrol outside for most of the time, it can be considered quite a tough job.

Zhang Jiu Ping had been in his job for three years for now. These three years, he had carried out his responsibilities well, making nearly no errors. Thus, quite a few influential figures in the Immortal Alliance had high hopes for him. After putting him through a bit more hardship, they intended to promote him to a more important position, perhaps even to govern a subsidiary organisation by himself.

Just that, luck is a mysterious and inexplicable thing. The man, after laying dormant for many years, just as he was about to achieve success, had something happen to him suddenly.

Without any foreboding signs or clues, this exceptional sentinel of the Immortal Alliance’s Fleeting Cloud Division suddenly died in the depths of an inconspicuous alley by Zhuque street in the south of the Immortal City.

He died very tragically. There were bloodstains all over his body. When his corpse was noticed, it was swiftly sent back to the Fleeting Cloud Division. The culprit was determined as likely to be from the Three Realm Divine Cult, because there were traces of a cultivation technique unique to the cult on his body. Other than that, Zhang Jiu Ping’s innumerable wounds were determined to be not a result of battle. Based on the words of several individuals of special standing from the Immortal Alliance who examined the corpse, it was likely to be the result of an interrogation method.

It was hard to imagine what kind of person would dare to lay their hands on the Immortal Alliance where over tens of thousands of cultivator sects all over the world were congregated, given its name as the dominant power on the center continent. However, if the culprit was the Three Realm Divine Cult, the puzzles seemed to fit together perfectly.

Furthermore, the very fact that the incident happened in the Immortal City, right under the eyelids of the Immortal Alliance, made the top brass incensed. As such, it was clear to see that the Three Realm Divine Cult, which had maintained a low profile for many years, had grown arrogant.

All kinds of orders to look into the matter flew out continuously from the Immortal Alliance, and the atmosphere in the massive Immortal City grew tense. In addition to the tense atmosphere within the Fleeting Cloud Division, there was a hint of gloom.

Old Liu stepped out from the room where the corpse was laid. Outside the room, there were quite a few people who have gathered and most of them were from the Fleeting Cloud Division. There were also others who were close to the Fleeting Cloud Division who came to listen into the news. He took in a deep breath. Despite his horrible complexion, he did not say anything, only silently shaking his head. After a moment, he said with a suppressed tone, “Tragic.”

The hushed atmosphere took another dive. Some people started to curse.

Old Liu sighed and looked toward the sky. With a deep voice, he questioned, “How did Old Zhang provoke those lunatics from the demonic cult?”

By the side, another sentinel from the Fleeting Cloud Division harrumphed silently, “Who knows, those lunatics don’t obey common sense.” At this point, he paused and mused. “Old Zhang keeps quite a low profile, so it is unlikely for him to have a grudge with the demonic cult. Perhaps… the demonic cult sought him out for other matters?”

Old Liu raised his head, and at the same time, the others happened to look over as well. Exchanging gazes, their complexions darkened and at the same time, they mutter together, “Shadows!”

…

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I’ve decided. I’m not going to list what dantian qihai is anymore (RAWR) Read the glossary if you forget.