paranoianovel Chapter 65: Black Wind Cave
Chapter 65: Black Wind Cave
"break!"
The fist and the ghostly claw phantom collided violently! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a chilling, extremely intense sound of energy erosion and annihilation! The gray-black Devouring Spirit Essence, like the most greedy glutton, frantically tore and devoured the dark green evil light! The ghostly claw phantom dimmed and disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Lin Yan's punch, not yet finished, pierced through the dissipating evil light and landed solidly on the chest of the old man who was slightly leaning forward due to the full force of the blow, his chest wide open!
"Thump!"
A dull, thunderous roar, like the pounding of a heavy drum, resounded! The old man's tattered black robe was instantly shattered by the force of the punch, revealing his withered, skeletal chest. The protective aura surrounding him shattered inch by inch under the blow, the terrifying force penetrating his body. The old man's eyes bulged out, his face filled with extreme pain and disbelief. He coughed up a mouthful of foul blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, and was sent flying backward as if struck head-on by a battering ram. He crashed heavily into the hard rock wall behind him with a loud thud, sending rubble and dust tumbling down before he slid softly to the ground. His face was ashen, his breath instantly weakened to the extreme. Clearly, his internal organs had been damaged, and many of his meridians had been severed.
Lin Yan was not unscathed either. Forced to break the claw with his fist, his left fist was torn open, blood gushing out, and a wisp of cold, evil energy seeped into the wound, bringing a piercing numbness and pain. He groaned, took two steps back, and used his knife for support to steady himself. Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead, and his chest heaved violently.
But his eyes remained sharp as knives, fixed on the old man slumped against the rock face. The outcome was decided.
"Cough cough...hoarse..." The old man collapsed on the ground, vomiting large mouthfuls of black blood. His eyes were unfocused, filled with despair and resentment. A hoarse sound like a broken bellows came from his throat. He seemed to want to say something, but he was too weak to speak.
Lin Yan didn't immediately finish him off. He took a deep breath, suppressing the injury to his left hand and the surging blood within him, and said in a deep voice to the Black Stone Guards who surrounded him, "Clean up the battlefield and thoroughly search the entire cave. Zhou Fu, Zhao Si, you take men to interrogate the prisoners, separately. Make sure to find out the details of Liu Xiong's collusion with them, their methods of communication, other possible strongholds, and... where the blood crystals they refined here ultimately ended up, and who taught them the method. Get confessions, signatures, and no one can be missing."
"Yes!" The crowd responded in unison and immediately split up to get to work. The exhilaration of surviving the ordeal and their anger towards Liu Xiong transformed into a powerful driving force for a thorough investigation of the area.
About half an hour later, the preliminary investigation results were presented to Lin Yan.
Battlefield inventory: 23 evil cultivators were killed, and more than 10 demonic beasts were captured; 7 evil cultivators with minor and serious injuries were captured and are being held separately; 19 demonic cores at the Body Tempering Realm, a certain amount of gold and silver, and a batch of evil martial arts manuals and insidious materials were seized.
The most important discovery came from the end of a hidden side passage deep inside the cave.
The area had been artificially excavated and widened, forming a stone chamber roughly two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) square. In the center of the chamber stood a somber altar constructed of dark red rock! The altar was about half a person's height, its surface covered with intricate and eerie runes. Within the grooves of these runes remained a viscous, dark red, almost black liquid that hadn't completely dried, emanating a pungent, nauseating stench of blood. Scattered around the altar were fragments of pale, human bones of varying sizes.
What made Lin Yan's pupils shrink even more was that in a stone niche to the side of the altar, there were three rough stone boxes. Opening the stone boxes, neatly stacked inside were the same kind of dark red crystals he had seen in the wolf king's den in Canglang Mountain and the secret room of the mayor's mansion in Black Stone Town, containing pure blood essence and eerie vitality!
Blood Crystals! And there are more of them than all of what we've seen before combined!
Lin Yan crouched down, his fingertips gently brushing against the cold, blood-stained surface of the altar. A chilling, malevolent aura tried to seep into his fingertips, but was easily neutralized by his internal energy. His gaze was fixed on the runes and the wolf-head mark. In an instant, his mind conjured up images of the demonic wolf calamity of Blackstone Town, Mayor Chen Fuhai's secret chamber, Qian Lu's vicious curse in Eagle's Beak Gorge, the evil cultivator's lair in Black Wind Gorge before him, and Liu Xiong's seemingly refined and gentle face… All these clues, like scattered beads, were strung together by the "blood crystal" and this familiar altar into a clear and menacing chain.
As expected. Someone is behind the scenes, simultaneously using or manipulating demon wolves and evil cultivators as henchmen to refine these sinister blood crystals from the flesh and souls of living beings. Blackstone Town, Azure Wolf Mountain, Black Wind Ravine... are probably just links in this bloody chain.
"Interrogate those prisoners, especially that old ghost," Lin Yan's voice was as cold as ice, "Who were the blood crystals given to? Who taught them the refining method? I need to know their names or characteristics."
The old man was dragged by two Black Stone Guards to a relatively flat stone surface. His tattered black robe was almost torn to shreds, revealing a withered, brittle body. Black blood was still slowly seeping from the caved-in area of his chest, and each breath was accompanied by the hissing sound of blood breaking. Yet, the green light in his sunken eyes still flickered with resentment and stubbornness as he stared intently at Lin Yan standing before him.
"State your name." Lin Yan's voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.
The old man grinned, revealing sparse, yellowed teeth, and let out a strange, hoarse laugh: "Junior...kill me if you want...don't even think about prying a single word out of my mouth..." He barely raised a trembling hand and pointed to himself, "In the martial world...he's known as 'Old Ghost Mo'...Mo Sanhuai...is your ancestor..."
"Old Ghost Mo?" Lin Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's quite fitting."
Without another word, he crouched down and extended his left hand—the hand that had just clashed with the ghostly claws, its skin torn and bleeding, now simply bandaged—slowly hovering it a few inches above Mo Laogui's dantian. Grayish-black Devouring Spirit True Essence emanated from his palm, condensing into an extremely fine yet needle-like stream of energy. It didn't pierce through, but simply hovered there, rotating slightly, emanating a chilling, greedy, and terrifying aura that seemed capable of sucking away all life force.
Mo Laogui's turbid green eyes suddenly narrowed. The terrifying feeling of that true energy invading his body and frantically devouring the evil true energy he had painstakingly cultivated for many years during their fight instantly and vividly assaulted his mind! It was an experience more terrifying than being stabbed by swords or burned by flames—the great terror of having his very existence stripped away and annihilated bit by bit!
"What...what do you want to do?!" For the first time, Mo Laogui's voice trembled noticeably.
"Since Mr. Mo is so assertive," Lin Yan's voice remained calm, even carrying a hint of politeness, "I won't waste any more words. However, this late-stage Profound Realm cultivation is hard-won, and it would be a pity to let it return to dust along with Mr. Mo. How about... I, a junior, borrow it for a while?"
Before he finished speaking, the suspended gray-black needle suddenly pierced down!
It didn't pierce the core of Mo Laogui's dantian—that area had been nearly shattered by Lin Yan's punch, and forcibly absorbing it might cause a backlash. The qi needle precisely pierced a relatively intact node on the outer edge of Mo Laogui's dantian, connecting several major meridians!
"Ugh—!!!"
A scream more piercing and desperate than ever before suddenly burst from Mo Laogui's throat! It wasn't physical pain, but rather the pain and fear that came from the forced extraction of his life essence and the violent shaking of his cultivation foundation, reaching the very depths of his soul!
He clearly felt that the already unstable yet still enormous evil true essence in his dantian was being frantically drawn and dragged away by an irresistible, cold and tyrannical force, like a flood bursting its banks! That force not only devoured the true essence, but it also seemed to be pulling away the blood and qi flowing in his meridians, and even the original spiritual light that supported his soul!
"Stop...stop! Stop! I'll talk! I'll talk!!" Old Mo struggled desperately, tears streaming down his face. His previous toughness and resentment crumbled instantly in the face of the absolute fear brought by the power of the Soul Devouring. He felt as if he were falling into a bottomless, cold, and dark abyss, and the rope that was holding him was being loosened little by little by the young man in front of him.
Lin Yan remained expressionless, slightly raising his fingertips. The devouring power of the gray-black needles slowed down a bit, but did not completely stop. It remained like a leech, clinging to Mo Laogui's meridian nodes, maintaining the threat that could erupt again at any moment.
"Who should we give the Blood Crystal Stone to? How should we hand it over?" Lin Yan asked directly.
Old Mo gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently. Each breath was accompanied by excruciating pain in his internal organs, but what terrified him even more was the continuous, slow, yet irreversible feeling of energy draining away from his dantian. He dared not conceal anything any longer, speaking rapidly as if the devouring force would intensify if he spoke too slowly:
"It's...it's Liu Xiong! Liu, the head of the Demon Suppression Division of Qingzhou Prefecture! Every month...around the last day of the month...a man called 'Mr. Xu' comes...dressed as an accountant, always with his head down...to...about thirty miles to the west...at the abandoned Earth God Temple...to exchange...blood crystals...and some other ores from the mountains...all for him..."
"What will Liu Xiong do with all this?"
"He...he'll keep a portion for himself...to cultivate...but most of it...from Mr. Xu's occasional hints...is...to be supplied to 'big shots in the capital'..." Old Mo's eyes flashed with a mixture of fear and a hint of flattery, as if trying to gain some breathing room by revealing more. "That blood crystal stone...I've heard...has miraculous effects on certain cultivation techniques...and can even prolong life...In the capital...it's a treasure that only the top nobles can afford...it's priceless..."
Lin Yan's eyes grew even colder. Just as he expected. A bloody chain of interests, from the evil cultivators of Black Wind Ravine to Liu Xiong, and then to the so-called "big shots in the capital."
"Who taught you this method of refining blood crystals and this altar setup?" Lin Yan's fingertips unconsciously pressed down slightly, and the suction force of the gray-black needles increased slightly.
Old Mo trembled, his face revealing even deeper fear, as if recalling something more terrifying than the thing swallowing him up before him: "It was...it was a person...more than ten...more than ten years ago..."
He began to describe in broken sentences, his voice faltering with weakness and fear: "Back then... Black Wind Ravine... wasn't like this... we were just a group of... ordinary mountain bandits... making a living by robbing people... until... he came..."
"He covered his face... I couldn't see his features... His voice... was strange... It sounded like he was deliberately lowering his voice... And he always had a smile on his face... He spoke... He was very polite... 'Please,' 'Excuse me,' 'Please'... He had 'please' on his lips all the time..."
"His methods... were ruthless... terrifying... Back then, a few leaders who were not convinced... wanted to test his strength... but he... raised his hand... and... turned to ashes... without even a scream..."
"He taught us this 'Blood Refining Method'... and how to set up this altar... He said... as long as we hand over the blood crystals on time... we can receive his protection... and he can also give us cultivation techniques... and pills..."
Old Mo's pupils were somewhat unfocused as he drifted into that distant, terrifying memory: "His hands... were exceptionally white... like... like they were made of jade... like they had never been touched by the mortal world... his fingers were long... very slender... on his right thumb... he wore a thumb ring... black... I couldn't tell if it was jade or bone..."
"He only came once... He set up the altar at the church... and then left... After that... Mr. Xu was the one who came to collect and deliver things..."
She covered her face, spoke politely with a smile, and had exceptionally white hands with a black thumb ring.
Lin Yan's heart sank. Although the description was still vague, these characteristics were remarkably similar to those of the "mysterious person" who had come into contact with the wolf demon in Canglang Mountain! They even formed a strange contrast with the image of the old man in green robes, "Qingyangzi," who set up the "Seven Star Spirit Locking" formation in the tree demon's memory fragments in the Misty Hidden Ancient Forest—one was compassionate and merciful, locking spirits and strengthening meridians, while the other taught evil arts and used living beings to refine crystals.
Is it the same person? Or someone belonging to the same faction but with a completely different style? He taught the wolf demons, and he also taught the evil cultivators. This person is probably the crucial "technical instructor" and "overseer" on this dark chain that transcends the boundaries between humans and demons and uses living beings to refine crystals. Liu Xiong and the "big shots in the capital" behind him are the beneficiaries and protectors who reap the benefits without lifting a finger.
"A photo recorder." Lin Yan stretched out his hand to Zhao Si, who had been waiting beside him, his voice resolute.
Zhao Si hurriedly took out the pigeon-egg-sized, crystal-clear light blue gemstone from the innermost layer of his personal bag and carefully presented it with both hands.
Lin Yan took the recording stone; it felt warm and slightly cool to the touch. He placed it on a slightly elevated, flat stone platform in the center of the stone chamber and infused it with a wisp of pure, gray-black true essence. As the true essence flowed in, the subtle array inscribed within the stone was activated, and a pale blue light emanated from within, forming a hazy, stable halo about a foot above the stone platform. It began to silently record all images and sounds within the area covered by the halo.
"Help him sit up straight." Lin Yan pointed to the limp Mo Laogui, then to the other two evil cultivators who had been brought out of the captives by the Black Stone Guards, who seemed to know some inside information and were now ashen-faced. "You three, face this light and repeat what you just said, clearly and completely, about Liu Xiong, Mr. Xu, the handover method, the whereabouts of the Blood Crystal Stone, and the person who taught you the method."
His gaze swept over the three men, finally settling on Old Ghost Mo's face. His tone was calm yet carried an undeniable pressure: "Well said. I will remove this needle. If there is even the slightest ambiguity or falsehood in what you say..." The gray-black needle at his fingertip trembled slightly, emitting a faint, teeth-grinding buzzing sound.
Old Mo was terrified, and the other two evil cultivators were so weak in the knees that they could barely stand. Under the pale blue glow of the recording stone, surrounded by the blades and crossbow bolts of the Black Stone Guards, and under the ultimate threat of the Soul-Devouring Needles falling at any moment and taking away their cultivation or even their lives, the three of them barely managed to maintain their collapsing spirits and, in the recorded light and shadow, recounted their confessions in a fragmented but clear manner, revealing the key information.
Old Mo gave the most detailed account, even adding some trivial details about "Mr. Xu's" appearance and demeanor, as well as the unintentional displays of awe towards "the higher-ups" and boasting about the value of the blood crystal during the several handovers. The other two mainly confirmed the handover process and the fact that the blood crystal was taken away by Liu Xiong's men.
After the three finished speaking, Zhao Si, based on the previous interrogation records and Lin Yan's hints, quickly prepared three key statements and neatly transcribed them onto sturdy parchment with charcoal. He then presented the parchment and a small box of cinnabar ink to the three men.
"Sign, put your fingerprint on it." Lin Yan's voice was devoid of any emotion.
With trembling hands, Mo Laogui extended his still-functioning, withered hand, which resembled a chicken claw. He dipped his fingertip in bright red ink and pressed a crooked yet clear fingerprint onto the end of the parchment bearing the name "Mo Sanhuai (Mo Laogui)". The other two followed suit, their fingerprints a glaring red, like drops of blood on paper.
Zhao Si carefully wrapped the three fingerprinted confessions in oilcloth and then gathered them together with other evidence found on the evil cultivators, including tokens with special markings and scattered notes. The photographic stone that recorded the key images and sounds was personally placed by Lin Yan into a small, soft velvet-lined pouch close to his body.
Finally, everyone's gaze fell upon the ominous altar and the three boxes of dark red, crystalline bloodstone in the niche. These were the most direct and irrefutable physical evidence.
"Take everything away and seal it properly," Lin Yan ordered. After a pause, he added, "The altar... try to copy down as many runes as possible. If there are any crucial parts that cannot be moved, draw them down. Be careful not to touch the undried bloodstains on it."
Inside the cave, the firelight cast long and short shadows of the busy figures onto the rugged rock walls, like a silent group of figures in a shadow play. The smells of blood, burnt food, and dust from the stones mingled together, lingering in this space where a life-or-death struggle had just taken place.
Lin Yan stood alone beside the altar, his fingertips lightly tracing the cold, rough surface of the rock. The deeply engraved, sinister runes seemed to writhe slightly in the firelight, the lingering resentment and bloodlust within them causing disgust even from a distance. His gaze passed over the altar, as if piercing through the thick rock walls, seeing the towering city walls of Qingzhou Prefecture, the imposing gate of the Demon Suppression Division's branch, and Liu Xiong's face, always bearing a gentle smile, yet capable of driving countless people to their deaths.
The irrefutable evidence is now in hand. Confessions, signatures, photographs, physical evidence, altars... one by one, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, gradually piece together a complete chain of evidence showing Liu Xiong's collusion with evil cultivators, harming living beings, refining evil objects, and seeking personal gain, even vaguely pointing to a larger shadow deep within the capital.
He slowly exhaled a long, heavy breath, which seemed to carry the stench of blood and dust from the cave. The journey to Black Wind Ravine had come at a heavy price; several team members were seriously injured, and he himself had suffered damage to his foundation, the cold, evil energy still throbbing faintly from the wound on his left fist. But all of this had yielded a crucial bargaining chip powerful enough to shake the situation in Qingzhou Prefecture, and perhaps even shake higher levels.
"My lord, everything is ready." Lu Ling stepped forward and reported in a low voice. His face was stained with blood, but his eyes were sharper and calmer than before, like a blade tempered by blood and fire.
Lin Yan withdrew his gaze from the distance and nodded. His eyes swept over the tired yet resolute faces around him, finally settling on the several prisoners who were tightly bound and barely breathing.
"Take all the evidence, and them too," Lin Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears, carrying a cold and resolute tone after everything had settled, "We...return to Qingzhou Prefecture."
"yes!"
The crowd responded in unison, their voices echoing briefly in the empty cave before being swallowed by the howling wind outside. They lifted the stretchers, carrying heavy boxes of evidence, escorting the prisoners, supporting each other, and turned to walk towards the cave entrance they had come from, towards the Black Wind Ravine that was still shrouded in gray-black mist, yet seemed to faintly pierce through with a sliver of daylight.
The wind outside the cave, carrying the damp chill and faint scent of scorched earth unique to the ravine, rushed towards them. Lin Yan walked at the head of the group, his steps steady. He knew that when they emerged from this perilous place with these "harvests" soaked in blood and evidence of crime, a real, and perhaps even more dangerous, storm would truly begin beneath the seemingly calm surface of Qingzhou Prefecture's lake.
But they are no longer pawns. They wield sharp blades, possess evidence, and are about to become one of the players who will stir up this storm...