Decaying World Chapter 225

Chapter 225

The Moon Tower.

High above the vast white sea of Mist, the pure white Moon Towers lit up simultaneously, casting a faint silver glow across the dark. Their peaks blazed like beacons, pouring cold silver light into the sky.

Atop the highest Moon Tower in the Extre Desire Heaven, beneath a peak shaped like a mushroom cap, a great hall lay concealed. Inside, elongated silhouettes materialized in the air one after another.

"Who's in trouble?"

"Whose warning signal is this?"

"We're all here—it has to be from the Taisu Primal Disk!"

Once all eight figures had assembled and confird every number was accounted for, the Elders of the Extre Desire Heaven exhaled as one.

"How many years has it been since an Elder fell? Why now of all tis?!"

"No one but the Hongyin Empire has this kind of strength! We go to war! If they can kill an Elder today, they can kill us all tomorrow. We must retaliate!"

"Agreed—but we need to know exactly what happened first. Contact the Taisu Primal Disk."

"Enough." Amid the clamor, a single cold voice cut through the other seven, silencing the hall at once.

The Elders turned upward. Floating at the highest point in the hall was a figure that needed no introduction: Ning Qianzhi, First Elder of the Extre Desire Heaven and a Mistborn Eldest Son.

"I have already contacted the Taisu Primal Disk," Ning Qianzhi said. "Their response—the one who fell is the Eighth Elder, Han Sanmian."

Han Sanmian.

The hall fell silent. To the outside world, the Elder Blood Ancestors were glorious figures of unfathomable power. Internally, however, they observed a strict hierarchy of strength.

Han Sanmian belonged to the administrative faction of the Elders, not the combat echelon. He was also a Blood Ancestor dispatched by the Federation, not a local. The Taisu Primal Disk was known to consist of both transfers and natives alike, and everyone present had a rough asure of Han Sanmian's capabilities. He likely occupied the third tier of Blood Ancestors.

The Blood Ancestors were divided into three tiers. The first consisted of Mistborn Eldest Sons like Ning Qianzhi—firstborn children of Mistborn who had inherited the greatest power and talent. By virtue of their lineage, they received the most resources and backing, and over nearly ten thousand years, a Blood Ancestor of Ning Qianzhi's tier had grown into sothing barely imaginable.

"They cannot confirm the killer's identity," Ning Qianzhi continued. "However, because Elder Han fell so swiftly—no more than an hour passed from the mont he left the Moon Tower to his final death—they believe the assailant is almost certainly a Marshal of the Hongyin Empire."

"Can the power fluctuation be traced back to a location?" an Elder asked. "Given the tifra, it should still fall within surveillance range."

"Impossible. Before he departed, Elder Han had his subordinates temporarily disable the surveillance network," Ning Qianzhi replied.

A heavier silence settled over the hall.

"Since the Hongyin Empire has struck so ruthlessly, I will apply to Mother for a war decree imdiately," Ning Qianzhi declared.

"Could this be... precisely what the Hongyin Empire wants?" an Elder murmured.

Silence.

The righteous fury of monts ago seed, all at once, like nothing but an illusion.

"Cowards!" A rare trace of fury entered Ning Qianzhi's voice. "Those willing to fight—mobilize with in thirty seconds. We are going to war with the Hongyin Empire."

He said nothing more. He simply dissolved into thin air.

…

The Mist Zone.

Thud.

A corpse riddled with countless puncture wounds plumted from the sky and drove heavily into the sandy ground, sinking into the dirt.

Above, the churning Mist slowly dispersed. The terrible, inescapable pressure that had blanketed the area lifted with it.

Lin Hui descended from midair, touching down lightly. He glanced at the corpse, stepped forward, and crouched to pinch a small, fragnted, multicolored crystal between his fingers.

Crack. The crystal shattered into specks of colored dust and dissolved completely.

A flicker of helplessness crossed his eyes.

The Wind Disaster Bloodline was powerful—too powerful. Once unleashed, there was no modulating it. Its primal, annihilating force reduced everything it touched to its most fundantal state.

Tap. Tap.

Two soft footfalls sounded behind him. Yun Xiazi and Han Xiaoyue had returned, approaching together.

Yun Xiazi swallowed. Her eyes moved from Han Sanmian's corpse on the ground to Lin Hui's back.

She had long suspected his true strength was extraordinary—but an Elder? A Blood Ancestor, dead at his hands? Even if Han Sanmian wasn't part of the combat echelon, he was still a Blood Ancestor. In all the centuries since her rise in Tuyue, not one had ever fallen. And yet here she stood, having just watched an entire legend die—having even played a small part in it herself.

"Dao Master..." Yun Xiazi started, finding her voice unexpectedly hoarse. "What do we do now? The death of a Blood Ancestor is a world-shaking event for any city. There will be a massive manhunt. That said, given the circumstances, the Moon Tower will likely pin this on the Hongyin Empire."

"Is that so?" Lin Hui turned around. The Clear Source Law Seal enveloping him slowly dispersed, and the three golden characters hovering at his back vanished. "Fortunate timing, then."

"Even so, the Moon Tower will go to extre lengths. They may even deploy Treasure Relics from their vaults to hunt down the culprit. Dao Master, please be careful." Yun Xiazi's expression was grave.

She had always thought her own hidden strength was sothing to be proud of. But the Dao Master hid his true depths more thoroughly than the abyssal creatures at the bottom of the Jade Sea.

"It's fine. Only the three of us were present, and I trust you both." Lin Hui's smile remained, though his gaze shifted toward Han Xiaoyue.

Han Xiaoyue opened her mouth to speak—then stopped. She had just realized that her transformation had shredded her clothing entirely. She stood without a thread.

"Let's find sowhere to rest and regroup first," she said.

"Agreed," Lin Hui nodded.

A storm of conflicting emotions moved through Han Xiaoyue's eyes. She had chosen him on a whim as a fake fiancé, a convenient solution to so tireso cover-identity complications. She had assud she was the one concealing herself—but he had been hiding depths that made hers look shallow. The man carried secrets buried far below the Jade Sea's floor.

The world had a way of turning everything on its head when you least expected it.

Lin Hui's gaze lingered on her. Han Xiaoyue's heart shifted.

"You saw it, didn't you?" she asked quietly.

"Saw what?" Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.

"My true form," she said. "Are you afraid?"

"Should I be?" he replied.

Han Xiaoyue said nothing. No. Why would soone capable of cutting a Blood Ancestor down in an instant be afraid of her?

"Alright, alright, let's not stand around—how about the three of us find a cozy spot and make a baby together? I know just the—"

Thwack.

A thick black tentacle coiled around Yun Xiazi's head and clamped shut, cutting her off mid-sentence. It extended from behind Han Xiaoyue, its surface lined with small suction cups that trailed a faint black mist.

"If you have nothing useful to say, don't say anything at all," Han Xiaoyue said pleasantly.

Lin Hui shook his head, turned, and broke into a run toward the Lin family convoy.

"Let's go."

"Since the matter is settled, I'll head back." Han Xiaoyue's voice softened. "I ca because I thought you might need the help—"

"Thank you." Lin Hui turned to look at her. "I won't forget this. If you run into trouble in the future, co find ."

He flicked his wrist. A flat white stone spun through the air. Han Xiaoyue caught it and looked down. The palm-sized stone was etched with a rough, crudely drawn stick-figure sketch—abstract to the point of near-illegibility.

Is this... a map?

She frowned. Just as she raised her head to ask, she found that Lin Hui and Yun Xiazi had already vanished.

She retracted the tentacle, exhaled softly, and looked down at Han Sanmian's corpse.

Swish!

Several thick tentacles erupted from beneath her, wrapped around the body, and dragged it back. The next mont, Han Xiaoyue disappeared into the Mist.

…

The Lin family convoy moved slowly through the Mist Zone.

After Lin Hui had seized control of the battlefield and broken their pursuers, the convoy had followed the pre-arranged plan and pushed deeper into the Mist Zone. Aside from the occasional low rumble and plodding footfalls of the beasts of burden, the convoy was utterly silent. Barely a human voice could be heard.

Everyone was still struggling to process what they had witnessed. The people of the Lin Manor and the Clear Wind Dao were caught in a tangle of conflicting emotions, their minds crowded with questions no one could answer.

This was especially true for Lin Shunhe's family.

Inside one of the large carriages near the front of the formation—

Lin Shunhe sat cross-legged in silence. Opposite him sat his wife, Yao Shan, head bowed, murmuring prayers in an unbroken stream. Liu Shenglan sat to one side, holding Lin Xiaoliu and pressing close to Yao Shan. Across from her, beside Lin Shunhe, Liu Xiao had just settled in.

Five people, one carriage, and very little room.

"Would you stop reciting those prayers?!" Lin Shunhe finally snapped, his ears aching from Yao Shan's relentless chanting. "Did you not see your own son out there? One sword strike, and he sent that so-called Palace Master flying—not a sound from them since. He's fine!"

"I just want to pray for his safety—is that a cri?" Yao Shan shot back, her voice rising. "I'm not asking you to join in! What business is it of yours if I pray for my own son?!"

"Alright, alright—Sister is simply worried about Ah Hui," Liu Shenglan said gently, stepping in. "Even if Ah Hui has hidden his strength and is more than capable of handling himself, accidents can always happen. Praying for his safe return is no bad thing."

"I know that," Lin Shunhe muttered. "But what does chanting actually do? Look at your son—all that ti spent on martial arts, all that ti—he hasn't even..." He trailed off mid-sentence, swallowing his words out of habit.

He had been casting about desperately for so flaw, so complaint to justify his irritation. But no matter how long he searched, nothing ca to him.

It was true that martial arts had consud an extraordinary amount of Lin Hui's ti and effort. It was equally true that those sa efforts had just turned the tide and saved every single life in this convoy.