Chapter 272: The Asura Holy Man, Huo Xiu
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Amongst the four great families of Great Qin, the Huo Family cultivated the Asura Mantra which taught that enlightenment could only be achieved through killing. With their murderous and powerful ultimate move, the Asura Doomsday Balde, it was matched only by the Heaven-Defying Sword of Fatality of the Immemorial God-Slaying Sect.
Earlier on, Lin Feng had met General Xie in the Great Swamps of the Ancient Region and mastered lost techniques of the Immemorial God-Slaying Sect. However, General Xie was no more than an Aurous Core cultivator and could not be mentioned in the same sentence as the Nascent Soul stage elder that stood before him.
Facing the two Demonic Lords Jieyu and the Kui Cow King, his eyes brimmed with a monstrous glow. He appeared to be contemplating killing them, as his killing intent almost turned into action.
Jieyu and the Kui Cow King both growled in a low voice and revealed their displeasure.
The Huo Family's cultivation necessitated murder. If they did not control themselves, they would unleash a massacre and become the enemies of all under heaven.
The Immemorial God-Slaying Sect was destroyed like that.
The elders of the Huo Family learned their lesson and brought their entire family to the southern regions of the Great Qin Empire, where there are many dimensional splits from both the human world (the Divine Lands) and the demonic world (the Barren Expanses).
There, the stench of killing and blood ran high. Members of the Huo Family aimed their swords at demons to increase their mastery and hone their proficiency of the saber. The Great Qin Empire delighted in having the Huo Family as their subjects who defended the south for them.
Whenever the demons tried to retaliate against the Huo Family, the Great Qin Empire would render assistance to them.
For the past one thousand years, the Huo Family had killed thousands and thousands of demons and very few humans. Hence, they had a positive image among the locals there.
Now, looking at the two Demonic Lords Jieyu and the Kui Cow King, the Nascent Soul stage elder could feel his blood rushing to his head.
However, that was only for an instant. He regained his composure and said, smilingly, "Are you from the Celestial Sect of Wonders?"
Speaking like an old man, Jieyu spat out, "Yes, and are you from the Huo Family?"
"Correct," said the elder, still smiling. However, it was not a friendly smile. "The master of the Celestial Sect is truly lofty. He won't even attend the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai personally, but instead entrust his disciples to do it."
Xiao Budian suppressed a laugh. When the Huo Family elder looked over at him menacingly, brimming with killing intent, Xiao Budian did not appear to care. Instead, he looked back at him cheerfully.
"Eh? This kid is rather resolute," said the Huo Family elder, whose eyes had turned to slits. Then, he heard Xiao Budian chortled, "Open your eyes and look carefully. My master is right before you. Blame your terrible eyesight for this."
The Huo Family elder, upon hearing his words, was shocked. He swept through the entourage with his gaze again and finally, landed his gaze upon Lin Feng.
It was not because Lin Feng gave off an intimidating air. Instead, it was the opposite. Amongst everyone present, only Lin Feng did not give off even a hint of mana, which made it impossible for the elder to understand the depth of his mastery.
Looking at Lin Feng's position, which was central to everyone else's, it was evident that he could not be just an ordinary person with no cultivation.
However, as he could not see the depth of Lin Feng's mastery, the Huo Family elder finally reacted. His back sweated profusely.
He stood awkwardly at his original position. He did not know if he should leave or stay. After years of cultivation, his personality was hard like a steel saber. He was not used to showing humility nor saying words of apology. However, if he were to say anything hard-line, it would be akin to him courting death.
The Nascent Soul stage elder froze in that moment there, not knowing what to do.
"Get back here, stop embarrassing me in front of others."
At that moment, an ice cold voice came out from within Yuzhou City. The voice was not loud, but everyone present who heard it immediately felt a chill going down their spines.
The killing intent of the foe was heavy enough to dye the clouds blood-red.
Lin Feng said plainly, "Are you Huo Xiu? I am the master of the Celestial Sect of Wonder and I offer you my greetings"
With the appearance of his family's Immortal Soul stage grandmaster, the Huo Family elder sighed in relief. While he knew that he would be criticized for his handling of the situation, it was still better than the awkward position he was in. He bowed respectfully to Lin Feng and flew back to Yuzhou City.
A black gash suddenly opened in the sky as if someone had slashed it with a saber.
A young man, who appeared only to be around 25 to 26, appeared before Lin Feng. His eyes were deep and his nose aquiline. His robes were black like ink and his face as icy-cold and expressionless. He looked at Lin Feng for a solid minute before opening his mouth and said, "Master Lin, it's a pleasure. I'm Huo Xiu."
Standing there, he was a god of death from Hell. After treading through countless mounds of corpses and seas of blood, his entire body was filled with an intense desire to kill and destroy everything.
Lin Feng looked at Huo Xiu. He knew that he was the current helmsman of the Huo Family who had achieved the Immortal Soul stage a thousand years ago and brought the Huo Family to the southern region of the Great Qin Empire to slay demons.
"The Asura Holy Man, I've heard your name for a long time," Lin Feng said plainly. Huo Xiu looked at him for another minute as the killing intent around him gradually faded. He nodded his head and said, "My humble name is not worth mentioning. Earlier on, my family member had offended you. I hope you don't take it to heart."
Upon hearing Huo Xiu apologizing for the elder, Lin Feng felt neither happy nor a sense of dignity. Instead, his heart grew cold as he thought, "Huo Xiu had surmounted the limitations of his Asura Mantra."
As killing intent infected one, one would obey blindly what the heart demanded and not be restrained by anything. He would do what he wanted to do.
Huo Xiu said calmly, "My family member and I will be staying in the city for a few days. Feel free to help yourself, Master Lin."
Saying that he disappeared into the sky without any more banter.
Looking at Huo Xiu's disappearing figure, Lin Feng was silent for a long while. Slowly, a smile crept over his face. "Huo Xiu... Interesting, I guess that you are almost going to surpass your current mastery."
As for the Huo Family members who were currently residing in Yuzhou City, Lin Feng did not care too much about them. He brought his entourage and landed in Yuzhou City.
Upon entering the city, Lin Feng felt a strange, suppressed killing intent. Some were strong while others were weak. The powerful ones appeared to be in their Nascent Soul stage while the weak ones were only in their Foundation Establishment stage. However, they all had a similarity: they were all suppressed, with much difficulty.
These people were like wild roses who had a rope thrown over their necks. They sought to break free at all times. However, while wild horses sought only to gallop on the open fields, these people wanted to unleash a massacre and reduce Yuzhou City into a river of blood.
These people who loved to kill were no doubt members of the Huo Family. The only person who could control their killing intent was the grandmaster of the Huo Family, the Immortal Soul stage Huo Xiu.
"What a good move," mused Lin Feng. He had understood Huo Xiu's plan. Firstly, suppressing one's killing intent was good training for his disciples.
Ultimately, cultivators who cultivate were trying to understand and master their respective spells. It would be wrong if they were instead controlled by these spells.
Secondly, he was starving them like how a falconer would starve his pet falcon before a hunt to make it more ferocious. The disciples of the Huo Family whose killing intent were suppressed would be more powerful once they were set against other disciples in the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai. Their powers would be at 120%.
Dao Zhiqiang smiled bitterly at the side, "Actually, there were special orders and notices that advised the citizens of Yuzhou City to avoid going as much and seek refuge if possible. However, thanks to the Huo Family's decimation of demons, they made a good name for themselves. Now, the locals are no longer scared of these angels of death. Instead, they are viewed as heroes."
Lin Feng smiled, "This is perfectly plausible. Until one actually encounters danger, one would always negate its severity."
Dao Zhiqiang was just about to say something, but his face changed.
Lin Feng followed his gaze and turned his head. He saw a group of people walking on the streets, clad entirely in white and giving an icy cold aura. However, the mana they emitted was extremely thick. Lin Feng concluded that the spell these people cultivated were definitely not ordinary.
Looking at Dao Zhiqiang, Lin Feng waited for a response. Evidently, Dao Zhiqiang knew about their origins.
"These people are the cultivators from the Heaven Lake Sect," said Dao Zhiqiang as he breathed in. He said slowly, "It appears that they've gotten the invitation too."
Lin Feng thought, "It appears that between Qin and Zhou, regardless of who moves first there will be major upheavals."
The Heaven Lake Sect resided amidst a lake in the snowy mountains, famously known amongst humans as the Northern Snow Fields. Their sect had been established for tens of thousands of years and could be said to be amongst the greatest sects in the northern continent.
While they could not compare against the Three Great Holy Grounds, they were in the same category as the Heavenly Master Sword Sect and the Royal House of the Northern Tribes.
Speaking of which, as they both resided in the extreme cold of the north, both the Heaven Lake Sect and the Royal House of the Northern Tribes did not get along well.
Normally, whenever Qin and Zhou were in conflict, one side would seek an alliance with the Royal House of the Northern Tribes and the other would seek an alliance with the Heaven Lake Sect as balance.
This time, the Great Qin Empire sought to recruit both major players in the north to their side by offering incentives to them both.
The resources of the Ancient Huanghai World were a major draw. There were bound to be under-the-table deals and agreements between the Great Qin Empire and these two forces.
From this perspective, the next move made by the Great Qin Empire would be massive. It would either be an initiative by the previously weak Great Qin Empire to overthrow and destroy the Great Zhou Empire, or it would be that the Great Qin Empire had intelligence that the Great Zhou Empire was about to move against it, necessitating a pre-emptive strike.
"Regardless, it's a good thing for me," Lin Feng smiled and said. The more chaotic the scene, the better it would be for a new sect like the Celestial Sect of Wonders to rise.
A still pond and a metal plate would never show many changes. After vested interests had been divided up and claimed, it would be extremely difficult for a new power to rise.
Lin Feng walked alone to the city center of Yuzhou City and waited for the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai to begin.
Xiao Budian and the rest toured the city. After spending most of their time on Mount Yujing, a change of environment was welcome.
Wang Lin wanted to continue cultivating, but as he could withstand Xiao Budian's incessant demand he followed them too.
Walking on the streets and watching the passers-by, Wang Lin sighed. Before he began cultivating, he lived in a mountain village and the most bustling place he visited was the county-level town.
Earlier on, during the sect-opening ceremony at Shazhou, he spent all his mind thinking about receiving and welcoming new recruits and hence, did not get to visit Shazhou City. This time, walking in a city that was no less opulent than Shazhou, he felt out of place.
Opening his mind would help him better understanding his spells.
"Wang Lin?! Is that Wang Lin?"
As he walked, he heard someone calling out his name. He turned, shocked, and saw a person staring at him. The person looked familiar, but also foreign.