Chapter 38 – 38 Phantom Sound
“`

Boom–

Just as Lin He was hit, Mu Shan had already unleashed Segment Intent, his fist enveloped in a fine green glow, carrying a fierce punch wind, with a formidable momentum, and unexpectedly slammed towards a Qi Refinement Fourth Grade Cultivator from the Lin Family nearby.

The Lin Family Cultivator never expected the Demon Hunter beside him to suddenly attack, unprepared, he was blown to the side, a spray of fresh blood gushing out, having suffered severe injuries!

It was like a chain reaction.

The moment Mu Shan made his move, the other six Demon Hunters also almost simultaneously struck at the Lin Family Cultivators beside them.

It turned out that these Demon Hunters had somehow already positioned themselves at intervals, so naturally, each one stood right next to a Lin Family Cultivator.

These Demon Hunters were originally of higher Cultivation than the Lin Family Cultivators, and with the added element of surprise, it was only a moment before most of the Lin Family Cultivators had already sustained considerable injuries.

“Lin He has been captured by me. If you surrender, you can avoid death!” Wu Xinyuan shouted across the field, slapping his Spirit Beast Bag.

Buzz buzz buzz–

Accompanied by an annoying buzzing sound, a swarm of yellow-brown Gu Insects appeared beside Wu Xinyuan.

These Gu Insects were shaped like wasps, their bodies covered in dense fuzz, with two pairs of jet-black wings, the forewings larger than the hindwings, and an ‘eight’ shaped waist, but what drew the most attention was their sharp mouthparts. Under the light’s reflection, they shone with a dark golden glow.

The Dark Gold Wasp Gu!

Unlike the Green Vine Gu, the Dark Gold Wasp Gu was an offensive Gu Insect. Its sharp mouthparts were like Silver Needle Magic Artifacts, capable of easily breaking through a Cultivator’s Defensive Spells.

Hearing Wu Xinyuan’s threat, the Demon Hunters also stopped the spells they were casting and did not continue to attack the Lin Family Cultivators.

The Lin Family Cultivators looked at each other.

–The most powerful among them, Lin He, had been hit by the Green Vine Gu and was powerless to resist.

And each one of these Demon Hunters possessed no small amount of Cultivation; none present could withstand the Dark Gold Wasp Gu.

Perhaps surrender was indeed the best choice?

Some began to waver.

“I surrender, I don’t know anything, I have no relation to the Lin Family whatsoever,” someone pleaded as the Cultivators remained silent at the scene.

It was none other than Liu Ai, the only Demon Hunter present who was not affiliated with Wu Xinyuan aside from Lu Qingshan.

“Fellow Wu, I just wanted to earn thirty First Grade Spirit Stones. Let me leave, and I’ll immediately travel far away, never to step back in Yuanshan City; I absolutely will not leak anything about today,” Liu Ai said with a fawning face.

He wasn’t stupid, swiftly making a promise never to return to Yuanshan City,

–Only by staying away from Yuanshan City could he ensure not to divulge secrets to the Lin Family.

“Do you think that by giving up without a fight, Wu Xinyuan will let you go?” suddenly the curtain of the carriage was lifted.

A female figure emerged, graceful and enveloped in an indescribable aura.

The woman was dressed in a Tian Qing long dress, the slim hem just containing her long and slender legs. The curves of her graceful and voluptuous body were hidden by the dress, but their charm was still evident with every movement.

Moving the gaze up, there was a light veil covering the woman’s face, revealing only eyes filled with a watery autumn gleam.

It was the mysterious daughter of the Lin Family Head, Lin Yao.

At this moment, the Cultivators on the field, including those from the Lin Family, all felt a spell of dizziness and fascination.

It wasn’t because of Lin Yao’s beauty.

“`

It’s too exaggerated and ridiculous to say that a mere appearance can stun and silence people. In reality, no matter how beautiful a woman is, how could there be such a ludicrous situation where people become so dazzled and mesmerized that they can’t speak?

The cultivators were struck dumb not because of Lin Yao’s looks, but because of her voice.

That voice clearly came from Lin Yao on top of the carriage, but it sounded ethereal, as if coming from all directions, and it carried a strange magic that made people lose themselves.

Even the Dark Assassination Gold Bee Gu, which had been buzzing nonstop, fell silent for a moment due to its trance.

But it was just a brief moment, Wu Xinyuan quickly snapped out of it and looked at Lin Yao with a guarded expression, “What kind of technique is this? A sonic attack?”

“Wu Xinyuan, or should I call you Ma Yuan?” Lin Yao said quietly as she looked at Wu Xinyuan.

“Ma Yuan is skilled in Gu Art, that’s right, it must be you, you actually came back!” Hearing his miss say this, Lin He finally remembered something and exclaimed in shock.

Ma Yuan looked at Lin Yao’s veiled face, his expression ferocious, “I didn’t expect you to know so much, yes, it’s me, you probably didn’t expect me to dare to appear.”

“Back then, you violated Great Xia’s bans, concocted Evil Gu, and were cast out from the Ma Family, and since then you disappeared without a trace, everyone thought you had fled far away.

Who would have thought that over the years you didn’t actually leave, but rather quietly changed your identity and stayed in Yuanshan City, and have been in touch with the Ma Family all along.” The distant voice came from Lin Yao.

Afterward, Lin Yao’s eyes flickered with a watery light as she looked at the surrounding cultivators, “Ma Yuan concocted the Evil Gu, which Great Xia cannot condone, to avoid his identity being exposed, how could he let us go easily?”

Ma Yuan’s face went through a series of changes.

Indeed, he had never intended to let these people go.

The reason he urged them to surrender was merely to have the Lin Family cultivators give up resisting, in order to minimize losses.

The Lin Family cultivators were not fools, after being awakened by Lin Yao’s words, they one by one brought out their magic artifacts, ready to fight to the death.

People are all made of flesh and blood–if there was a chance for them to live by cowering, that would be one thing, but knowing that death was certain, it instead made the Lin Family cultivators determined to fight.

–They would at least have to tear off a layer of your skin.

“Fellow Daoist Wu, I’ll lend you a helping hand, and we will surely capture all these Lin Family cultivators!” Liu Ai, who had been begging for mercy, struggled internally for a moment before finally making a choice.

The gap in strength between the two sides was obvious, and choosing the Lin Family’s side meant certain death.

If he chose to side with Ma Yuan, however, there was still a glimmer of hope for survival.

–If he also took part in the action to strike down the Lin Family cultivators, it was almost the same as having submitted his allegiance, becoming one of the crew on the ship of thieves. Perhaps then Ma Yuan would spare him.

“Good, Fellow Daoist Liu, you truly are a smart person!” Seeing this, Ma Yuan laughed wildly.

“Miss Lin has quite the way with words, but unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, all these struggles are in vain!” Ma Yuan turned back and said to Lin Yao with smug pride.

No sooner had he spoken than Ma Yuan, with a thought, ordered the Dark Assassination Gold Bee Gu, nurtured with his essence blood, to charge at Lin Family cultivators and Lin He, who was temporarily unable to mobilize his spiritual power.

He would kill this old man first to avoid any more complications.

Just then, red light burst forth, and a fiery red Fire Serpent appeared out of nowhere, flicking its tongue and, with a flash of its form, shot towards Ma Yuan’s Dark Assassination Gold Bee Gu.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle–

A piercing burning sound arose.

Though the Dark Assassination Gold Bee Gu was an offensive Gu Insect with some defensive capabilities, they were no match for the Fire Serpent’s terrifyingly powerful attacks.

Most of Ma Yuan’s carefully nurtured Dark Assassination Gold Bee Gu, accumulated over many years, was roasted in an instant, turned black all over, like charred coal, and fell to the ground.

“How is this possible?!” Ma Yuan’s pupils shrank, filled with a look of disbelief.