98: Chapter 98 The Black Lotus's Poisonous Scheme, The Cave Heaven's Counterattack

Outside the Luoxia City mountain gate, the atmosphere was heavy.

Two teams stood distinctly on opposite sides.

On the left were seven Cultivators wearing the standard Azure Robes of the Tiangong Pavilion. Leading them was a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Formation Master who looked to be in his thirties with a steady demeanor, his waist jade token engraved with the word "Code." They waited quietly, though when their gaze occasionally swept toward the five people on the right, a flicker of imperceptible vigilance crossed their eyes.

On the right were the envoys of the Black Lotus Cult.

The leading Lotus Emissary was a woman wearing a Black Lotus Patterned Dress and a veil that only revealed a pair of deep, dark eyes. The four Black-robed Cultivators behind her stood quietly, their aura restrained, yet subtly emitting cold, obscure fluctuations.

When Lin Yue walked out of the mountain gate with Lin Yan and Lin Hu, his eyes immediately locked onto the Lotus Emissary.

The World Tree Intelligence Core inside the grotto-heaven immediately transmitted a clear warning fluctuation.

[Warning: High concentration Heterogeneous Parasitic Spiritual Power Source detected]

[Target: All five Cultivators ahead have a 'Spirit Devouring Seed' Symbiote in their bodies]

[Spirit Devouring Seed Status: Maturity Stage (Host consciousness completely controlled, capable of disguising as normal Cultivators)]

[Threat Rank: Medium (Single individual) → High (Collective action can trigger Spiritual Power resonance and summon a 'Mother Seed' projection)]

Lin Yue's heart tightened.

Complete control of consciousness? This meant that the five people before him appeared normal, but were actually Puppets long since parasiticly controlled by the Spirit Devouring Clan!

"City Lord Lin."

The Lotus Emissary spoke first, her voice melodious but carrying a hint of inhuman emptiness. "We have long heard of Luoxia City's prestige and have come today specifically to pay our respects. Our Cult intends to cooperate with your city to jointly pursue the development of the Southern Territory."

As she spoke, she took a Jade Box from her sleeve.

The lid opened, revealing three pitch-black, fist-sized Lotus Seeds lying quietly inside. A strange luster flowed across the surface of the Lotus Seeds, seemingly capable of devouring the surrounding light.

"These are 'Black Jade Spirit Lotus Seeds.' Consuming them allows one to nurture a 'Black Jade Spirit Lotus' within the Dantian, greatly increasing the efficiency of Spiritual Power absorption and even opening a Second Spiritual Vein."

The Lotus Emissary's voice was full of temptation. "If the City Lord is willing to form an alliance with our Cult, these three Lotus Seeds are a welcoming gift. In the future, our Cult can provide ten more every month."

Lin Yue swept his Divine Sense over the Lotus Seeds.

The World Tree Intelligence Assistant immediately provided an analysis:

[Item: Spirit Devouring Clan 'Bait Seed' (Disguised as Black Jade Spirit Lotus Seeds)]

[Effect: Upon consumption, the 'Bait Seed' will take root in the Dantian, slowly releasing pure Spiritual Power (which is actually the Spirit Devouring Clan Origin Spiritual Power), significantly boosting Cultivation speed in the short term]

[True Purpose: Three years later, the 'Bait Seed' will mature, backlashing against the host, transforming them into a 'Spirit Puppet' completely controlled by the Mother Seed, and plundering all of the host's cultivation base and Spiritual Root talent to feed back to the Mother Seed]

[Danger Rank: Extremely High (Cultivators below the Soul Transformation Stage will find it difficult to detect the anomaly)]

What a sinister scheme!

The chill in Lin Yue's heart deepened.

This Black Lotus Cult actually intended to use this method to silently infiltrate and corrupt all the high-level Cultivators in the entire Southern Territory!

"Oh? Such a generous gift."

Lin Yue maintained a calm expression, instead showing a look of interest. "I wonder what your esteemed Cult requires Luoxia City to do?"

A hint of triumph flashed in the Lotus Emissary's eyes.

"It's quite simple. Our Cult only needs to establish three 'Lotus Ponds' within the boundaries of Luoxia City for cultivating the Black Jade Spirit Lotus. The Lotus Ponds must be situated atop Spiritual Vein Nodes."

She pointed to a Black-robed Cultivator behind her. "This is our Cult's Formation Master, who can assist in setting up the 'Spirit Gathering and Lotus Nurturing Formation.' This Formation can not only accelerate the growth of the spirit lotuses but also feed back into the Spiritual Vein, increasing the Spiritual Qi concentration at the node, which is entirely beneficial to your city."

The World Tree Intelligence Assistant warned again:

['Spirit Gathering and Lotus Nurturing Formation' is actually a variant of the 'Spirit Devouring Transformation Formation']

[Once set up, it will secretly extract the Spiritual Vein Origin, convert it through the Lotus Pond into Spiritual Power specifically for the Spirit Devouring Clan, and slowly contaminate the entire Spiritual Vein]

[Long-term Consequence: The Spiritual Vein Nodes will be completely corrupted, becoming 'Coordinate Anchor Points' for the descent of the Spirit Devouring Clan]

Lin Yue almost laughed out of anger.

Did this Black Lotus Cult really take him for a three-year-old child?

First, sending Bait Seeds to control the high-level members, then setting up Transformation Formations to corrupt the Spiritual Veins... With this combination attack, in less than ten years, the entire Luoxia City would turn into a Spirit Devouring Clan Breeding Ground, inside and out!

"It sounds good."

Lin Yue nodded, but then suddenly changed the subject. "However, I have a question."

"Please speak, City Lord."

"For your esteemed Cult to be so generous, your ambition must be considerable. But observing you all..." He sharply scanned the five individuals. "The Spiritual Power fluctuations on your bodies are obscure and hard to decipher. It seems not to be a pure Human Race Cultivator's Cultivation Technique. May I ask where your Cult's Legacy truly originates?"

The Lotus Emissary's pupils slightly contracted.

The auras of the four Black-robed Cultivators behind her became momentarily chaotic.

"The City Lord must be joking."

The Lotus Emissary quickly regained her composure. "Our Cultivation Technique is indeed inclined toward the Yin and soft; it originates from the line of the ancient 'Profound Yin Lotus Splendor Scripture,' so it's normal for it to differ from ordinary Cultivation Techniques."

"Is that so?"

Lin Yue took a step forward, the thunder pattern crystal ring in his palm shining faintly. "Then why is it that when Luoxia City's 'Evil-Sensing Mirror' shines on you all, it reveals blood-black Spirit Devouring Filth Light?"

He didn't have any Evil-Sensing Mirror at all.

But this sentence was both a probe and a psychological attack!

Sure enough, the dark light in the Lotus Emissary's eyes flared. "You—"

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Yue moved!

[Dragon Soul Protection: Activate] — Targets: Self, Lin Yan, Lin Hu

[Spiritual Vein Purification: Start] — Range: Fifty zhang in front of the mountain gate

A pale golden Dragon Pattern Shield instantly enveloped the three of them.

At the same time, an invisible Purification Force Field erupted centered on Lin Yue, sweeping towards the five members of the Black Lotus Cult like a tide!

"Sizzle—"

The Black Robes on the five individuals began emitting wisps of black smoke the moment the Purification Spiritual Light swept over them!

The Lotus Emissary beneath the veil let out an inhuman shriek, her formerly melodious voice turning hoarse and distorted. "You can see through our true forms... Kill him!"

The four Black-robed Cultivators erupted simultaneously!

Their bodies mutated during the charge—eerie black patterns emerged beneath their skin, their eye sockets were completely filled with pitch black, and their fingernails grew into sharp claws, reaching for Lin Yue with a foul wind.

Their auras fully erupted, revealing them all to be at the Peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage!

"Form the Formation!"

Lin Hu roared. The Sharp Soldiers Camp Cultivators behind him were already poised, and the Seven Star Formation instantly took shape. Seven Starlight Chains shot out across the sky, wrapping around two of the Black Robes.

Lin Yan drew his sword and charged forward, the star-embracing sword connecting with the Earth Vein, drawing upon the power of the Spiritual Vein at the mountain gate, and slashed toward the third person.

Lin Yue's target was the Lotus Emissary herself.

"Taste the flavor of the thunder pattern crystal."

The thunder light from his dragon thunder sword in his right hand flared brightly, while his left hand directly retrieved three newly refined "evil-breaking thunder pearls" from the grotto-heaven—made primarily of thunder pattern crystal, infused with spirit radiance stone powder and the aura of the dragon soul spirit spring, having a special attack effect against Evil Filth Spiritual Power.

The Lotus Emissary shrieked and waved her sleeve. Large black Lotus Phantoms bloomed out of thin air, each emitting terrifying devouring power, attempting to forcibly seize the Spiritual Power surrounding Lin Yue!

But the golden light of the Dragon Soul Protection Shield flowed, firmly blocking the devouring power.

Simultaneously, Lin Yue hurled the evil-breaking thunder pearls.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three Thunder Beads shot toward the Lotus Emissary in a triangular pattern, exploding violently when they came within three zhang of her body!

"Boom—!!!"

Dazzling thunder light and Purification Spiritual Light intertwined and burst forth.

The black Lotus Phantoms surrounding the Lotus Emissary were annihilated in large swaths, as if meeting their nemesis.

The thunder power of the thunder pattern crystal followed the Spiritual Power connection and fiercely slammed into her body!

"Ah—!!"

The Lotus Emissary let out an extremely mournful scream.

The black patterns on her body surface violently twisted, as if something alive was struggling underneath her skin. Her veil was shattered, revealing half a face covered in fine, dense Black Roots that were wriggling frantically!

"It is indeed a Parasite."

Lin Yue's gaze was icy, and his second sword strike arrived.

For this strike, he used the augmentation of the grotto-heaven spirit vein.

As the sword edge passed, a phantom of Luoxia City's Spiritual Vein Network appeared in the Void Realm. The mighty power of the Spiritual Vein converged into the dragon thunder sword, and the thunder patterns on the blade shone as brightly as day!

"Mother Seed... save me!!"

The Lotus Emissary screamed, forming an eerie Hand Seal with both hands.

A pitch-black Lotus Mark appeared on her chest, emitting terrifying, evil fluctuations.

Deep within the Mark, a vast will seemed to be awakening, intent on descending across the Void Realm!

But how could Lin Yue give her the chance?

"Slash!"

The dragon thunder sword, carrying the momentum of a thousand thunderbolts, fiercely struck the Lotus Mark!

Crackle—

A distinct sound of shattering rang out.

Countless cracks appeared on the surface of the Lotus Mark. The imminent will let out a furious hiss, and was then forcibly repelled by the thunder power of the thunder pattern crystal.

The Lotus Emissary's aura instantly plummeted.

She shot a venomous look at Lin Yue, and her body suddenly transformed into a Black Mist, rapidly fleeing into the distance.

"Trying to run?"

Lin Yue snorted coldly, and the [Spiritual Vein Teleportation] function instantly activated.

[Target: Ten zhang ahead of the Black Mist formed by the Lotus Emissary]

[Consuming 200 points of Chaos Spiritual Qi... Teleportation starting]

His figure vanished from where he stood, and the next moment, he appeared directly in front of the Black Mist, slashing horizontally with his sword!

"Pfft—"

Most of the Black Mist was dispersed by the sword strike, and the Lotus Emissary's muffled groan could faintly be heard.

But the remaining Black Mist broke through the interception and vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"She escaped quickly."

Lin Yue did not pursue, turning instead to look at the battlefield.

Three of the other four Black-robed Cultivators had already been killed by Lin Hu's Seven Star Formation and Lin Yan's sword.

The last person was tightly bound by seven Starlight Chains, struggling frantically.

Lin Yue walked forward and touched the center of the person's brow with his sword tip.

[Spiritual Vein Purification: Concentrated Mode]

The Purification Spiritual Light surged into the opponent's body.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."

A large amount of black smoke emerged from the Black-robed Cultivator's body. He trembled like a sieve, letting out meaningless roars.

After a few breaths, the pitch black in his eyes slowly receded, revealing his original pupils.

It was a middle-aged Cultivator who looked to be over forty. His eyes were currently blank, and he was immediately overwhelmed by immense pain.

"I... what is this..."

"You were parasitized by the Spirit Devouring Clan."

Lin Yue said in a deep voice, "The Parasitic Seed has now been suppressed by the purification, but your cultivation base and Spiritual Root are severely damaged. Tell me, where is the Black Lotus Cult Main Altar? How many accomplices do you have?"

The middle-aged Cultivator gasped painfully, speaking intermittently: "The Main Altar... is deep within the 'Black Marsh' in the Central Territory... The exact location... has a Restriction... I can't recall clearly..."

"Within the Cult... there are at least three hundred 'Lotus Slaves' like me... There are twelve 'Lotus Emissaries' at the Golden Core Stage... Above them are... three 'Lotus Venerables'... all in the Nascent Soul stage..."

After saying this, the last spark of vitality in his eyes extinguished.

Although the Parasitic Seed was suppressed, the host's life force had long since been completely depleted.

Lin Yue put away his sword and looked at the Formation Master from the Tiangong Pavilion.

Code and the others had witnessed the entire battle, and their expressions were now extremely solemn.

"City Lord Lin."

Code took a step forward and bowed solemnly. "Thank you, City Lord, for allowing us to see the true face of the Black Lotus Cult. This matter is of great importance, and I must immediately send a message back to the Pavilion and report it to the Seven Star Alliance."

He paused, then continued, "The Black Lotus Cult has actually infiltrated this far... It seems the deployment of the Nine Heavens Demon Suppression Grand Array must be accelerated. I request to immediately begin surveying the Spiritual Vein Nodes and produce a Formation Setup Plan within three days."

"Agreed."

Lin Yue nodded. "Lin Yan, take Great Master Code to the heaven-reaching tree to assist with the survey."

"Yes."

Lin Yan accepted the order.

Code bowed again and hurriedly departed with the Tiangong Pavilion members.

Lin Yue, meanwhile, looked at the four corpses of the Black-robed Cultivators on the ground, as well as the black blood spilled when the Lotus Emissary fled.

He activated the grotto-heaven, collecting all of it into the Spiritual Power Pool for the World Tree to devour and analyze.

[World Tree Intelligence Core analyzing...]

[Obtained 4 samples of Spirit Devouring Clan 'Maturity Stage Parasitic Seed', 1 sample of 'Lotus Emissary Rank' Origin blood]

[Analysis progress: 1%... 10%... 30%...]

[Acquired key information: Vague coordinate positioning of the Spirit Devouring Clan 'Mother Seed' (Deep within the Black Marsh in the Central Territory, error radius one hundred li)]

[Acquired key information: Principle of Spirit Devouring Clan parasitic conversion (Luring via 'Bait Seeds', corrupting via 'Transformation Formations', and ultimately achieving unified control through the 'Mother Seed')]

[Acquired derived function: Spirit Devourer Parasite Warning (The World Tree Intelligence Core can mark and warn against high-concentration parasitic Spiritual Power within a thousand li radius)]

[Intelligence Core Growth Progress: 50% → 55%]

The gains were enormous!

Lin Yue's eyes shone brightly.

Although it was a pity that the Lotus Emissary escaped, the value of obtaining these samples and information far exceeded that of killing one Middle Golden Core Stage Puppet.

More importantly, the World Tree gained the Spirit Devourer Parasite Warning ability.

This meant that from now on, anyone from the Black Lotus Cult who approached within a thousand li radius of Luoxia City would be detected by him in advance!

"City Lord."

Lin Hu finished clearing the battlefield and walked over. "What should we do next? The Black Lotus Cult probably won't let this go easily."

"Of course they won't."

Lin Yue looked toward the Central Territory. "But for a short time, they won't dare to attack openly again. Losing four Lotus Slaves and severely wounding one Lotus Emissary is enough to cause them pain."

"What we need to do is use this time to fully cooperate with the Tiangong Pavilion in setting up the Nine Heavens Demon Suppression Grand Array, and at the same time..."

He turned and looked toward Luoxia City.

"Accelerate the cultivation of Family Cultivators. It's time to use our reserves of foundation establishment pills."

Lin Hu's eyes lit up. "Is the City Lord saying..."

"Exactly."

Lin Yue nodded. "Notify all Late Stage Qi Refining clansmen: in ten days, we will hold the Family Grand Competition. The top thirty will receive one foundation establishment pill each and enter the 'Hidden Dragon Academy' for focused training."

"We must triple the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators in Luoxia City within three years!"

Only by becoming strong enough can they protect this foundation in the coming storm.

The Spirit Devouring Clan, the Black Lotus Cult, the Various Factions of the Central Territory... this game has only just begun.

And he, Lin Yue, was destined to become one of the Chess Players.