Decaying World

Chapter 249, Anomaly 249
the end of April.

Lin Hui received the first batch of aphrodisiacs delivered from Black Cloud City.

Among them are ten Ziyunzhi mushrooms and fifty Yunlingzhi mushrooms.

It may not seem like much, but the key is that this is a fixed resource allocation that occurs every year. Putting everything else aside, just ten Purple Cloud Mushrooms can reduce Lin Hui's Blood Seal evolution time by twenty years. Add the Spirit-Nourishing Mushroom, and that's thirty-six years.

In other words, according to this calculation, one only needs to stay in Black Cloud City for four years to complete the evolution of the Great Yin Yang Reversal Sword Technique.

Four years
This timeframe was neither too long nor too short, which suited Lin Hui perfectly. Even without considering the time-reducing effects of the Black Emperor Pills he consumed daily, the actual time for the Blood Seal to complete its evolution would be even shorter, at most three years.

Although drug resistance is increasing, the rate of increase can be completely suppressed by dosage.

It won't exceed four years at most.

After obtaining sufficient information about Eagleman Island and the Sea Wave God Group from the Moon Tower, Lin Hui returned and began to study how to go into battle.

"What are your thoughts on this battle, Dao Lord?"

Inside Qingfeng Taoist Temple, Su Yaping and Xia Si sat to the left of Lin Hui, offering him advice and strategies.

"This is the first time our Qingfeng Academy has participated in a battle, so we should make sure we perform well, right?" Lin Hui asked hesitantly. "I am not a skilled fighter. When facing an enemy, I only aim to eliminate them completely. As for what goals we can achieve, we should consult Elder Su."

Now that Su Yaping has joined Qingfeng Dao, Lin Hui has granted her the position of Dao Elder.

This position offers sufficient respect without requiring specific involvement in the planning and management of Qingfeng Road, making it relatively suitable.

As for the previous elders, some were dismissed for running away at the last minute, and the rest didn't come at all, so now only Su Yaping is left as an elder.

Elders only have the right to make suggestions. Unless the Dao Lord grants them corresponding authority, they are just commanders without any power and can't manage anything.

“Before you achieve your goal, Dao Lord, you need to understand what the three city lords expect from you,” Su Yaping said.

"Three city lords." Lin Hui knew that the other party was guiding him on how to deal with this kind of situation, so he immediately became humble.

"They want me to stay out of trouble and behave myself, so that I can help the Black Clouds block part of the divine army's attack at crucial moments."

"That's simple then," Su Yaping said with a smile. "As long as you, Dao Master, complete the task according to this standard, there's no need to go too far. You don't need to kill too many enemies; just focus on stopping them from doing their job. It shouldn't be too much or too little."

"How do we strike the right balance?" Lin Hui asked.

“Since it’s about blocking the movement of the divine group, then this movement is affecting the normal operation of the black cloud. So, we just need to resolve this issue,” Su Yaping explained.

"Understood." Lin Hui nodded.

"Lord Dao, do you have any intelligence or information about the Sea Wave God Group? How can we distinguish the stronger members within the group?" Su Yaping asked.

"The Sea Wave God Group named Minglan is Black Cloud's primary adversary. Its structure is led by the Mist God, followed by Divine Descendants, Leaders, and the rest. The Mist God corresponds to the City Lord level, the Divine Descendants to the Blood Ancestor level, and the Leaders are generally dealt with and restrained by the Palace Master. The other levels have little impact," Lin Hui quickly explained. "As for differentiation, the main distinguishing feature is the divine seal. The Mist God's divine seal is platinum-gold, shining between his brows; the Divine Descendants' is gold; and the Leaders' is ordinary white. The lower levels have no divine seals. This represents the concentration of divine blood within them."

“That makes things simple. Daoist Master, this time, I request that you accompany me in battle,” Su Yaping said earnestly.

"I want to go too! Master, it's so boring staying in this place all day. Even if we go out to sea, we won't encounter many fights." Xia Si quickly raised her hand to join in.

"Don't mess around. What's your strength now? How dare you follow me?" Lin Hui frowned.

"Master, don't underestimate me!" Xia Si raised her eyebrows. "This disciple has now reached the ninth level of Body Tempering in the Gale Sword Technique!"

"Huh??" Lin Hui was startled. How long had it been? How did this child reach the ninth rank? He remembered that last time he was only at the low rank?
"Recently, for some reason, I've vaguely discovered that this Body Tempering Seal contains a trace of the divine. It seems that I can detect the power that amplifies my body from it, which comes from an extremely mysterious and dangerous place. I tried to sense that place and actually received a lot of responses. My understanding of the wind has also greatly improved. My body tempering has become much faster." Xia Si said solemnly.

Lin Hui's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that this child sensed the presence of the wind disaster?

He himself knew very well how terrible typhoons were because his hair had become a conduit for the wind.

Even with the blood seal suppressing and restraining him, he dared not use that kind of power casually, yet Xia Si actually managed to touch the edge of it on his own.

"I'm going to investigate the anomalies of the gods tomorrow. Wait for me to return and observe carefully. Don't go to the Unicom area unnecessarily. It's very dangerous, extremely dangerous. Remember that," Lin Hui solemnly instructed.

Seeing his solemn and serious expression, Xia Si realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately followed suit, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, I understand!"

"Remember, don't try to sense that place again," Lin Hui reminded him again, still somewhat worried.

"Don't worry, Master, I, Xia Si, am the most obedient!" Xia Si patted her chest loudly.

Lin Hui felt helpless, sensing that the child was somewhat unreliable.

Su Yaping, who was standing to the side, seemed to have discerned something from his instructions and attitude, but she remained silent.

After seeing the two off, Lin Hui sat down to prepare for alchemy, when he was aroused by a spiritual aura.

This wisp of spiritual energy, like a knock on a door, lingered three times outside Qingfeng Academy. Clearly, it was a greeting.

Lin Hui's heart stirred, and he waved his hand, releasing a gust of wind that gently opened the main gate of the Taoist temple.

"Yuanyuan, prepare tea."

"Yes," Li Yuanyuan quickly replied from outside the small hall.

The courtyard gates opened one by one, and a white-clad man wearing a black mask slowly walked in.

The man had white hair and walked briskly. His white robe fluttered in the wind, making him appear elegant and refined.

Upon entering the small hall where Lin Hui was, the man stopped and bowed to Lin Hui from afar.

"Kindness Sect Black Face greets Vice City Lord Lin."

"Black Face? The Benevolent Sect hasn't contacted me in a long time. I thought they'd forgotten about us," Lin Hui said calmly.

“Vice City Lord Lin is too kind. We have come here to provide the Lin family with the necessary assistance,” the dark-faced man said in a deep voice.

Lin Hui's expression remained unchanged.

He had completed many tasks for this charitable sect, and later bought a lot of precious medicines from them, so it was considered even between the two sides.

He believed he owed the other party nothing, nor did he feel that the other party owed him anything.

If the Good Heart Sect had stepped in to help them when they first arrived in Black Cloud, when they were all alone and helpless, it might have been able to maintain their good relationship there.

But now that he has established himself in Black Cloud City, the Charity Sect's visit is simply because they covet his current position, influence, and strength, and want to rekindle their past relationship.

Things are different now. He no longer needs the other party's help, nor does he care about their connections. If he wants to continue the relationship, it depends on the other party's sincerity.

In fact, he had always suspected that a thousand-year-old sect like the Benevolent Sect must have a large number of spies within its ranks. With so many people around, it seemed that joining would not bring him much benefit, but rather the greater harm and constraints of leaking secrets.

"It seems that Deputy City Lord Lin has some misunderstandings about us," Black Face thought helplessly, feeling conflicted.

He never expected that the son of one of his downlines would suddenly transform into a powerful figure, even stronger than himself, at the level of a deputy city lord.

The affairs of this world are indeed far more dramatic than any storybook.

Upon hearing Lin Hui speak, he immediately understood what the other person meant. After all, they were both elderly people who had lived for hundreds of years and held positions specifically responsible for communication between superiors and subordinates; their experience in this type of interaction was far too rich.

"Our sect can provide Vice City Lord Lin with sufficient intelligence support. I believe Vice City Lord Lin is not really at ease entrusting all his relatives and families to the three from Black Cloud. Wouldn't it be better if there were other major sects supervising from the sidelines?"

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"Furthermore, our religion can provide very precise information and details regarding the divine groups."

"You mean, the Benevolent Cult also has members within the Divine Group!?" Lin Hui exclaimed in surprise.

"..." The dark-faced man smiled without saying a word.

After a moment's thought, Lin Hui immediately decided to agree to the collaboration with the Good Heart Sect.

After he agreed to the matter, Black Face did not mention the matter of the Divine Group, but changed the subject and brought up Tu Yue.

"Speaking of which, Tu Yue City has recently welcomed its second Mistman. This man is named Xie Jun, and he was one of the Tu Yue City Lord's former lovers. The two had over a hundred children together, but most of them died young, and those that didn't all turned into monsters and were driven out of the city," the black-faced man transmitted.

"Xie Jun?" Lin Hui understood immediately. The other party mentioned this person and his close relationship with Tu Yue. The meaning was quite clear.

"Thank you for the reminder." He cupped his hands in thanks, as this information was indeed very important. If Tu Yue were to secretly come knocking again, and he were unaware of the existence of a second Fogman, the consequences of being ambushed would be unimaginable.

“Vice City Lord, there’s no need for such formalities. With your power and influence, our sect will need your assistance in many areas in the future. Let’s help each other out,” the dark-faced man said with a smile.

Lin Hui nodded.

The next morning, he packed the medicine and equipment he needed, said goodbye to his family, made up an excuse to go on a business trip, and flew to the Inner City Moon Tower.

As the deputy city lord, Moon Tower assigned him a personal guard of about a hundred men, a black army.

The Anmin Army and the Black Army each have different responsibilities. The former is the Federation's internal security force, while the latter is stronger and mainly responsible for external defense and protection.

The leader of this black army was a beautiful woman named Ouyang Yining.

The woman's distinctive features were her extremely full upper body, to the point that it seemed to droop dramatically, and the fact that she even had small, white, jade-like ram's horns on her head. Her legs were also beautifully rounded and long, clearly indicating that she was not a pure human.

"Ouyang Yining greets the Deputy City Lord." Inside the Moon Tower's preparation hall, on the pristine white floor tiles, a squad of black-armored soldiers knelt on one knee in unison to salute Lin Hui.

Leading the group was Captain Ouyang Yining, who was only wearing a simple three-piece black armor.

Lin Hui looked at her radiant blonde hair and fell silent for a moment.

"Did the Third City Lord send you?"

"Yes, the think tank under the Third City Lord, after a detailed analysis of your preferences and reputation, believes that sending subordinates to assist you in the battle would be more coordinated and advantageous," Ouyang Yining replied in a deep voice.

"Fine, then." Lin Hui remained silent. "Is my reputation really that bad?"

(End of this chapter)