Several trees exploded apart as the assassin crashed through them.
Dust filled the air.
The assassin barely managed to stabilize themselves before instinctively retreating.
Unfortunately...
Lin Sheng had already disappeared.
A chill spread across the assassin's spine.
Where—
A hand suddenly landed upon their head.
"I found you."
The calm voice sounded beside their ear.
The assassin froze.
Lin Sheng stood behind them.
His right hand firmly gripped the assassin's skull.
Before any technique could be activated...
Before any talisman could be crushed...
Lin Sheng's Mental Force surged directly into the assassin's Spiritual Sea.
The assassin screamed.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Their Divine Sense instinctively resisted.
Layers of spiritual defenses rose.
Unfortunately...
They were pitifully weak compared to someone whose Mental Force had been refined by the Chip for years.
Lin Sheng's eyes remained emotionless.
"This will hurt."
The next instant—
His consciousness violently invaded.
The assassin's body convulsed violently.
Blood continuously seeped from every orifice.
His face twisted into one of unimaginable agony as Lin Sheng's hand remained firmly pressed against his forehead.
Unlike the illusion method used on Gu Qing, this was a completely barbaric technique.
No finesse.
No consideration for the target's life.
His Mental Force invaded the assassin's Spiritual Sea like a violent flood, shattering every mental defense in its path.
The assassin's memories rapidly flashed before his eyes.
Years of training.
Hidden headquarters.
Secret missions.
Endless killings.
The Chip continuously filtered the useless memories while recording everything valuable.
Memory Search Progress...
31%...
48%...
67%...
A familiar black hall appeared.
Dozens of cloaked cultivators knelt beneath a raised platform.
The same leader he had seen through the previous assassin's memories stood above them.
Unlike before, Lin Sheng focused entirely on the man's face.
Middle-aged.
Scar beneath his left eye. With an unknown cultivation.
His voice echoed throughout the hall.
"From today onward..."
"The Shadow Ghost Hall accepts this commission."
Shadow Ghost Hall...
Lin Sheng silently repeated the name.
It wasn't recorded in Dragon Yuan Province.
Nor had he encountered it inside the Eastern Region books.
A hidden assassin organization?
Or perhaps...
A force operating across multiple provinces.
The memories continued flowing.
Another jade slip appeared.
This time Lin Sheng concentrated completely.
The assassin accepted the jade slip respectfully.
Upon opening it...
Dozens of names appeared.
Each accompanied by portraits.
The first name made his eyes narrow.
Wu Yuanhua.
Mid Foundation Establishment.
Priority: Extremely High.
The second...
Lin Yan.
Late-Peak Foundation Establishment.
Priority: Extremely High.
And several others, clearly this was a targeted force aiming to reduce the number of geniuses through this secret realm.
Lin Sheng paused slightly.
He even saw the names of Lin Shou and the others including him and several other Lin Family geniuses. Clearly this force isn't scared of the Lin Family's anger.
Even disciples belonging to other major powers appeared.
Wind Cloud Pavilion.
Hundred Path Alliance.
Almost every influential genius within the secret realm had been marked.
This wasn't simply targeting the Lin Family.
Someone wanted...
Every outstanding young cultivator inside this secret realm eliminated.
Lin Sheng's eyes gradually became colder.
This wasn't an ordinary assassination mission.
This was extermination.
He continued searching.
Who issued the commission?
Who paid the price?
Who wanted so many geniuses dead?
The assassin's memories rapidly advanced.
A black jade token.
A sealed room.
A mysterious figure hidden entirely within darkness.
Before Lin Sheng could see the person's face—
An indescribable aura suddenly erupted from deep within the assassin's Spiritual Sea.
Boom!
An overwhelming demonic aura exploded without warning.
Lin Sheng's expression changed instantly.
"Demonic restriction!"
He immediately withdrew his Mental Force.
Unfortunately—
He was already too late.
The assassin's Spiritual Sea exploded from within.
Countless memories instantly turned into black mist before disintegrating completely.
The assassin let out one final miserable scream.
"AAAAAHHHHH—"
His eyes exploded.
Blood poured from his ears.
The soul shattered completely.
The corpse collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
Silence returned to the forest.
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
"So..."
"There truly was insurance."
The Chip quickly displayed its conclusion.
•Warning•
Hostile Soul Restriction detected.
°Trigger Condition:
Unauthorized memory extraction.
°Result:
Complete destruction of target soul.
°Remaining recoverable memories:
None.
Lin Sheng looked thoughtfully at the corpse.
"So even this method activated it..."
Interesting.
Ordinary soul searching relied upon Divine Sense entering another cultivator's Spiritual Sea.
His own method relied upon overwhelming Mental Force.
Despite being fundamentally different...
The restriction hadn't cared.
The moment the assassin's memories were forcefully accessed—
The restriction activated.
This organization had clearly prepared against exactly this possibility.
Most cultivators would likely stop searching after witnessing such a terrifying safeguard.
After all...
Every captured assassin would simply destroy themselves.
Information would never leak.
Lin Sheng, however, remained calm.
"They prepared for conventional soul searching..."
"But not for dreams."
His lips curved slightly.
The illusion method.
That was entirely different.
Rather than forcibly tearing memories away...
It allowed the target to willingly reveal them.
As long as they relaxed their defenses.
As long as they believed the illusion.
The restriction wouldn't activate until actual memory extraction began.
That tiny window...
Was enough.
Especially with the Chip's assistance.
"I only need another assassin alive."
The Chip immediately stored the conclusion.
•Recommendation•
°Future interrogation priority:
Psychological illusion.
Avoid direct memory extraction.
°Estimated success probability: 87.6%.°
Lin Sheng nodded.
Satisfied.
He lowered his gaze toward the jade slip image still preserved within the Chip's memory.
The assassination list.
Fortunately...
He had copied every name before the restriction activated.
Every single one had become prey.
"They're hunting everyone..."
"This secret realm is becoming more dangerous than I expected."
Fortunately...
There was still one advantage.
Unlike ordinary communication methods...
The Sound Transmission Talismans continued functioning inside the inner region.
Although weakened by the realm's formations...
They could still transmit messages over moderate distances.
That was enough.
Lin Sheng immediately took out several talismans.
His Mental Force infused them simultaneously.
One after another, concise messages were transmitted.
To Lin Yan
"Secret realm infiltrated by assassin organization. You're on their target list. Avoid acting alone. Stay alert."
To Lin Shou
"Black-clothed assassins hunting geniuses. Trust no strangers. Kill on sight if attacked."
To Lou Han
"Enemy assassins specifically targeting martial artists. Protect Xiaolu. Stay together."
To Lin Xiaolu
"Remain with Lou Han. Do not separate under any circumstances."
To Qian Feng
"Assassins operating within the secret realm. Stay vigilant. Avoid unnecessary battles."
Finally...
He sent one to Wu Yuanhua.
"Assassins targeting major geniuses. You're marked. Exercise caution."
The talismans glowed softly before disappearing into streams of light, flying toward their respective recipients.
Lin Sheng exhaled slowly.
"That should buy everyone some time."
His gaze then shifted toward the deepest part of the ruined sect.
Toward the direction where Qin Fenxing had disappeared.
Deep within the inner region, hidden beneath towering ancient trees and broken stone ruins, a secluded cave sat quietly against the mountainside.
To an ordinary cultivator, nothing appeared unusual.
Even Divine Sense sweeping across the area would merely pass over bare rock.
Invisible formation patterns covered the entire cave entrance, bending light and Spiritual Qi while concealing every trace of activity within.
Inside the cave, however...
Qin Fenxing sat cross-legged with an ugly expression.
His complexion was pale.
Cold sweat continuously dripped from his forehead.
His right hand tightly clutched his left knee.
The wound there was horrifying.
A deep sword slash had nearly severed the leg entirely, while strands of brilliant Sword Qi continued tearing through his flesh. Every attempt by Spiritual Qi to heal the injury was immediately shredded by the lingering sword intent.
"Damn..."
"Damn that woman..."
His face twisted with resentment.
When he had finally arrived at the medicinal garden, the place had already descended into complete chaos.
Countless cultivators had fallen under the influence of the Blood Tree.
The ground had become soaked with blood.
Corpses lay everywhere.
Fortunately...
The Core Disciple Jade Slip protected him from the Blood Tree's demonic influence.
Ignoring the illusion entirely, he had walked directly toward the Heaven Mending Fruit.
Three thousand years of growth.
A treasure capable of refining Spiritual Roots.
It was exactly what he needed.
His mediocre cultivation talent had plagued him his entire life.
As long as he refined the Heaven Mending Pill in the future...
His greatest weakness could finally disappear.
Unfortunately...
Before he could harvest every fruit—
Lin Yan had appeared.
The battle that followed had been one of the fiercest in his life.
As a newly advanced Rank Three Formation Master, he possessed complete control over many of the remaining defensive formations within the medicinal garden.
Formation after formation had activated beneath his command.
Sword arrays.
Wood prisons.
Spiritual barriers.
Even ancient killing formations left behind by the Heaven Seal Gate.
For a while...
He had completely suppressed her.
Yet...
He had underestimated the terrifying monster that was Lin Yan.
Her sword techniques had already reached Perfection.
Every slash carried astonishing Sword Intent.
One after another, his formations shattered beneath that overwhelming sword light.
Even the defensive array protecting him had been split apart.
The sword strike that followed had nearly crippled his leg.
In the end...
Neither side truly won.
Lin Yan seized two Heaven Mending Fruits before retreating.
He managed to preserve the remaining three.
Although injured...
The greatest prize still belonged to him.
Thinking of the three fruits resting safely inside his storage bag, Qin Fenxing finally smiled.
"The injury is worth it..."
"As long as I possess these fruits..."
"My future will surpass every genius in the Qin Family."
He slowly took out several jade bottles.
Without hesitation, he poured countless healing pills into his mouth.
Rank One.
Rank Two.
Even precious pills worth thousands of Spirit Stones disappeared one after another.
Medicinal power erupted throughout his meridians.
He immediately formed hand seals before entering a lotus position.
The surrounding Spiritual Qi surged toward him continuously.
His breathing gradually steadied.
The Sword Qi lodged within his knee slowly began weakening beneath the relentless medicinal force.
"I only need a few days..."
"...then I can continue searching the sect."
Completely absorbed in healing, Qin Fenxing failed to notice something.
Outside the cave...
Someone had already arrived.
Lin Sheng stood quietly several hundred meters away.
His gaze rested upon the seemingly empty cliff.
To anyone else...
Nothing existed there.
But beneath his Perception Field, the concealed formation lines shone as clearly as stars in the night sky.
The Chip rapidly analyzed every rune.
---
Rank Three Concealment Formation Detected.
Formation Integrity: 81%.
Core Energy Source Identified.
Estimated Time to Bypass: Calculating...
---
Lin Sheng remained expressionless.
"So..."
"I finally found you."
He could already sense Qin Fenxing's presence hidden within the cave.
The fluctuations of healing pills.
The circulation of Spiritual Qi.
Even the faint scent of blood drifting through tiny gaps in the formation.
Everything confirmed it.
The prey had unknowingly walked into the perfect hiding place.
Unfortunately...
A hiding place only remained secure...
If no one found it.