45: Seclusion? No, it's hunting.
Listening to Rain Pavilion, quiet room.
Outside, the rainstorm was still raging, thunder rolling, drowning out all sounds in the world.
Inside, however, was a deathly silence.
Lin Que sat cross-legged on the couch, his upper body bare, his bronze skin glinting with a cold, hard metallic luster under the candlelight. Before him, the blooming nine nether black lotus floated in mid-air, the black Qi it emitted lowering the room's temperature to the freezing point.
Even the candlelight in the corner was frozen into a static, ethereal blue flame.
"Hoo..."
Lin Que exhaled, and his white breath instantly turned into ice shards and fell.
"The nine nether black lotus's medicinal properties are extremely cold. If an ordinary person were to consume it, they would need to pair it with a Blazing Sun Medicinal Pill to neutralize it and slowly refine it for forty-nine days."
"But I don't have that kind of time."
A look of ruthlessness flashed in Lin Que's eyes.
At this moment, he could clearly sense a few traces of faint Killing Intent quietly approaching through the dark, rainy night around the Listening to Rain Pavilion.
Wealth stirs the heart.
He had slaughtered everyone in the Black Marsh, and although he had used the "Corpse Collector" disguise, his heavy Storage Pouch upon his return had still been targeted by those with ulterior motives.
"Hongyi."
Lin Que's voice was calm, yet it carried a sense of solemn Killing Intent:
"Guard the door. No matter what you see later, do not make a sound."
"Yes... Master."
The Red-Clothed Child Maiden huddled in the corner, clutching the Little Snow Ferret, shivering. She was afraid of the black lotus's cold Qi, but even more afraid of the terrifying, suppressed aura emanating from Lin Que.
Lin Que raised his hand and, without the slightest hesitation, directly plucked a lotus petal as black as ink.
The moment the petal touched his hand, a layer of black frost formed on his fingers.
"Come."
"Let me see whether your blades are faster, or my life is tougher."
Lin Que opened his mouth and swallowed the petal, which contained terrifying cold poison, directly into his stomach!
...Outside the courtyard walls of the Listening to Rain Pavilion.
The rain poured down.
Three figures wearing tight-fitting night-traveling clothes and faceless masks were clung to the slippery wall like three geckos.
They were the top assassin organization in the Southern Commandery's Black Market—Night Owl.
"Boss, the target is tough."
One of them sent a secret transmission, his voice as thin as a thread: "According to intelligence, a strange old man lives in this house, but in the Dragon Fall Pit, he is suspected of double-crossing the Iron Sword Sect and the Pill Tower."
"What's there to fear?"
A glint of greed flashed in the eyes of the leading "Night Owl": "In the battle of the Dragon Fall Pit, that old man must have used some forbidden technique that overdraws his potential. He is definitely at his weakest now. Strike while he's down!"
"This Listening to Rain Pavilion is a haunted house with vengeful spirits; it's perfect for covering our tracks."
"Move! Make it quick!"
The three of them exchanged glances and simultaneously lunged forward.
They didn't use the door but vaulted over the wall instead, landing soundlessly. As their toes touched the water-covered bluestone slabs, they didn't even splash a drop of water.
Their movements were as smooth as flowing water, their cooperation seamless.
However.
Just as they landed in the courtyard.
Buzz!
An indescribable, terrifying chill erupted from the main room without warning!
It wasn't a winter wind, but a kind of annihilating Qi that seemed capable of freezing the Soul!
"What's going on?!"
The lead assassin's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously tried to circulate his spiritual power for protection.
But in the next second.
He discovered with horror that the "target" inside the room seemed to be undergoing something extremely terrifying... Inside the room.
The moment Lin Que swallowed the petal, his entire body instantly turned into an ice sculpture!
Black ice spread down his throat, instantly freezing his internal organs and Meridians. His heart stopped, his blood solidified, and even the Divine Soul in his Sea of Consciousness was about to be cracked by this extremely Yin and cold power!
Pain!
Cold!
It was an extreme agony where even one's thoughts were being stripped away!
[Detected Origin-level cold poison entering the body!]
[Source: nine nether black lotus.]
[Backlash Eruption: Physical Body frozen, Meridians shattered, Divine Soul annihilated!]
[Scanned intruding targets: Black Market assassin "Night Owl" trio.]
[Malice Value: 100% (Must Kill).]
[Transfer initiated!]
Inside that frozen body, Lin Que's consciousness let out a silent roar:
"Take... this!!"
...In the courtyard.
The rain suddenly stopped.
No, it hadn't stopped.
It was that the raindrops in the air were all frozen into crystal-clear ice beads the moment they fell into the courtyard!
Crackle!
Countless ice beads crashed to the ground, making crisp sounds.
The three assassins, who were about to rush into the room, suddenly stiffened, frozen in place in their sprinting postures.
"Ugh..."
The lead assassin's eyes widened.
He didn't feel any attack hitting him.
But he clearly felt a black blizzard suddenly whip up within his Dantian Qi Sea!
It was a cold wind from the Nine Nether!
"Cold... so cold..."
He opened his mouth to scream, only to find that his tongue was already as frozen as a stone and would shatter at the slightest touch.
His blood froze in his veins, expanding and rupturing the vessel walls.
His Divine Soul shivered in his Sea of Consciousness, then was frozen into powder in an instant.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three crisp sounds.
Three gold-ranked assassins with Late Stage Kaiyuan Realm cultivation, who struck terror into hearts in the Southern Commandery's Black Market, turned into three lifelike black ice sculptures in that instant.
They didn't even have the chance to draw their blades.
Cause of death: Frozen to death... Inside the room.
As the lethal side effects of the cold poison were entirely transferred out, the frost within Lin Que's body instantly melted.
In its place was an immensely vast and pure Nine Nether Spiritual Essence!
This Spiritual Essence contained no Impurities, acting like a great tonic, frantically surging into Lin Que's long-dried Dantian.
Boom!
Lin Que's body jolted violently.
On his originally bronze skin, black patterns emerged. Subsequently, these patterns were washed away by the boiling blood within him, turning into a deeper, tougher dark-golden luster.
The True Essence in his body completely transformed from a misty state into a thick liquid. Although it hadn't reached the scale of a surging sea like the Spirit Sea Realm, it had already gathered into a rushing small river.
Origin Opening Realm · Late Stage!
Physical Body Perfection — Golden Body Jade Bone!
"Phew—"
Lin Que slowly opened his eyes.
Two tangible beams of essence light shot out from his eyes, actually creating two ripples in the dark Void Realm.
He looked down at his palms.
His originally fair skin now glinted with a dark-golden cold light, and he lightly clenched his fist.
Bang!
The air in his palm was instantly squeezed and exploded, letting out a muffled thunderous boom.
"So this is... the power of the Golden Body Jade Bone."
Lin Que could feel that even without using spiritual power, he could withstand the slashes of a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact with just this Physical Body and remain unharmed.
If the current him were to face the previous Tie Shan, he wouldn't need to use the black lotus to trick him; he could blow apart the opponent's protective spiritual shield with a single punch!
"Squeak squeak!"
The Little Snow Ferret, which had been hiding in the corner, sensed the terrifying cold Qi dissipate and immediately scurried out, jumping onto Lin Que's shoulder and rubbing against his cheek to curry favor.
Hongyi also floated over, her eyes filled with even greater awe as she looked at her master's increasingly unfathomable aura.
"Congratulations, Master, on your divine technique's Major Achievement!"
"Major Achievement?"
Lin Que shook his head, a cold smile curling on his lips.
"It's still far from it."
He stood up, casually draped on a long robe, pushed open the door, and walked into the rainy courtyard.
In the courtyard.
The three "ice sculptures" remained in their sprinting postures, standing silently in the rain. Rain fell on them and slid off, without melting them in the slightest.
Lin Que walked up to the lead assassin and lightly tapped the ice sculpture's forehead with his finger.
"Next time you're an assassin, remember to scope out the place first."
Crash!
The entire ice sculpture instantly collapsed, turning into a pile of shattered ice.
Among the pile of shattered ice, three heavy Storage Pouches were particularly conspicuous.
With a wave of his hand, Lin Que collected the spoils.
"Night Owl..."
Lin Que looked at the broken mask on the ground, a cold light flickering in his eyes.
Although his strength had increased greatly, the waters in the Southern Commandery were getting murkier. The Iron Sword Sect, the Black Market, the Pill Tower, and now the Demon Suppression Division.
"Since everyone wants to play..."
Lin Que looked up at the pitch-black night sky, letting the cold rain hit his face.
"Then I'll play along with all of you."
"But before that..."
Lin Que felt the now-complete **[tattered scroll of fallen treasures]** in his breast pocket.
The trip to the Black Marsh was just an appetizer.
The ultimate location this tattered scroll pointed to was the key for him to truly defy heaven and change his fate, transforming from a pawn into a player.
"Hongyi, pack up."
Lin Que turned and went back inside, his voice ringing out clearly in the rainy night:
"This Nanjun Outer City is too noisy."
"Let's move to a 'quieter' place, to kill, and to burn..."