"It's finally over!!"
Jiang Ning glanced back and saw that Liu Linmen had already arrived at the spot where he had been standing moments ago.
But by now, Jiang Ning was already a mile away.
On a rainy night, a mile was beyond Liu Linmen's detection range.
Jiang Ning gave Liu Linmen a faint look before turning and leaving again.
After this plan was settled, he felt somewhat satisfied.
The variable had been eliminated!
His biggest secret would remain unknown.
The only regret Jiang Ning had was that he didn't have the strength to kill Liu Linmen.
This would inevitably leave some lingering trouble.
Earlier, he had taken some measures, such as indiscriminately shooting arrows at the group.
This was the best he could do.
As for whether Liu Linmen would discover that he was behind tonight's events, Jiang Ning believed the chances were slim.
The heavy rain would wash away any traces he left behind.
The night was pitch black, with no visibility.
How could Liu Linmen possibly figure out it was him? Unless the Yellow Heaven Sect had some method he was completely unaware of.
Soon.
Jiang Ning walked out of the area covered by the heavy rain and headed home.
Meanwhile.
After searching fruitlessly, Liu Linmen returned to his original position and escorted his subordinates to their residence.
They walked hurriedly, silent and vigilant, constantly scanning their surroundings, fearing that a sound-barrier-breaking arrow might suddenly shoot out from the dark, rainy night.
Tap, tap, tap
Their footsteps splashed through the puddles on the ground.
As they moved forward, Liu Linmen took out some medicine to treat his injured eyes.
After a long while.
Once they walked out of the rain-covered area, the dim moonlight illuminated the ground, and Liu Linmen finally let out a sigh of relief.
"This rain is strange!" Liu Linmen looked back and then up at the sky, speaking softly.
His words broke the silence among the group.
"Deacon, are you saying this rain might be man-made?"
Liu Linmen nodded slightly. "How could such heavy rain suddenly fall in this weather? And if it were a real downpour, why wouldn't it cover the entire Luoshui County?"
After analyzing this, Liu Linmen quickly concluded.
"This rain is unnatural. It must be man-made."
"Hiss" Hearing this, one of his subordinates couldn't help but gasp.
"Deacon, the art of rain summoning is a divine ability only our sect leader possesses. How could such a terrifying figure exist in this small county?"
"And why would such a powerful being suddenly attack us?"
"If they wanted to attack us, why did they let us escape?"
Liu Linmen fell into deep thought upon hearing these questions.
This was something he had been pondering along the way.
After leaving the Inspection Bureau, he felt something was off.
The rain had come too suddenly, too unnaturally.
What happened later only confirmed his suspicions.
Someone had indeed attacked their group, and that person was extremely dangerous.
In such pitch-black darkness, with the heavy rain obscuring everything, the attacker had been completely unaffected.
Every arrow was deadly, each one breaking the sound barrier.
Any single arrow carried enough power to easily kill a seventh-grade martial artist. Even a sixth-grade martial artist would inevitably fall after a few arrows in such conditions.
Such a master shouldn't exist in such a small place.
After a long silence.
Liu Linmen's mind flashed through the faces of the people he had seen in the Inspection Bureau's main hall earlier.
"The person who attacked us tonight must be from the Inspection Bureau."
"It seems that while the Inspection Bureau agreed to let us preach on the surface, they secretly want to eliminate us. We must be more careful in the future."
"However, judging from the attacker's strength, they are likely only a sixth-grade martial artist or a peak seventh-grade."
"Cao Rong... Could it be him?"
This thought briefly crossed Liu Linmen's mind, but he quickly shook his head.
"It can't be Cao Rong! According to the information I have, the entire Cao family, nearly three hundred people, are currently imprisoned and awaiting execution."
"In such a situation, why would Cao Rong work for the Inspection Bureau?"
"Moreover, logically speaking, Cao Rong should still be in the military camp in Dongling City. He can't be here."
Thinking this, Liu Linmen continued to ponder.
"Then who could it be?"
His mind kept replaying the images of the eight people he had seen in the main hall earlier.
"Deacon, should we report this by burning a talisman?"
"Yes!" Liu Linmen nodded.
Half an hour later.
In an inn.
Liu Linmen lit a yellow talisman. No visible flame appeared, but the talisman slowly began to char from the bottom up.
The charring was slow, gradually spreading upward.
At the same time, a wisp of green smoke rose.
The smoke quickly drifted to the ceiling.
To the smoke, the ceiling seemed illusory, offering no resistance as it passed through.
After a few breaths.
The slowly rising smoke suddenly changed, forming a human figure in the air.
Seeing this, Liu Linmen's expression became one of utmost reverence, as if he were facing a deity.
He quickly reported the events of the night to the figure.
A moment later.
After finishing his report.
The figure spoke slowly. "In this world, gods are watching over us from above."
"The person who shed blood from our sect tonight, I will mark them for you. When you open your heavenly eye in the future, you will know who it was."
Hearing this, Liu Linmen prostrated himself on the ground.
"Thank you, Earth King!!!"
In the next moment.
The figure formed by the green smoke dissipated.
After a few more breaths, Liu Linmen finally dared to rise.
The person he had reported to tonight was one of the Eight Earth Kings under the sect leader.
In the Yellow Heaven Sect, below the sect leader were the Heaven Kings, and below them were the Earth Kings.
Every Earth King was said to be an immortal walking the earth.
According to sect rumors, such figures, if placed in ancient times, could have become immortals, living eternally and roaming the heavens and earth.
Unlike ordinary mortals, even the Martial Saint, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, had a lifespan of only about a thousand years.
Thus, even in this era, the Earth Kings below the Heaven Kings still possessed mysterious divine powers.
As the Earth King had said earlier, gods are watching over us from above.
In the eyes of an Earth King, as long as their soul leaves their body, they can consult the gods and the heavens, asking who the attacker was tonight.
After marking the person, Liu Linmen would only need to open his heavenly eye in the future to see the mark left by the Earth King and know who had attacked him.
However, for Liu Linmen, opening his heavenly eye was no simple task.
It would be extremely difficult for him to perform, and even if he succeeded, it would only last for a brief moment.
Moreover, each time he used it, he would need several days to recover.
Thinking this.
Liu Linmen muttered to himself, "I need to rest and recover properly. Only when my eyes are fully healed can I open my heavenly eye."
Meanwhile.
After returning home, Jiang Ning had no idea about the events unfolding on the other side of Luoshui County.
He was completely unaware that he had been marked by one of the Earth Kings of the Yellow Heaven Sect.
However, he didn't dare to relax after returning home.
The current Luoshui County was completely different from what it had been half a year ago.
Back then, the so-called top experts were only seventh-grade martial artists, and there were only a handful of sixth-grade experts.
Figures like Shen Congyun and Lin Qingyi, who rarely made moves.
But now, things were different.
From what he knew, there were at least two top-tier fifth-grade experts.
The Inspection Bureau's commander, Hong Minghu.
And the Yellow Heaven Sect's deacon, Liu Linmen.
Both were fifth-grade Internal Strengthening experts.
Such experts were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Even overwhelming numbers would be useless against them.
Tonight, Jiang Ning had personally experienced the terror of a fifth-grade Internal Strengthening expert.
Even with the advantage of terrain and weather.
Even in the pitch-black, rainy night.
Even with his perfected intermediate martial art, Wind and Thunder Archery, and the element of surprise, he had been completely unable to harm Liu Linmen.
The so-called supersonic arrows were easily deflected by Liu Linmen with a wave of his hand.
Even when Jiang Ning used the rain as a hidden weapon to suddenly attack Liu Linmen's eyes, he didn't manage to inflict serious damage.
This was despite catching Liu Linmen off guard and using his most mysterious abilities.
Yet, he still couldn't truly injure Liu Linmen.
Under these circumstances, Jiang Ning didn't dare to linger in the fight.
If a sneak attack didn't work, even if he continued to use his water control abilities, it would be futile.
With internal energy protecting his body, even attacking the weak points like the seven orifices would be ineffective.
Moreover, doing so would inevitably expose his methods.
Without absolute certainty of killing Liu Linmen, Jiang Ning didn't want to reveal too much.
The first sneak attack had caught Liu Linmen off guard, and at most, he would think it was a hidden weapon.
But if he tried a second or third time, Liu Linmen, unless he was a fool, would realize the peculiarity of the rain.
This would expose too much.
Tonight's battle had taught Jiang Ning a lot.
A fifth-grade Internal Strengthening expert was someone he couldn't face head-on. It would be life-threatening.
Under these circumstances, he felt no sense of security.
Liu Linmen was from the mysterious Yellow Heaven Sect.
If he discovered that Jiang Ning was behind tonight's events, he would become a formidable enemy.
Even if Liu Linmen hesitated to act openly due to Jiang Ning's official status.
Being targeted by such a powerful figure would make it hard to sleep or eat.
This potential threat couldn't be ignored.
Besides, Jiang Ning hadn't forgotten about the Valley of Medicinal Kings.
He had killed Liu Qingsong.
He had taken the Leopard Fetus Body Transformation Pill.
If the Valley of Medicinal Kings came after him, it would be another significant threat.
The Valley of Medicinal Kings wasn't without fifth-grade experts.
From what he knew, there were several.
Especially the valley master, who was said to be invincible among fifth-grade experts.
He had already reached the level of internal energy like steel and thunderous internal organs.
From what Jiang Ning understood.
Even with a mere branch, such an expert could wield it like a divine weapon.
They could kill a thousand armored soldiers with a single sword strike.
Such feats had been recorded.
Internal energy condensed like steel and transformed into sword energy, said to be unbreakable and unstoppable.
Where the sword energy passed, people and horses were cut in half.
Internal organs and blood would cover the ground, forming rivers.
Such scenes had been recorded.
This was the terror of internal energy like steel.
When internal energy was condensed to its peak, even when released from the body, it dissipated very slowly.
Such experts were far more formidable than Liu Linmen, whom Jiang Ning had faced tonight.
If Jiang Ning were to encounter the rumored fifth-grade peak expert, the valley master of the Valley of Medicinal Kings with internal energy like steel, he would turn and flee without a second thought.
Such a tiger's whiskers were not to be touched.
With these potential enemies, Jiang Ning didn't dare to slack off.
A single misstep, and he could end up dead on the streets.
That night, Jiang Ning continued to temper his tendons, striving to improve his martial arts realm.
Martial arts were the foundation of everything.
By midnight, Jiang Ning suddenly felt the surroundings grow cold, and the pool water became icy.
It was as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
A chilling wind whistled in his ears.
"What's going on?" Jiang Ning suddenly opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings.
In the depths of his mind, he felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him, making his hair stand on end and goosebumps rise.
Jiang Ning's heart sank, and he felt a sense of foreboding.
Such a change couldn't go unnoticed.
At that moment.
"Who dares?!" A cold voice rang out.
In the next moment.
A streak of green light shot through the night sky.
The light was incredibly fast, like a shooting star, heading straight for Jiang Ning.
Ah
A shrill scream echoed in Jiang Ning's ears.
As the scream faded, Jiang Ning felt the surroundings return to normal.
The bone-chilling cold was gone.
The eerie wind had vanished.
Drip, drip
When Jiang Ning came to his senses, he saw a green hairpin spinning in front of him.
The tail of the hairpin emitted a faint green light.
"This is..." Jiang Ning's eyes widened.
This scene felt surreal as if he were in a fantasy world rather than a martial one.
"Little one, no need to look. It's me!" Hearing this voice, Jiang Ning immediately recognized it. "Sister Lin!!"
The voice belonged to none other than Lin Qingyi.
"Come see me tomorrow!" Lin Qingyi's voice echoed in Jiang Ning's ears again.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning nodded.
In the next moment.
The hairpin went from complete stillness to extreme speed, disappearing like a shooting star from Jiang Ning's sight.
The direction it vanished in was toward the direction of the Wanhua Pavilion.
At this moment.
Jiang Ning stared in the direction the hairpin had disappeared, lost in thought.
He had too many questions in his mind.
What had caused the earlier disturbance?
Whose scream had he heard?
What was the hairpin?
Who exactly was Lin Qingyi? How did she possess such mystical abilities?
How had Lin Qingyi detected the disturbance at his place?
All these questions made Jiang Ning feel as if his understanding of this world had become unfamiliar.
Was this still a martial world?
With all these mystical abilities?
After pondering for a long time, Jiang Ning shook his head, temporarily dispelling the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
"Tomorrow, when I see Lin Qingyi, most of my questions should be answered!"
"Besides, I need to spend some of my wealth to significantly increase my Source Energy points, which will support my memory breakthrough."
Jiang Ning thought to himself.
Then he turned and headed to his room.
The night was deep, and it was time to sleep.
A thousand miles away.
A burly man with thick eyebrows suddenly turned pale, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
His soul was injured, causing him excruciating pain as if his spirit were being torn apart.
"Luoshui County has such a magical artifact!!!" A thought flashed through his mind.
He immediately sent out a message: "My soul is injured. I need to seclude myself to recover for three hundred days. Do not disturb me with trivial matters."
After sending the message, the burly man immediately began his secluded recovery.
With his soul injured, he didn't dare to delay any further.
Such an injury was a thousand times more troublesome than physical damage.
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