Chapter 16: The Power of Sin

Swish!

The sword light condensed from the Ten Thousand Swords Prostrating to the Ancestor Art flashed through the dark. The Crimson Earth Dragon sensed the sudden danger and immediately turned to flee!

“Running already?”

Lu Jin’s brow furrowed. The longsword whistled through the air, pinning the dragon’s head directly to the ground. There was a muffled explosion as the beast’s skull burst: it died instantly.

Was he really that weak?

Lu Jin shook his head. He hadn’t bothered to probe the beast’s strength earlier because of the urgency of the situation. Now that it was dead, he realized its power hadn’t even reached the first stage of the Spirit Pearl Realm.

I thought you were a king, but you were just a novice. Still… for Ling Tao to be trapped here, I doubt the rest of this place is so peaceful.

Lu Jin continued deeper. The further he went, the more the space expanded. Fire-attribute spiritual Qi permeated the air, growing thicker with every step.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

As he surged forward, he spotted a cluster of light flickering in the distance. It wasn’t natural fire: it was a pack of Crimson Earth Dragons leaping and twirling in a bizarre, rhythmic fashion. Their movements were eerie, almost like a ritualistic dance.

Wait… what is that?

When he looked closer, he was stunned. In the center of the dragons stood a human skeleton! The skeleton’s joints clicked and popped as it performed a series of strange, jerky movements. It appeared to be conducting a mysterious summoning ceremony to manipulate the beasts.

A Snake Catcher?

Lu Jin recalled the name. Snake Catchers were individuals with unique, specialized abilities: they were experts at hunting and controlling serpents, pythons, and even powerful flood dragons. He had only heard stories of them and had never seen one in person. The scene before him was truly unsettling.

The man is a skeleton, yet he can still command these dragons?

While he watched in bewilderment, he heard a slight movement behind him. Mo Chen and Zi Xuan had finally caught up.

“A Snake Catcher… Ling Tao! It’s Brother Ling Tao! He’s still alive!” Mo Chen shouted with excitement the moment he saw the dancing dragons.

“Brother Lu Jin, that skeleton is one of Ling Tao’s techniques! He must have been surrounded by the dragons and used this method as a last resort to keep himself alive!” Zi Xuan added.

Lu Jin frowned. “Ling Tao’s technique?”

“Yes! But we can’t interrupt him now. If we break his concentration, those dragons will enter a state of frenzy and devour everything. We would be doomed!”

“Brother Lu Jin, look: those dragons are extremely powerful. Even if you can kill one easily, there are over a hundred of them here. If they form a beast tide, we won’t be able to withstand it.”

Lu Jin’s eyes narrowed. “Where is Ling Tao now?”

Zi Xuan replied, “He is hiding in the shadows to maintain the control. His status as a Snake Catcher is likely why he was accepted into the Blood Moon Holy Land despite only being at the first grade of the Jindan Realm. However, with so many dragons, the strain on his spiritual Qi must be immense. If he can’t find a way to escape soon, he will collapse from exhaustion and suffer a fatal backlash.”

Roar!

Suddenly, one of the dragons let out a deafening hiss. The sound echoed through the subterranean world, shaking the very earth. Mo Chen and Zi Xuan grew visibly anxious.

“Ling Tao is at his limit! The dragons realize they are being manipulated. His control is breaking!”

Boom!

Before the words had even left their mouths, the pack of dragons snapped out of their trance. They lunged at the skeleton, tearing it into white dust in a heartbeat. Then, the entire pack turned and charged toward a single corner of the cave.

“He’s over there!” Zi Xuan cried out, charging forward without hesitation.

In the flickering light, a face emerged from the darkness. It was pale and gaunt, completely devoid of color. It was Ling Tao.

“His aura is withered! He can’t hold on! Brother Lu Jin, find a way to get him out of here!” Mo Chen roared, drawing his sword and throwing himself into the mass of a hundred dragons.

“There are quite a few of these beasts…”

Lu Jin wasn’t nervous. He had found the first dragon so weak that he lacked any real interest in a full-scale battle, even against a hundred of them. The panicked reactions of Mo Chen and Zi Xuan actually surprised him.

“Go and save him,” Lu Jin said to Zi Xuan. “Get him out of here.”

Zi Xuan nodded, grabbing the weakened Ling Tao and flickering toward the exit. However, the moment she moved, a series of terrifying wails erupted from the cavern below!

Wait… what?

Mo Chen was dumbfounded. He had been prepared for the fight of his life, fully expecting to die in the process. Instead, he watched as Lu Jin’s longsword began to harvest the dragons with terrifying efficiency. With every stroke of his blade, Lu Jin claimed several lives as easily as cutting grass.

This is…

Mo Chen stood frozen as he watched a dragon with power comparable to a third-grade Jindan expert pounce on Lu Jin. Lu Jin dismantled it in three simple moves.

His combat power is even greater than I imagined.

Mo Chen stopped fighting and simply watched. Every strike Lu Jin made sent a strange sensation through his soul.

Buzz!

The reason Lu Jin had begun this frantic slaughter was that he noticed something strange. Every time he killed a dragon, a peculiar energy was devoured by the Heaven Burial Coffin. Once purified, this energy flowed into his Sin-Fire Prison-Suppressing Sword, causing its power to swell.

The Sin-Fire Prison-Suppressing Sword… it really does need the Power of Sin to evolve! But why do these dragons possess sinful energy? Is it because they were trying to devour Ling Tao?

Lu Jin didn’t dwell on the mystery for too long. With so many targets available, he focused entirely on the slaughter and absorption. It was a form of cultivation in itself: as the sword’s energy increased, so did the destructive power of his ultimate trump card!

“Brother Lu Jin… I’ll head out first…” Mo Chen said, his voice trailing off.

He hadn’t managed to kill a single dragon. The gap between them was so vast that his fear had vanished, replaced by a deep sense of inferiority. They were both apostles of the Holy Tabernacle, so how was this guy so peerless?

“Fine,” Lu Jin nodded.

The moment Mo Chen left the space, Lu Jin’s body shuddered. A majestic wave of spiritual power erupted from him, expanding in all directions!

Boom!

Amidst the swirling spiritual light, a phantom of a flaming longsword condensed. It radiated a supreme, heroic majesty that seemed to stir the very air.

With this one strike, killing a fourth-grade Jindan is no longer a question!