Chapter 369: Lotuses as Ladders, Starlight as Bridges!
If she succeeded, the Xing Family would be doomed even if he killed Li Lingqing.
Gu poison has been feared and loathed since ancient times for its extreme contagiousness. If not personally removed by the one who cast it, the poison would remain hidden within the body, ready to erupt at any moment.
Lin Mu had taught Li Lingqing the Exterminate God Gu Sutra and bestowed upon her the Nine-Star Bloodshadow Worm. With them combined, she could command tens of thousands of insects and control countless Gu, making her skills in both raising and deploying them comparable to a Grandmaster’s.
This was why Lin Mu had said Li Lingqing could even hold her own against a Grandmaster.
It was also why Li Lingqing dared to come to the Xing Family alone.
Xing Chong cursed in anger. His aura surged as he moved to capture Li Lingqing.
"Chong’er, catch!"
Just then, Xing Yong suddenly threw something to Xing Chong. He caught it, his face immediately lighting up with elation.
"The Bu Ling Wang!"
The Bu Ling Wang was a treasure passed down from the Xing Family’s ancestors, capable of subduing any Gu King. It was the perfect tool to use against Li Lingqing.
However, only those with the Xing Family bloodline could wield it.
Xing Chong gripped the Bu Ling Wang and channeled his True Qi. With a flick of his palm, a large net shot out instantly.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"
As if encountering its natural predator, the Nine-Star Bloodshadow Worm shrieked piercingly. It broke free of Li Lingqing’s control and flew straight into the net.
At the same time, the countless other insects went limp and fell motionless to the ground.
"PFFT!"
Li Lingqing suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning deathly pale.
"You... you actually have the Bu Ling Wang."
Xing Chong held the net. Inside, a snow-white insect struggled frantically, but its strength waned until it finally went limp and still.
Xing Chong sneered, "Li Lingqing, you truly have surprised me."
Carrying the Bu Ling Wang, Xing Chong said coldly, "If my Xing Family hadn’t made thorough preparations, we really would have been destroyed by you."
Xing Chong walked toward Li Lingqing step by step and abruptly slapped her across the face. "Did you really think I wanted you to be my woman?" he said in a cold voice.
"How utterly foolish!"
Xing Chong looked at Li Lingqing with a cold, vicious sneer. "It’s only because my Xing Family has been cursed for generations, unable to ascend to the Divine Communion Realm no matter how we cultivate. To lift this curse, the essence blood of the Li ethnic group Saintess is essential!"
The alliance with the Jiuli Tribe was a sham. Using Li Lingqing for cultivation was also a lie.
The Xing Family’s goal had always been to use Li Lingqing to break their curse.
In ancient times, countless generals under the Great God Chiyou swore an oath to follow him to the death.
However, the Xing Family’s descendants later betrayed the Li Clan. As a result, they suffered a bloodline backlash and were forever unable to advance to the Divine Communion Realm.
After generations of research, the Xing Family discovered that to break the curse, they needed the bloodline of the Li ethnic group Saintess.
After biding their time until today, the Xing Family had finally made their move!
Li Lingqing finally understood. Shocked, she also felt a deep-seated fear at the Xing Family’s incredible patience.
This family is insane! They were the ones who had betrayed their ancestral teachings, and now they are the ones committing this insubordination! They’re utterly detestable!
"Chong’er, stop wasting your breath on her!" Xing Yong said coldly. "Kill her and take her essence blood! Not only will you have a chance to step into the Grandmaster realm, but *that person* in our Xing Family will also be able to advance further!"
"Mm," Xing Chong nodded. The ’that person’ Xing Yong mentioned was, of course, the Xing Family Patriarch, Xing Zirong!
He was at a critical juncture! Therefore, the essence blood of the Li ethnic group Saintess was absolutely indispensable!
Xing Chong slowly approached Li Lingqing, his eyes filled with a cruel and overwhelming killing intent.
All the Xing Family members watched this scene with palpable excitement.
As long as they took Li Lingqing’s essence blood, the Xing Family would be saved.
Although they themselves had no hope of becoming Grandmasters in this life, this was a moment that would change the fate of the entire Xing Family’s lineage—a moment destined to be recorded in the clan’s annals.
Li Lingqing was suffering from the backlash, and with her Spiritual Energy severely depleted, she had no chance to resist. But she wasn’t the slightest bit afraid. On the contrary, her expression held a trace of mockery.
"You want my blood?" Li Lingqing’s eyes filled with defiance. "Dream on!"
Suddenly, Li Lingqing mustered all her remaining strength and dashed toward the nearby Hongfeng Lake.
"Stop her!" Xing Yong’s expression changed, and he shot forward.
"Trying to die?" Xing Chong was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Li Lingqing, reaching out to grab her. "It would be better to surrender obediently and save yourself the pain!"
Just as his palm was about to close around Li Lingqing, an impossibly indifferent voice suddenly reached his ears. "If your hand so much as touches her, I will kill one person from your Xing Family for it."
"Master!" Hearing this voice, Li Lingqing’s entire body trembled, and her forward rush came to a halt.
It’s Master! It has to be Master! She abruptly lifted her head, her gaze searching frantically.
Finally, in the center of Hongfeng Lake, she saw a familiar figure.
The figure seemed to have been standing on the lake’s surface for some time, unmoved by the gentle breeze or the rippling water.
A smile so stunning it could captivate the world blossomed on Li Lingqing’s face, and as she smiled, tears began to stream from her eyes.
"Master, you came," she whispered.
The person was Lin Mu. His expression was placid as a gentle breeze lifted his bangs, revealing a pair of brilliant and mysterious eyes.
Just then, starlight cascaded down upon him, its reflection on the water forming a shimmering bridge. Yet, the light of a million stars could not outshine the brilliance in his eyes.
Every member of the Xing Family who witnessed this held their breath. What kind of power is this? Standing on water? A Martial Arts Grandmaster?!
Everyone’s pupils constricted.
But what truly made their hearts seize was watching Lin Mu take a step, and then another, walking toward them across the water.
With each step he took, the water beneath his feet churned, blossoming into a lotus flower. Each new lotus rose higher than the last, forming what looked like a staircase to the heavens.
Lin Mu ascended this lotus staircase until he was finally standing on solid ground.
The staircase of lotuses suspended over the lake slowly descended, sinking silently back into the water without making a single ripple, as if afraid to disturb him.
"HISS!" The Xing Family members watching this spectacle were utterly shaken, as if they were looking upon a Heavenly Being. Lotuses for stairs and starlight for a bridge!
"Enough with the theatrics!" Xing Chong’s face hardened, his tone dripping with disdain as he lunged for Li Lingqing again.
As long as I capture this woman, no matter how powerful this man is, I’ll have a bargaining chip.
"It seems you didn’t take my words to heart," Lin Mu said, glancing at Xing Chong.
That single glance made Xing Chong’s very soul tremble. For a moment, he felt as if he had plunged into a bottomless Abyss, one filled with endless mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and countless Demons and Monsters.
Xing Chong froze, his back instantly drenched in a cold sweat.
"Who on earth are you?!" Xing Chong’s tone grew heavy. This man was too enigmatic, his strength unfathomable. For a moment, Xing Chong didn’t dare to make a move.
Lin Mu’s lips curled into a smile. "You may call me the Miao King. Or you can call me... Lin Wudi!"