Chapter 160: Don’t Suffer Any Loss!
The pale face of the low-level Safety Ambassador instantly twisted in agony. His eyes turned a glaring scarlet, transforming him into a ravenous specter as grotesque, bloated features burst across his skin.
Snarling with fury, he fought recklessly against the heavy iron chains. Tearing through the air, he lunged straight for Cloud Cliff Master, teeth bared to tear him apart.
Seeing that a violent clash was about to erupt, Lin Huai nudged her blood jade coffin slightly to the side, maintaining a safe distance so she wouldn’t get caught in the blast radius.
Yet as the raving spirit pounced, Cloud Cliff Master didn’t flinch. His eyes narrowed to sharp slits. With a vicious snap of his wrist, he jerked the iron chain.
Crack!
The mutated ghost exploded into a burst of red mist, dissolving instantly into the swirling fog above the pool. The severed red lotus tumbled from its grasp, melting into liquid blood the moment it touched the surface and returning to the deep.
Lin Huai raised an eyebrow, her tone mocking. “Daoist Master Yun, didn’t you claim you had already been here once? How could you make such a rookie mistake? Or are you just putting on a show for my benefit?”
Cloud Cliff Master’s voice was completely flat. “To avoid any unnecessary accidents, I merely used that spirit to test the waters.”
He glanced past her toward Dong Xiaobao, who had just poked her head out from beneath the coffin lid. “It seems you already know the rule—these blossoms can only be harvested by spirits. In that case, I spoke out of turn.”
Perhaps shaken by Lin Huai’s unnatural luck, or perhaps acknowledging her terrifying growth, Cloud Cliff Master seemed to finally drop his hostile pretense and lean toward cooperation.
Seeing Dong Xiaobao, he didn’t pry into her origins. Instead, he took the initiative to offer practical advice. “The little spirit you’re raising is quite remarkable. But aren’t you worried about hurting her by sending her into that mess?”
Lin Huai’s heart certainly ached for the child. When she had slid open the coffin lid, she had acted on instinct, knowing only a spirit could safely grasp the stem. She hadn’t anticipated that the backlash would be this brutal.
Xiaobao, however, was practically bouncing on her heels. “Sister, I can handle it! Let me go! I will definitely bring every single lotus back to you!”
“Are you truly certain?” Lin Huai leaned down, asking in a low, protective whisper.
Xiaobao reached up and pressed both small hands against Lin Huai’s temples, leaning in close as if sharing a childish secret. The second their brows met, a cool, refreshing wave of spiritual energy washed over Lin Huai’s mind. The lingering agony from the evil thoughts evaporated instantly.
Even the dark, suppressed voices she had forcefully locked away were swept clean from her consciousness.
Lin Huai’s thoughts had never felt so crystal clear.
Xiaobao looked up, her dark eyes sparkling with pride. Her voice echoed sweetly in Lin Huai’s mind: “Sister, I can hear what you’re thinking! You don’t want that annoying man to figure out what I can do, so I’m talking to you quietly.”
“While I was sleeping inside the coffin, I awakened this ability! I can purge evil thoughts completely. Negative energy and Yin corruption don’t bother me at all anymore!”
Lin Huai’s eyes lit up with profound relief.
A mental-type specialist!
This was the exact talent her squad lacked the most. Ever since the close call in the Ghost Mother’s Lair, where she had nearly fallen for Su Wan’s psychological trap, Lin Huai had been searching desperately for a teammate with mental-resistance abilities.
She had never dreamed that Dong Xiaobao had listened to her silent wishes and evolved along that exact path during her long slumber.
It was an incredible, unexpected breakthrough.
Composing her expression, Lin Huai stood up. Reaching into her backpack, she casually pulled out a common piece of chalcedony and pressed it into Xiaobao’s hands with an exaggerated show of mystery.
“Take this, Xiaobao,” Lin Huai said loudly, making sure her voice carried. “Hold onto this treasure, and you won’t need to fear the pool’s negative energy.”
Cloud Cliff Master couldn’t get a clear look at the ordinary stone in the fog. Hearing Lin Huai’s confident words, his brows furrowed with intense curiosity.
What kind of rare relic did this favored child of heaven pull out this time?
Armed with her “sacred stone,” Dong Xiaobao floated freely across the bubbling crimson lake. Darting back and forth like a bright dragonfly, she harvested the blooming lotuses in minutes. Scooping the full bundle into her arms, she zipped back and offered them to Lin Huai with a wide grin.
“Sister, look! I picked every single one!”
Cloud Cliff Master stood frozen in shock. “What kind of artifact did you give her? Could you share a hint?”
Lin Huai gave him a cool smile. “Not a chance.”
Without wasting a breath, she shoved every Karma Fire Red Lotus into her spatial inventory, turned her coffin around, and headed straight for the exit.
Cloud Cliff Master sprang into the air, flying close behind her with mounting urgency. “Little Daoist friend, we agreed to share! I even let you take the lead just now—you can’t simply take the entire harvest and leave, can you?”
“The Karma Fire Red Lotus is essential for my crafting upgrades! At least spare me a single blossom!”
Lin Huai didn’t even look back. The blood jade coffin surged over the crimson waves, throwing up a spray of bloody foam in its wake.
“To each their own, Daoist Master. I never signed a contract with you.”
Seeing her total indifference, Cloud Cliff Master’s expression darkened. “Did you honestly believe taking a shortcut through the Blood Pool was this simple just because you’re lucky?”
“Without my help, you won’t make it out of this cavern alive!”
Right as the words left his mouth, a violent roar tore through the lakebed. The crimson surface began to boil violently, throwing giant bubbles into the air.
Lin Huai snapped her head around, her eyes turning cold. “Cloud Cliff Master, what did you do?!”
Cloud Cliff Master didn’t answer. Channeling his flying talisman, he shot past her like an arrow, sprinting toward the rocky trail leading out of the gorge.
“I didn’t do anything!” he shouted back over his shoulder. “The Blood Pool retaliates against anyone who strips it of its lotuses. And that thief happens to be you!”
“Cloud Cliff Master, you bastard!”
Lin Huai’s teeth ground together in fury. This man was scheming down to his very bones!
He had intentionally failed his harvest, using the distraction to feed her information so she would take the bait. By letting her gather the lotuses, he had redirected the pool’s entire wrath onto her head, allowing him to slip away and scavenge whatever remained!
Standing atop the speeding coffin, Lin Huai opened the throttle and let out a furious curse: “Cloud Cliff Master, don’t you have any shame?! Would your sect masters approve of this? Aren’t you supposed to be an orthodox cultivator? Aren’t you terrified the Heavenly Venerates will strike you down for acting like a scoundrel?!”
Cloud Cliff Master glanced back with an easy, mocking grin. “Different doctrines follow different paths. I’m afraid my lineage comes from the Jie Sect.”
Lin Huai was so angry she nearly laughed. She had been completely deceived by his dignified, immortal-like facade; the man was a shameless rogue through and through!
Regardless of his sect, Lin Huai was not someone who swallowed a loss lying down!
“Speed up!” she commanded.
The blood jade coffin accelerated violently. With a sharp, aggressive drift across the stone pass, she cut right across Cloud Cliff Master’s path, planting herself in front of him and redirecting the towering crimson tsunami straight into his face!
Blocked at the bottleneck, Cloud Cliff Master was forced to confront the boiling wall of cursed blood head-on.
He had no choice but to go all out.
Spinning around, he pulled a horsetail whisk from his robe and whipped it through the air. A shimmering invisible barrier snapped open, catching the crashing wave of blood inches from their faces.
Lin Huai comfortably tucked herself behind his defensive ward. She lightly clapped her hands, smiling sweetly. “My, Daoist Master Yun truly has endless tricks up his sleeve. This barrier is even stronger than the one you used to trap me last time.”
“Seeing how reliable you are, I’m actually warming up to the idea of a partnership.”
Bearing the crushing weight of the blood wave alone, Cloud Cliff Master poured every drop of his spiritual energy into the whisk. Veins pulsed on his forehead as he glared back at her with murderous rage.
“You’d better mean every word of that!” he snarled through clenched teeth. “If you try to back out after we make it through this pass, I swear I will hunt you down and slaughter you!”
Behind the foaming red wall, thousands of trapped vengeful spirits began crawling out from the depths. Shrieking in fury, their pale claws scraped against the translucent barrier, snapping their teeth as they tried to reach the living flesh on the other side.
Cloud Cliff Master knew the ward was about to shatter. Without a second thought, he snapped the barrier closed, reached into his robes, and pulled out yet another high-tier talisman!
