Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

Lin Zui's elusive appearances gave these people a warning, but they were not easily intimidated and quickly recovered, launching a counterattack.

However, no matter what kind of attack it was, its power was greatly reduced when it reached Lin Zui's body. Furthermore, it was blocked by the defensive magical artifacts flying around Lin Zui, and it immediately lost its threat.

Lin Zui charged in and out of the crowd, fighting with great gusto.

Since advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, Lin Zui has gradually figured out the most suitable fighting style for him. The core of this fighting style is the secret technique he successfully cultivated during the Qi Refining stage, the Primordial Divine Light.

He originally thought that the Primordial Divine Light could only weaken any attack that came close to him, but after experimenting, he discovered that if he fought close to his opponent, the Primordial Divine Light could even weaken the opponent's protective aura.

With this discovery, he immediately realized that the best fighting style for him was close-quarters combat.

So, at his suggestion, Qi Yunxiao tailored a batch of top-grade magical artifacts for him, including this pair of iron claws. Xin Ruyin used an array to enhance their sharpness and armor-piercing effects, making them extremely lethal when Lin Zui broke through his defenses at close range.

Of course, in addition to this iron claw, there are also several other magical artifacts such as gauntlets, chains, and silk threads, all of which have been enhanced with different special effects to help Lin Zui deal with various combat situations.

Thus, facing Lin Zui at full power, this group of people were immediately in deep trouble.

Seeing their companions fall one after another while their opponents remained unscathed and fought with increasing ferocity, some of them finally became terrified.

"This person is terrifying! Run! Run!"

The burly man from the Demon Flame Sect, who had been so fierce just moments before, was now utterly cowardly. Ignoring the reactions of others, he turned and tried to flee.

However, having fought to this extent, escape was no longer an option for him.

The figure that was just fighting with others suddenly disappeared, and when it reappeared, it was already in front of him.

"ah--"

The burly man from the Demon Flame Sect was terrified and hurriedly tried to retaliate, only to see Lin Zui close in and throw a punch. However, the equipment he was wearing had somehow changed to a pair of gauntlets.

A punch came crashing down with irresistible force. The protective shield shattered as easily as if it were made of paper. Immediately afterward, the gauntlets, imbued with immense power by the array, slammed into his body.

The burly man coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground. His internal organs churned violently. Before he could catch his breath, a golden chain flew out from Lin Zui's sleeve and instantly bound him like a dumpling.

Seeing this, the others dared not fight any longer and scattered and fled. However, in the face of Lin Zui's Five Elements Escape Technique, it was all in vain.

After a while.

Lin Zui dealt with the cultivators who were trying to escape, then piloted his flying boat, carrying the captured Demon Flame Sect warriors, and left the area.

Several hours later.

The burly man from the Demon Flame Sect slumped to the ground like a dead dog, unable to live or die.

He wasn't tough at all; he wanted to confess the moment Lin Zui's first secret technique was applied to him.

The problem is... why the hell didn't you ask?

Lin Zui didn't ask any questions, appearing to simply enjoy tormenting people, using one secret technique after another that he had never seen or heard of before, torturing him to the point of life and death.

Just when he thought he would be endlessly tortured to death, the person finally spoke.

"Tell me, what's going on with the Qin family? Weren't you here to recruit that girl with the Heavenly Spirit Root? Why did they run away instead?"

"Yes, yes... I'm willing to tell you, I'm willing to tell you..."

The burly man from the Demon Flame Sect struggled to his feet, looking eager to make a name for himself.

Lin Zui sneered. Just now, he said he would use ten thousand ways to deal with Lin Zui, so Lin Zui reluctantly let him enjoy it for a while longer.

In retrospect, the results are quite good.

"We did come here to recruit that girl, and each faction promised a lot of benefits. The Qin family was also somewhat tempted, but... then a rumor started circulating from somewhere."

"Rumors? What rumors?"

Lin Zui glanced at him sideways.

"This matter concerns a certain Nascent Soul elder of the Heavenly Fiend Sect. Rumors say that the elder of the Heavenly Fiend Sect had his foundation damaged in a battle several years ago, and has been trying to find a body with an earth-type Heavenly Spirit Root to possess. The reason he came to recruit the young girl from the Qin family this time is to take her back and train her to serve as a vessel for this Nascent Soul elder to possess in the future."

"The cultivators leading the Tian Sha Sect naturally denied it outright. In the midst of the argument, they also made some unfounded speculations about the intentions of the other sects. Some were said to be there to capture them and seize their bodies, while others were said to be there to capture them and cultivate demonic arts. In any case, because of his meddling, all the sects were portrayed as having ulterior motives. The crowd was unable to reach an agreement and soon a conflict broke out, almost turning into a fight. Later, they discovered that the Qin family patriarch had escaped with his people, so they temporarily put aside their disputes and joined forces to search for the Qin family members."

The burly man from the Demon Flame Sect dared not hide anything and told him everything he knew.

"I see."

Lin Ju nodded, staring at him thoughtfully as she spoke.

"However... that might not be just a rumor."

The big man's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"My lord, you are wise. Such things are commonplace in our demonic path, aren't they? Those rumors are probably not unfounded. In fact, even if the other sects don't have such intentions now, if one of their Nascent Soul elders is injured in the future and needs this person's body, would they really be polite to her?"

The burly man said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"To be honest, if the Qin family were smart, they would have handed this woman over. Regardless of her future fate, at least for now, the Qin family would have gained a lot of benefits. I didn't expect the Qin family to be so unwise and actually ran away. This time they have offended all six sects. Even if they hand the woman over now, she probably won't have much of a chance to survive."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zui neither agreed nor disagreed, but instead took out a nearby map and tossed it to him.

"Which way did the Qin family members flee? Is there any hope that they managed to escape?"

The big man pointed out the direction the Qin family had fled on the map, and also drew out a range for Lin Zui of the inescapable net set up by the six sects.

"With six sects joining forces and more than a dozen Core Formation cultivators, how could they possibly escape? They'll most likely be caught very soon."

Lin Zui didn't say anything, but asked some questions he was concerned about, as well as the specific strength of the six sects' teams.

Only after realizing he understood the situation did he finally manage a slight smile.

"Very good, I am satisfied with your answer. Just answer one more question and I will let you go."

"Yes, yes, sir, please ask away."

Upon hearing this, the burly man's spirits lifted.

"You wiped out the rest of the Qin family, didn't you?"

"Yes, a group of Qi Refining cultivators and a bunch of ant-like mortals, we..."

The burly man, who had initially spoken with some disdain, stopped abruptly after noticing Lin Zui's increasingly cold expression.

"S-Sir..."

"You could have easily and cleanly killed them, but you chose to torture them first. You seemed to enjoy it, didn't you?"

Lin Zui sneered, watching the burly man's increasingly terrified expression. He condensed a wisp of half-real, half-illusory firelight at his fingertips, and in the next instant, the firelight shot towards the burly man's forehead.

"Then you'll get to enjoy being tortured to death!"

Soul-burning ghost fire!

The ethereal fire that acts directly on the soul can gradually burn away a person's three souls and seven spirits until all the souls are burned away, at which point it will solidify and turn the physical body to ashes as well.

This is perfect for dealing with people like this!

Lin Zui glanced at the groaning, rolling man from the Demon Flame Sect, then ignored him and flew away into the distance.