Decaying World

Chapter 131, Anomaly 131 (Thanks to Alliance Leader NicholasZS)

Before the statistics were even available, Lin Hui quickly assigned some disciples who were lucky enough that their jade talismans hadn't shattered to handle the treatment of the wounded, while he himself left Qingfeng Temple and rushed home.

Before long, he returned to the outskirts of the Lin residence and immediately spotted the Lin family's workers repairing the outer walls.

A group of workers divided the work: some mixed the mud and sand, while others laid the bricks.

Lin Hui didn't linger. He flew into the Lin residence, quickly circled around, and assessed the situation.

Second Madam Liu Shenglan was holding Lin Xiaoliu and swinging her on a swing in the courtyard, while the other servants and guards were all normal.

Old Man Lin Shunhe was talking to Old Man Du in the study.

It seems that everything is peaceful and stable at the Lin residence.

Without alerting anyone, Lin Hui quietly returned to Qingfeng Temple.

At this time, the statistics were also released, and Xue Meng, Wang Hongshi, and others met up with Lin Hui in the council hall.

Xue Meng was covered in blood and looked exhausted, clearly having also failed to avoid the sudden turn of events last night.

"A total of 37 people died in the temple, 162 were seriously injured, and 207 were moderately or slightly injured," Xue Meng said in a deep voice. "This was a terrible tragedy, but because we controlled the situation well and the rescue was timely, the death toll is not high. As far as I know, many large families with courtyards in the town lost a lot of people last night. When I came here, I passed by a courtyard that used to be quite lively with at least dozens of people inside, but now... it's all gone."

"Is everything alright at home?" Lin Hui asked.

"I'm alright, except a few servants died," Xue Meng nodded. "The other two elders, however, haven't arrived yet."

"Never mind them. The disciples in the temple have suffered heavy casualties and need to recuperate. Also, let's investigate how the explosion last night happened."

"Yes!"

Everyone clasped their hands in a fist salute and dispersed.

After checking on the wounded again, Lin Hui went to the Hundred Flowers Sect.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw a scene of wailing and lamentation on the street. Some houses had completely collapsed, leaving huge gaps in the walls.

Blood, severed limbs, and corpses were scattered all over the ground.

Amidst the clatter of horses, government officials arrived in a patrol, with someone in the group carrying a notebook to record something.

Lin Hui noticed that some of the guards from these government offices also had tear stains on their faces, clearly indicating that some of their family members and friends had been injured in the disaster.

As I walked through the entire town of Xinyu, almost 70-80% of the houses had the sound of weeping or white cloth hanging in them, which meant that someone in the family had died.

He returned to the Lin residence. At this time, Liu Wujun also returned from the city and was talking with his second wife, Lin Xiaoliu.

Lin Hui waited outside for a while before going up to greet Liu Wujun when he came out.

"Big brother, what exactly happened last night?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.

Liu Wujun sighed and walked first to a secluded courtyard. This secluded courtyard was usually his temporary residence when he returned, and now it was just right for the two of them to talk.

"Do you know about the announcement I suddenly issued a while ago, asking people not to enter the inner city for the time being?" he asked.

"Of course I know that," Lin Hui nodded.

"Last night, the monster from the last announcement rammed into the inner city's densely populated area, causing casualties. Then, the one at the core of the Moon Tower made his move."

"That one?" Lin Hui was taken aback.

"It's that legendary figure who has lived for thousands of years. He suddenly made a move and knocked someone down from the top of the Moon Tower with a single blow. That's why it caused such a commotion. Originally, the inner city planned to send the Palace Master to surround and kill him, but..." Liu Wujun smiled bitterly.

What can he say, and what does he dare to say?

"That monster roamed for several days, only managing to devour some caravan members without breaching a single settlement, yet that one's move fell to the ground."

The casualties caused far exceeded those caused by the monster; he didn't finish the second half of that sentence.

Lin Hui understood what he meant.

Both of them fell silent.

"Don't overthink it. It's good that your family is alright. I just came back to check on things." Liu Wujun patted Lin Hui on the shoulder. "This was purely an accident. I'm usually here in the inner city. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to Amamiya to find me. Don't worry."

As the Lin family's biggest backer, Liu Wujun, this great priest genius, is indeed very humane.

He returned to his mother's side immediately after the accident to check on her safety. He also took good care of his adopted younger brother, Lin Hui.

Lin Hui was deeply moved and nodded in acceptance of the gesture.

"Thank you, brother."

"No need to thank me. I'm usually not in the outer city, so it's all thanks to you for taking care of things here. Xiaoxiao and I often have missions, and cultivation takes a lot of time. From now on, we'll have to rely on you to take care of Mother and Xiaoliu here at the Lin residence," Liu Wujun sighed.

"I will." Lin Hui understood what the other person meant.

Liu Wujun actually thinks the same way as those children who were separated from their parents in their previous life.

The more successful the children are, the less likely they are to take care of their parents, while those who are less capable are more likely to spend more time with their parents and take care of the elderly.

In Liu Wujun's view, this was the kind of relationship he had with Liu Xiao and his younger brother Lin Hui.

"Here you are. Keep this close to your body. If you encounter any danger that you absolutely cannot handle, crush it immediately, and I will know and arrive in time." Liu Wujun gave Lin Hui a black jade ball before leaving.

Lin Hui watched his retreating figure, and only then did he begin to understand why his parents had been so insistent on moving into the inner city.

*
*
*
After the Night Fog Intrusion incident, the entire outer city seemed to fall silent, with all factions and families recuperating and recovering.

Almost every day, coffin processions are slowly carried to the edge of the fog-free zone to bid farewell to deceased relatives through fog burial.

Lin Hui returned to Qingfeng Temple and officially began to familiarize himself with the newly evolved Virtual Evolution Method. The method had evolved successfully, but the cultivation still depended on himself.

Therefore, in addition to body tempering and alchemy, he also had to practice a virtual transformation technique every day.

As for the Blood Seal, he was still hesitating about what he should evolve to make it effective when the night fog invaded again.

Qingfeng Temple was lucky this time, as they didn't encounter any powerful monsters. If they're unlucky next time, the situation might be completely different.

On the morning of the 25th.

Light rain. Lin Hui stood in the rain, gazing at the entire Qingfeng Temple courtyard.

This complex, which was originally the headquarters of the Black Dragon Gate, has now been replaced by traces of the Qingfeng Temple.

He stood on the roof of an outer annex, with dark red tiles beneath his feet and the rooftops of other buildings cascading upwards like steps behind him.

Looking out over the entire Qingfeng Temple from this vantage point, you can see the disciples practicing swordsmanship in unison in the front courtyard of the training ground, while servants and maids move back and forth quickly and busily in the central corridor, and the cooks and servants in the back courtyard are busy cleaning and preparing food.

A flock of spotted birds, no bigger than the palm of a hand, chirped and fluttered down onto the roof of the corridor, hopping and skipping about carefree.

This contrasts sharply with the tense atmosphere below.

"Master, are you all alone here again?"

Tao Xuehai leaped up and landed lightly beside Lin Hui, where he stood still.

As he landed, he seemed to twist his injured side, and he gasped, grimacing as he clutched his left side.

"How badly are you injured? How is your recovery?" Lin Hui came to his senses and looked at the guy.

"It's alright, it's alright. The medicine at home is working very well. I should be fully recovered in a couple more days," Tao Xuehai replied quickly.

"What about the two girls?" Lin Hui asked again, his tone neither blaming nor teasing, but calm.

"Sigh, most of their families are gone. From now on, they all plan to come with me." Tao Xuehai sighed. He had been living with those two girls every day for the past few days, enjoying himself immensely and indulging in revelry every night.

It is estimated that the two girls were his only solace during his pain, and he vented all his negative emotions on matters of love and sex.

Tao Xuehai was no virgin; he had been quite experienced in this area in the inner city, so he naturally accepted all comers.

"You can decide what to do yourself," Lin Hui nodded.

“Master, please don’t blame me. It’s mainly because those girls in the inner city are too calculating. On the other hand, many girls in the outer city may not have much talent or family background, but they are simple-minded. It’s so much easier to be with them, and you don’t always have to be on guard,” Tao Xuehai explained.

"I don't care about these things. They're your youth's business, not mine." Lin Hui started to say, but then suddenly remembered that he was also a young person and changed the subject.

"By the way, you grew up in the inner city, do you know what other methods can be used to suppress the night fog besides jade talismans?"

“Of course there are. Does Master know about the ruins in the Fog Zone?” Tao Xuehai asked.

"Of course I know. You mean there's no fog inside the ruins?" Lin Hui had read the expedition team's training data and knew that there was no fog inside the Fog God Ruins.

"Exactly. In fact, the jade talisman was originally made by imitating the ruins of the Mist God. Therefore, fog and night fog are things that can be avoided by specific relics. However, these relics are very expensive and are strategic items. Any trade in such materials is illegal. If discovered by the Moon Tower, it would be a crime punishable by the extermination of the entire clan," Tao Xuehai explained.

“Mist God, I understand. Thank you for letting me know.” Lin Hui nodded; he now knew where to find the relic to combat the night fog.

"By the way, please be careful, teacher. The monsters in the night fog are unkillable, and it's best not to touch them. Try to deal with them remotely if possible. This is the core reason why Zhou Tian and the higher-level summoners developed remote methods," Tao Xuehai reminded him.

"Okay, I understand. Go ahead." Lin Hui nodded.

Tao Xuehai jumped off the roof, where two beautiful junior sisters came to meet him and supported him on either side. The three of them walked harmoniously toward the bedroom.

Lin Hui looked away; he already knew what to evolve.

'Find the relics of the Mist God and evolve to learn the methods used to isolate the mist.'

He jumped off the rooftop and was about to return to his study to continue his cultivation when he suddenly remembered the water creature he had left unattended in the courtyard of his mansion after it evolved.

The courtyard wasn't enclosed, meaning the Water Man had been exposed to the night fog the whole time, remaining silent all these days.

'I wonder how this guy is doing. I should go check on him.' A sense of curiosity arose in Lin Hui's heart.

He immediately used his movement technique to quickly cross the training ground and arrive at the mansion behind it.

Entering the courtyard, he stood by the pool again, waved away the guards and disciples around him, and tapped the surface of the water at the edge of the pool with the scabbard of his sword.

"Come out and see me."

hiss.
There was a crash.

The water figure slowly arched out of the pool, rose up, and finally stood on the surface of the water, facing Lin Hui, motionless.

This guy is still the same as always; he can't speak and has no facial features.

But Lin Hui was surprised to find that this water creature seemed different from when it was first created.

The Water Man was originally a transparent and pure body, but now, although his body is still somewhat transparent, it is mostly filled with countless tiny gray threads flowing and moving inside.

The countless gray threads, like insects, darted nimbly throughout the water-man's body.

Lin Hui observed for a while but couldn't discern anything, so he used the blood seal for identification.

'Waterman with unknown contamination - Quality: Common. Lifespan: 84 years. Condition: Intact.'

Evolvable branch: 2.

'It can evolve?' Lin Hui hadn't expected this guy to be able to evolve.

I immediately clicked on it and took a quick look.

Because everything can evolve, he often just glances at the information about the Blood Seal and discards it if he's not interested.

'1—Water Sprite.'

'2—Water element.'

'Does this represent two branches of development?' Lin Hui pondered, turned off the Blood Seal, ordered the Water Elemental to return to its original state, went into the house to pack some equipment, then gave Wang Hongshi some instructions before leaving Qingfeng Temple, putting on a mask and headgear, and heading straight for the Fog Zone.

This time, he brought the expedition team's replica map, gaining a considerable understanding of the fog-shrouded terrain surrounding the outer city.

That's why, as soon as they left the fog-free area and entered the fog wall, they headed straight for the Amethyst Ruins.

He plans to personally try out the amethyst, a resource that can accelerate body tempering and internal energy cultivation, to see if he can deal with the monsters in the ruins.

As for the Blood Seal, he doesn't have any evolved items for the time being, but rather he's saving it to identify things in the fog zone.

Otherwise, once evolution begins, the Blood Seal will no longer be able to freely identify items.

(End of this chapter)