Leaving the foulness of the Black Mire Swamp behind, Lin Mo and Zhao Yan emerged onto an official road. In the distance, the outline of a magnificent city appeared on the horizon, its walls towering, faintly shimmering with crimson light, resembling a giant, spreading bird. This was Vermilion Bird City, one of the major strongholds of the Southern Region.
Yet, beneath the surface of this prosperous metropolis, what Lin Mo perceived was a scent of sin, sharing the same origin as the Black Mire Swamp but far more concealed, like a festering disease clinging to the bone. It did not permeate the entire city, but was entrenched in the most opulent area at its very heart.
"Elder, ahead lies Vermilion Bird City," Zhao Yan reported respectfully, though his expression was grave. "The city is jointly governed by five major cultivation families, with the City Lord's mansion, the 'Yan Family,' holding the most power. However... in recent years, there have been disappearances of low-level cultivators and mortal children with spiritual roots within the city. Rumors connect them to the Yan Family, but there is no proof, and given their influence, none dare investigate deeply."
Lin Mo's indifferent gaze swept over the city, piercing through brick, stone, and timber, settling deep within the most luxurious, spiritually rich mansion at the city's core. There, he "saw" a concentration of sin so thick it was palpable, mixed with fear, agony, and despair. At its center was a middle-aged man in resplendent robes, his aura around the late Golden Core stage, and beside him, heavily sealed by multiple restrictions, a faint life force... that of a young child with a pure fire-attribute spiritual affinity.
"Sin does not vanish for being hidden in splendid halls." Lin Mo took a step, his figure already miles away, heading directly for the City Lord's mansion.
Zhao Yan's heart tightened, and he hurried to follow. He knew the sky over Vermilion Bird City was about to change.
...
Vermilion Bird City, City Lord's Mansion, Underground Chamber.
Yan Lie, patriarch of the Yan Family, was admiring a crimson crystal cage with immense satisfaction. Inside the cage was confined a girl of about seven or eight, curled up, emitting a pure yet faint fiery spiritual light—the legendary "Fire Spirit Body." But now, her small face was pale, her spiritual affinity being slowly drained by the crystal cage.
"Excellent! With this furnace vessel, my fire-based divine abilities will surely advance further. Forming a high-grade Nascent Soul is within reach!" Yan Lie laughed, clapping his hands, his eyes filled with greed.
Suddenly—
BOOM!!
A tremendous crash echoed as the chamber's massive stone door, forged from black iron layered with defensive formations and capable of withstanding a full-force strike from an early Nascent Soul cultivator, shattered as if made of paper! Amidst the dust and debris, a figure in blue robes stepped calmly inside, followed by a pale-faced Zhao Yan.
"Who dares to break into the forbidden area of my Yan residence?!" Yan Lie was both shocked and enraged, his late Golden Core stage aura erupting, wreathed in crimson flames. When he saw the intruders were merely a youth with no discernible aura and a Qi Refining brat, murderous intent flashed in his eyes. "Seeking death!"
He struck out ferociously. A flying sword blazing with intense flames shot forth like a red rainbow, carrying scorching heat meant to incinerate everything, aimed directly at the space between Lin Mo's eyebrows! With this strike, he had used eighty percent of his power, determined to annihilate the foolhardy intruders instantly.
Lin Mo did not even glance at the flying sword.
"Unlawful confinement of a living being, theft of spiritual affinity. Crime one," he stated calmly, his voice echoing in the chamber, each word striking Yan Lie's mind like a heavy hammer. "Harming a child, severing her Dao path. Crime two. Abusing power for personal gain, bringing calamity to the region. Crime three."
The fearsome flaming sword, upon entering the three-foot radius around Lin Mo, seemed to hit the hardest barrier in the universe. Without even causing a ripple, it shattered inch by inch, dispersing into the most basic fire-attribute spiritual energy, vanishing without a trace.
Yan Lie's vicious grin froze, transforming into utter horror and disbelief. "You... you..."
Lin Mo's gaze passed over him, landing on the crimson crystal cage.
"Edict: Restrictions Dissolve."
As the words fell, the smooth crystal walls trapping the girl, shimmering with countless runes, melted and crumbled away like ice under the sun, vanishing completely within a few breaths. Freed from her bonds, the girl collapsed softly to the floor, but the sensation of her spiritual affinity being forcibly drained had already ceased.
"As for you," Lin Mo finally turned his gaze to Yan Lie, whose face was ashen, "Multiple crimes combined, no pardon is permissible."
He raised his hand, not pointing at Yan Lie, but gently drawing a line through the empty air.
"Judgment: Spiritual Root Extraction, Cultivation Nullification."
"NO!!!" Yan Lie let out a despairing roar. He felt an irresistible force violently invade his dantian and Zi Fu. The single fire spiritual root he had cultivated for over two hundred years and took immense pride in was ruthlessly torn out and crushed by an invisible hand! The vast Golden Core spiritual power linked to it, like a burst dam, instantly collapsed, wildly dissipating from every limb and pore of his body!
In mere moments, this mighty late Golden Core cultivator who had dominated Vermilion Bird City for years lost all his cultivation, his spiritual root destroyed. He became a frail, wrinkled ordinary old man, collapsing on the floor, his eyes filled only with endless desolation and terror.
Lin Mo did not spare him a glance, saying flatly to Zhao Yan, "Publicize his crimes. Deal with him according to the local世俗 laws of this realm."
"Yes, Elder!" Zhao Yan replied respectfully, suppressing the shock in his heart.
Lin Mo walked over to the unconscious girl. Sensing she was only suffering from severe depletion of her spiritual affinity with no life-threatening danger, he channeled an undetectable thread of Order into her, stabilizing her condition.
He did not linger, turning and walking out.
The sky outside the City Lord's mansion remained clear. But within Vermilion Bird City, a great upheaval was about to begin. And on Lin Mo's list for judgment, another entry was added. The price of wielding Law seemed to be accumulating silently, yet his forward stride did not hesitate in the slightest.