Qian Daoliu and his group had already left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect far behind. Not long after their departure, Jiang Mo regained consciousness. The first thing he wanted to do upon waking was to charge back to the sect and avenge the Second Worship.
He had only been sealed, not unconscious, so he was completely aware of what had happened outside.
Qian Daoliu's status in the Spirit Hall was extremely high. Even though Jiang Mo was also a Worship, he could only respect Qian Daoliu. When he and his brother, Qian Jun were young, it was the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had guided their cultivation.
To him, Golden Crocodile Douluo was like both a teacher and a father.
Qian Renxue's expression was also filled with grief. She had thought that after Qian Daoliu promised not to attack the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect again, she and Tian Lin would at least not have to be enemies anymore. But now, her Grandpa Golden Crocodile had died at Tian Lin's hands, making them mortal enemies once again.
Qian Daoliu looked at the impulsive Jiang Mo and the sorrowful Qian Renxue, pressing a hand on Jiang Mo's shoulder and sighing, "Jiang Mo, Xue'er, don't be so agitated. If I'm not mistaken, Golden Crocodile isn't dead."
"What?" Both turned back to look at him, one's anger turning to surprise, the other's grief turning to hope.
Qian Daoliu had two important reasons for this judgment. First, something Tian Lin had said: "Let Golden Crocodile die once and see." What did he mean by letting someone die once—could a person die twice?
Second was the second condition Tian Lin raised. As a fellow inheritor of a god's legacy, he couldn't not know the importance of godly equipment. Making such a demand meant he never really expected Qian Daoliu to agree, he just needed an excuse to kill Golden Crocodile in front of him.
But what benefit would that bring him? If he wanted to kill, he could have just killed him, why put on a show in front of him and unnecessarily deepen his hatred? And if he was truly prepared to kill Golden Crocodile and make an enemy of Qian Daoliu, why return Jiang Mo? Was he aiding the enemy? If he was right, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would probably try to contact him again.
"Please wait, senior."
A voice sounded from the horizon, accompanied by rolling thunder. Qian Daoliu chuckled, "Looks like Ning Fengzhi is even more anxious than I thought."
The newcomer was Thunder Hawk Douluo Yin Yang. With Qian Daoliu seriously injured and Jiang Mo having just fainted, their pace was slow, and Yin Yang, as an agility-type Titled Douluo, quickly caught up.
…
At this time, Tian Lin entered the Seven Treasure Hall with Sword Douluo Chenxin. Qian Daoliu was indeed correct: Golden Crocodile was still alive. Tian Lin hadn't killed him; it was all an act for others—more specifically, for Yu Luomian, as a way to send misleading information to his master.
The aura on Yu Luomian had been sensed by the Holy Spirit Pearl, similar to what happened with Xue Beng before, but this time, Skydream guessed he wasn't being controlled—he had surrendered willingly. Thus, the Five-Elemental Purification wouldn't be of much use on him.
Tian Lin had considered capturing and interrogating him, but after thinking it over, he gave up. First, arbitrarily arresting an elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan without evidence would mean war. Second, Yu Luomian was only a Soul Sage, unlikely to have contact with top-level figures, so even if captured, he probably wouldn't be able to provide much information. It was better to use him to pass along false information.
Golden Crocodile Douluo was currently in a state of suspended animation. If Tian Lin wanted to make it even more realistic, he could have killed him for real and then resurrected him with the Holy Spirit Pearl. But Golden Crocodile Douluo was not Zhu Zhuqing; his strength and level were much higher. Reviving him would come at a significant cost for Tian Lin.
He had only just gotten rid of the burden of ultimate attributes and didn't want to go through the trouble of retraining again.
"Phew, boss, I've already stopped the bleeding for this old man just as you instructed," Gu Ran, who had been keeping watch, said.
"Alright, leave the rest to me." Tian Lin nodded, walked up to Golden Crocodile, and placed his hand on his chest.
A surge of electricity stimulated his heart, which had stopped beating, and brought it back to life.
With his constitution, Golden Crocodile Douluo's injuries were only superficial; he woke up almost immediately.
He showed no surprise, instead calmly asking, "I'm not dead? Kid, how did you do it? I'm certain that just now, my state was indistinguishable from true death—even my soul was almost devoured by something. But at the last moment, you pulled me back from the gates of hell."
Worthy of being the Spirit Hall's Second Worship—after walking so close to death, his attitude was still so calm.
"Senior, this is called the Undying Calamity!" Tian Lin pointed at Golden Crocodile's wound. "It's a meridian in the human heart. If pierced, the victim will appear completely dead for a period of time, and even their soul will fall into slumber; no matter how strong the expert, no one can detect your life force. But as long as the bleeding is stopped in time, there's no real danger. As for your soul being almost devoured, that wasn't my doing. Someone took advantage of your apparent death to use some trick on you. Fortunately, your strength allowed you to hold on and survive."
In the world of Sword and Fairy, this Undying Calamity could even fool someone as strong as the Moon Worship Sect Leader. For Yu Luomian, it was an overwhelming move.
Golden Crocodile nodded. "Alright, boy, hand over all the clues you have. I'll secretly investigate the Four-Winged Fallen Angel matter, with the Grand Worship working in the open and me in the shadows—we can coordinate inside and out."
Tian Lin was stunned. "Senior, I haven't said a word yet—how did you know what I wanted?"
"Nonsense. Before I went into a state of suspended animation, I was just sealed. My body and soul power couldn't move, but my hearing was perfectly fine. I heard your entire conversation with the Grand Worship. When I heard you ask him for the Angel Soul Bone, I knew you never intended to let me die—there must be some scheme. And then you mentioned the Fallen Angel, so it's related. Now you've killed me, then rescued me; I understand it all. You want me to play dead and investigate secretly. After all, the enemy is in the shadows and we're in the open, which puts us at a disadvantage. So, you need someone strong and trustworthy hidden in the dark. In the whole Spirit Hall, other than the Grand Worship and Xue'er, there's only me who would never side with that so-called Fallen Angel. My relationship to Spirit Hall is like Sword Douluo's to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Senior, have you planted any spies by my side?" Tian Lin exclaimed in awe.
Golden Crocodile Douluo gave him an odd look. "No need for spies; it's easy to guess. By the way, back on the plaza, there must have been others who were agents of that unknown force, right? If everyone was from our two sides, your acting would be pointless. Tell me—who was it? Just tell me who was the first to rush over when I 'died'—I bet that's the one."
"Also, you must have other clues, right? Otherwise, why make me search blindly?"
"Senior Golden Crocodile, you've taken all the fun out of it. I racked my brains for this plan, and I haven't said a word, but you've already figured it all out," Tian Lin said helplessly. He hadn't expected this old man to be so terrifying, seeing right through his plan.