Chapter 161: Return with a Full Load
A pitch-black banner suddenly appeared in Master Cloud Cliff’s hand. Its dark surface fluttered even though there was no wind, and the faint, mournful wails of countless tormented souls drifted from within. An icy, bone-chilling aura swept across the cavern in an instant.
“A Soul-Summoning Banner?” Lin Huai asked, her eyes narrowing.
Master Cloud Cliff glanced back at her with a condescending sneer. “Little Daoist friend, you are far too naive. Why would I merely summon souls? This humble Daoist commands monsters and spirits. Naturally, I want every foul creature under heaven to bow to my will!”
He held the dark pole high. “This is the Ten Thousand Souls Banner!”
Lin Huai’s pupils shrank. This was clearly Master Cloud Cliff’s ultimate trump card. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. “You really are a dyed-in-the-wool evil cultivator!”
“Hmph! There are three thousand Great Daos,” Master Cloud Cliff scoffed, completely unbothered. “Who gets to decide what is righteous and what is evil?”
He bit into his fingertip without hesitation, flicking a bead of fresh blood onto the fluttering fabric. “Even a demon god is still a god!”
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner snapped wide. Columns of oily black energy shot straight toward the cavern ceiling. Howling, twisted specters poured out from the fabric in a furious tide, throwing themselves directly against the vengeful spirits surging up from the Blood Pool.
Two forces of pure Yin corruption and extreme evil slammed together, shaking the entire cavern to its foundations.
Now!
Lin Huai did not waste a fraction of a second. The crimson glow around the Blood Jade Coffin flared violently beneath her boots. It was no longer just a flying platform—its heavy lid cracked open by several inches, unleashing a terrifying vacuum from within.
Several ghouls pouncing toward Lin Huai were caught completely off guard. Sucked straight into the dark interior, they were devoured by the artifact before a scream could leave their throats. The ornate carvings across the blood-red jade pulsed, turning a deeper, more vibrant shade of crimson.
Seizing the opening, Lin Huai pushed the coffin’s speed to the absolute limit. Turning into a blood-red streak of light, she ignored the chaotic war behind her and raced back toward the rocky pass.
“Better a dead friend than a dead practitioner,” she called out over her shoulder, her voice echoing coldly through the canyon. “Since Master Yun walks the path of evil, I’m sure you understand the logic better than anyone!”
Her final words drifted back through the crimson fog: “Master Yun, until our paths cross again! If you manage to crawl out of here alive, we can talk about our little partnership next time in the Arena!”
With Master Cloud Cliff holding off the horde, Lin Huai slipped through the mountain pass without further resistance.
At the rocky ferry, the small wooden skiff was still tied to the mooring post. Wu Zhaodi stood at the bow in her straw cape, scanning the misty trail with worry on her small face.
The moment Lin Huai broke through the shadows, the little girl’s face lit up with relief. She brought the boat flush against the rocks. “Sister! Get on, hurry! Let’s get out of here!”
She glanced nervously toward the jagged ridge. “I saw that creepy masked man run in right after you. What happened to him? Did he die inside?”
Lin Huai shook her head, stepping safely onto the deck. Only when the boat pushed away from the bank and cut back into the river did she finally let out a long breath. She looked back at the towering dark cliffs. “That man is extraordinarily capable. He won’t go down that easily.”
Still, even if Master Cloud Cliff survived, he would be severely wounded, and he would definitely hold a massive grudge.
Lin Huai let out a quiet sigh. When they met again, a temporary truce might become unavoidable. Her personal skill cards, her psionic crafting table, and her Yellow Springs Road Guide had not yet reached their maximum levels. If she made an absolute mortal enemy of him right now, he would relentlessly sabotage her progression, leaving her with no peace to grind her upgrades.
Forming an alliance wasn’t out of the question, but setting clear boundaries and protecting her own interests would require very careful planning.
She pushed the future troubles from her mind. For now, she had returned with an incredible harvest.
Lin Huai reached into her inventory and brought out the lotus blossom she had personally harvested. The vivid crimson petals had already softened into a tender, dusty pink.
She had stored the Blood Jade Coffin safely back inside her spatial jade bracelet. Dong Xiaobao sat quietly on Lin Huai’s shoulder, refusing to crawl back inside the casket because of the foul ghouls Lin Huai had trapped in there earlier.
Even while dozing on her shoulder, the child radiated a steady, soothing warmth. That gentle wave of spiritual energy continually washed over Lin Huai’s mind, dissolving the lingering whispers of madness and cooling the frantic irritation in her chest.
As Lin Huai gained complete control over the mental intrusion and her heart settled into absolute stillness, the flower in her hands underwent a miraculous change. The remaining pink hue faded away completely, until the petals glowed with a pure, translucent white radiance.
Lin Huai’s reckless move to pluck the lotus with her bare hands hadn’t just been an accident born of ignorance. It was a calculated gamble based on a secret the shopkeeper at the Pavilion of All Knowledge had whispered to her after she paid him that hefty advance.
It was the true secret of the Karma Fire White Lotus.
She had intentionally acted rash and clueless so Master Cloud Cliff would never suspect her true target.
If a living mortal could face the concentrated evil thoughts inside a Karma Fire Red Lotus and overcome them with an unyielding will, the tainted crimson flower would be thoroughly cleansed, blossoming into the legendary Karma Fire White Lotus.
Even so, Lin Huai hadn’t expected the mental trial to be so terrifying. It had nearly cost her her sanity and her life. Fortunately, her resolve was cast in iron.
More importantly, the final phantom that appeared in the illusion was Old Lin.
Thinking of her father sent a sudden ache through Lin Huai’s chest. It struck her that she hadn’t thought about him in a very long time.
As the Road Survival game grew increasingly brutal, her burdens as the server’s rank one player had grown heavier by the day. She was the commander of the Elite Squad and the backbone of Zone 444. Every single day was swallowed up by grinding levels, gathering rare materials, and mapping out the future for all twelve of her companions.
In the middle of the endless rush, she had focused entirely on pushing forward, keeping her squad alive, and clearing the next milestone.
Her ambitions had multiplied, and her original vow had slowly become just one of many concerns. It wasn’t that Old Lin mattered any less to her, but rather that so many other precious people and responsibilities had entered her life.
Remembering the sacred promise she had made on day one, Lin Huai gently stroked the surface of her spatial jade bracelet. Her eyes grew faintly red as she gazed out into the dark fog rolling across the river.
“Old Lin… were you the one watching over me just now?” she murmured softly.
The young ferry girl had no answers for her, so Lin Huai said nothing more. She simply sat on the wooden deck in silence, examining her heart to see if she had lost any part of herself along the way.
A person’s environment shapes them, but it can also change them beyond recognition.
Now, Lin Huai stood at the very summit of her world—revered by thousands, commanding immense power. That kind of absolute authority was a slow poison that could easily rot someone from the inside out. She constantly had to remind herself why she had started walking this dark road in the first place.
The journey back was fast. The borrowed Yin aura covering her skin was wearing dangerously thin, forcing Lin Huai to continually sprinkle purifying incense ash over her shoulders to keep the river monsters from smelling her living blood.
They pulled up to the Ghost Market ferry landing just as her disguise was about to give out. Wu Zhaodi waved goodbye from the boat, paddling back out into the dark waters.
Lin Huai didn’t linger at the stalls. Pulling her hood low, she hurried straight through the stone gateway and left the market behind.
Only when her boots touched the familiar asphalt of the highway, stepping back into the cabin of her hearse with the Blood Jade Coffin anchored securely on the roof, did she finally let out a long, shuddering breath of relief.
The automated driving system engaged with a low hum, and the armored vehicle continued its steady cruise along the lane.
Lin Huai walked up the spiral stairs to the second-floor panoramic sunroom and collapsed onto the soft sofa.
A sliver of dark malice still clung to the edges of her consciousness. The moment she closed her eyes to relax, faint, angry voices tried to sprout in her mind, making her blood run hot with restlessness.
She pushed herself back up, refusing to let the remnants fester. Crossing her legs on the carpet, she settled into a deep meditative posture, gathering her mental focus to eradicate every last trace of negative energy.
She had endured the crushing weight of the entire Blood Sea without breaking. This faint, scattered residue was no match for her will.
Dong Xiaobao was already sound asleep in her wooden crib nearby. Even without the child’s psychic soothing, Lin Huai was more than capable of keeping her own heart pure and bright.
