Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

Chapter 59: Chapter 57: A Vicious Chop

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

As his tall boots snapped dry branches, the young man’s figure drew ever closer.

A phantom wind whispered through the mountains, echoing the strange, mournful wails that had begun to rise.

It made the already desolate Ancient Pine Ridge grow increasingly grim and terrifying.

The ”foxes,” who had just been laughing and casually surrounding the area, now scrambled back toward the earthen mound in a panic.

Their expressions were grim, and a deep sense of dread filled their eyes as they looked at the approaching figure.

...

He was also alone, and Lin Shu didn’t look much older than Chang Yi.

The blade was still the same blade, but now, clutched in his hand, it suddenly emanated a terrifying sharpness.

If there was any difference, it was the beads of blood that now clung to its sharp edge.

Only after tasting blood could it truly be called a blade.

If everyone knew you were too hesitant and afraid to act, then the weapon in your hand would be nothing more than a piece of scrap iron.

”What is this?”

One of the foxes, retreating in haste, noticed something was wrong and quickly looked down.

At some unknown point, a Black Mist had begun to rise from the cracks in the earth and spread from between the dead leaves and branches, covering the entire Ancient Pine Ridge.

It rose without a wind, like a black fire sweeping across a prairie.

The White Bone Burial Soul had once been barely able to cover a single gambling den. But now that it was fully complete, it silently swept across the entire ridge at a visible speed!

Lin Shu walked through the Black Mist, his figure hazy and indistinct, and slowly raised his long blade.

To use such an eerie technique to envelop dozens of foxes and enforcers, including four Practitioners of the Same Realm...

Such an act could only be described as outrageously arrogant!

”How is this possible?”

Yin Ling scanned his surroundings, his pupils twitching.

How could a Cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Realm possibly master a technique with such a massive range, one capable of covering an entire ridge?

Not just dozens of threads of Spiritual Power—even hundreds or thousands wouldn’t be nearly enough.

But the bone-chilling cold that pierced his entire body felt all too real.

As this tangible experience clashed with his understanding, his expression grew conflicted.

”It’s just a Blinding Technique! Ignore it! Kill him, and it will all disappear!”

Another Fierce Wolf clapped his hands sharply, a Spiritual Light flickering in his eyes.

His gaze pierced through the thickening Black Mist, and he saw the swaying forms of White Bone Claws preparing to emerge. They were everywhere, as if countless vengeful souls and mangled corpses were slowly awakening.

Even with his Spiritual Eye active, his heart couldn’t help but tremble.

”Attack!”

He ignored these ghastly things, marshaled his Spiritual Power, and prepared to charge toward his distant foe.

Just then, a sharp bone claw suddenly clamped around his ankle.

It was as if ice had seeped into his flesh, so cold it made him shiver.

’Is it really... just a Blinding Technique?’

The Fierce Wolf’s mind went blank. The next moment, excruciating pain shot through him.

RRRIP—

The bone claw brutally tore off the lower half of his leg, dragging it into the roiling Black Mist. Even the gushing blood was swallowed whole, not a single ripple left behind.

”Ah!”

His cry of pain had just rung out when it was drowned out by the shrill screams for help around him.

”Master Wolf, help—”

Whether it was the ”foxes” or the enforcers they’d hired, most were just ordinary mortals.

After all, with an Inner Technique, one could rightfully join the Fierce Wolf Hall. Why would they still need to rely on swindling and cheating to earn silver?

When such a group lost the protection of the other Fierce Wolves and had to face a Mid-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator who had mastered Absorbing Hundred Threads of Qi, the outcome was obvious.

The mob of foxes looked up at the young man, who was now just a stone’s throw away.

They stared at his handsome, almost delicate face.

The situation was nearly the same as before; they were still facing just one man and one blade.

But now, they had suddenly lost the courage to even argue with him. Their breaths caught in their throats.

SQUELCH!!

Lin Shu exploded into motion, like a wolf let loose among sheep.

He swung his arm wildly, his blade, infused with Spiritual Power, chopping down and effortlessly cleaving through the body before him!

A wave of blood spattered out, making the ground beneath his feet slick and sticky.

The disparity in strength was so great that it had become a one-sided slaughter.

The faces before him were contorted in snarls or terror, their mouths spewing a mix of pleas and curses. But no matter their reaction, the young man’s expression remained devoid of emotion.

Like a street sweeper, he focused on cleaning up the filth before him.

[Arsonists and murderers wear belts of gold, while bridge and road builders leave no corpse behind. Kill one worthless life, awarded two Sin Coins.]

[Arsonists and murderers wear belts of gold, while bridge and road builders leave no corpse behind. Kill one worthless life, awarded four Sin Coins.]

Severed limbs piled up at his feet, forming a bloody path. Notifications flooded in, and the count soon broke past thirty.

”Hah!”

Yin Ling swung his arms, channeling his Spiritual Power to create a shimmering barrier of light around himself.

He ducked wretchedly, trying to dodge an incoming bone claw, but a searing pain still flared across his face.

The sharp finger bones easily tore through the light barrier, leaving several gashes on his face so deep they exposed bone.

’This damn thing can just casually break through my Spirit Light Shield?’

’It’s... an Upper Three Grades Formula!’

The moment this thought flashed through his mind, Yin Ling’s Divine Soul trembled violently, and his face contorted in shock.

And as his Divine Soul wavered and fear took hold, the Black Mist before him grew even denser.

It transformed from an intangible vapor into a thick, viscous Black Water that threatened to swallow him whole.

Engulfed by a suffocating sensation, Yin Ling watched in horror as numerous bone claws latched onto his body.

”Let me go—”

His roar was nearly a shriek as he mobilized all his Spiritual Power for a final struggle.

But a foul, metallic stench suddenly wafted past his nose.

The smell jolted Yin Ling, and he abruptly realized something.

The entire ridge had suddenly fallen silent. So silent it was as if there were no living people left.

At the same time, a piercing pain shot through his lower back as the tip of a steel blade silently emerged from his abdomen.

...

Yin Ling’s body stiffened. He slowly turned his head to look.

Amidst the corpses littering the ground, Lin Shu looked as if he had just crawled out of a mire. Not only were his clothes soaked, but even the hair on his forehead was drenched, the tips glowing with an eerie, bloody light.

His eyes, shrouded in a red mist, carried a soul-stealing ferocity.

Stared at by such a gaze, Yin Ling felt as if even his own Formulas had been completely seen through.

How else could he have found the weakest point in his Spiritual Power with a single strike?

”Master Lin! Master Lin!”

Yin Ling howled in terror, his hands gripping the blade protruding from his abdomen as he yelled with all his might, ”Do you remember? I—I gave you two side streets!”

He had guessed this Greedy Wolf was strong.

But he had never imagined he would be so terrifyingly ferocious as to be able to handle four Practitioners of the Same Realm at once!

”Thank you.”

Lin Shu nodded and smoothly pulled out his long blade.

CRUNCH.

Several more bone claws shot out from the Black Mist, dragging the struggling Yin Ling into their depths. Then, all was silent.

[Arsonists and murderers wear belts of gold, while bridge and road builders leave no corpse behind. Kill one worthless life, awarded sixty-eight Sin Coins.]

With one Fierce Wolf gone, the pressure on the remaining three instantly skyrocketed.

”Master Lin, it’s all a misunderstanding!”

They had been barely able to resist the demonic claws before, but now, in just a few breaths, they were torn into bloody messes.

These Fierce Wolves might have been weaker than Liu Zhen, but not by much. They had all mastered seventy or eighty threads of Qi Absorption.

But faced with a fully completed Upper Three Grades Immortal Technique, they didn’t even have a chance to fight Lin Shu head-on. Just dealing with the Black Mist’s bone claws exhausted all their energy.

”It’s a misunderstanding!!”

The Fierce Wolves couldn’t understand why Lin Shu had suddenly decided to murder so many of their members.

Even if they had indeed coveted his territory.

But with the cautionary tales of Tian Jingyuan and Liu Zhen, who would dare provoke this Greedy Wolf?

’He’s killed so many people, isn’t he afraid of the gang’s rules? And after ruining the Hundred Heart Birthday Gift, how could the White Tiger Hall possibly let this monster go?!’

The shrill voice cut off abruptly.

White Bone Claws brutally pierced the skin of the three men’s faces, clamping over their mouths and noses.

The remaining bone claws shot out like pale white chains suspended in mid-air, dragging the men bit by bit into the river of Black Mist.

...

Lin Shu stood quietly on the ridge as notifications flashed madly before his eyes.

The previous one hadn’t even fully appeared before the next one pushed it away.

The foxes and their guards, forty-two people in total, were worth anywhere from two to five coins each.

Dozens of cold lives had turned into one hundred and forty-seven warm, pitch-black copper coins.

The four Fierce Wolves provided over two hundred and eighty Sin Coins.

A total of four hundred and thirty coins!

More than double all the Sin Coins he had spent on his techniques on his journey here.

But Lin Shu still stood his ground.

In an instant, a dense flood of White Jade coins began to appear.

The count went from dozens to over a hundred, then two hundred, and only began to slow as it approached three hundred.

Until the final notification popped up.

[Life and death are determined by fate; to snatch a life from Yama’s grasp, save one wretched life, awarded eighty-two Merit Coins.]

The number of jade coins suddenly surged, stopping at three hundred and fifty-five!

’It’s a sure thing now.’

Lin Shu let out a long breath, a smile appearing on his face.

After all, the entire process of starting with the Moonlight Claw Technique and deducing half a scroll of the White Bone Burial Soul had only cost him a hundred Sin Coins.

Even if Merit Coins were three times slower, with such a huge amount, they should be enough to produce a result.

...

The Black Mist covering the mountain slowly receded, and the moonlight once again shone bright and clear.

Chang Yi protected the crowd of commoners behind him. They stared blankly into the distance, watching the curtain fall silently on this bizarre and brutal scene.

Only a single figure remained on the gloomy ridge.

The young man casually held his long blade, surrounded by corpses. He lowered his gaze slightly, as if savoring something.

A moment later, the corners of his lips on his blood-stained, handsome face curled upward, revealing a hint of satisfaction.

Hiss...

Down below this makeshift mass grave, even the people of the South Suburbs, who had seen their fair share of savage acts, felt an inexplicable chill crawl down their spines the moment they saw that smile.