Chapter 378 377: Old Poison

"How dare you mess with me? Just wait till I get my hands on you. I'll make you pay!"

Hearing the venomous curse from inside the room, Mu Lin found it amusing. "Is that so? I'm here now. How are you going to make me pay?"

The black-robed old man's expression changed drastically. He hadn't sensed anyone outside at all.

'This guy's concealment skills are way too good!'

BOOM!

Mu Lin threw a straight punch at one of the doors. It instantly shattered, sending splinters and fragments of wood flying in every direction.

The doorframe, knocked askew by the shockwave, pulled away from the wall—a startling sight.

The old man suddenly took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and aimed his mouth at Mu Lin.

Mu Lin guessed he was about to spit something at him. Without a second thought, he grabbed the broken door and hurled it straight at the old man.

The black mist the old man spat out was blocked perfectly by the door panel. Mu Lin only saw a little of the black gas escaping around the edges.

'I was right. The old man was trying to ambush me with that black gas.'

'He failed again.'

Mu Lin tossed the door panel aside smugly. The center of the panel, where the old man's black gas had hit, had caved in completely, leaving a deep, terrifying hole.

It was clear that if Mu Lin had been hit directly, he would have suffered a grievous injury.

Mu Lin looked the old man up and down. "You really are a venomous one. Every move you make could poison a whole crowd."

The black-robed old man sized up Mu Lin. He didn't recognize him. Logically, he knew all of the few young prodigies capable of breaking his Array.

But he didn't know Mu Lin. 'Where did this new prodigy pop up from?'

"Who are you?"

Mu Lin sneered. "You're not worthy of knowing."

'What an arrogant brat.' The black-robed old man's gaze was filled with venom.

"You're the one who broke my Array, aren't you? I see you're tired of living!"

Mu Lin said, "That's right, it was me. But that thing was a wicked creation. How many innocent workers died because of it!"

"Just a few worthless ants. They could never reach my level in their entire lives," the black-robed old man said maniacally. "They used their lives to fuel my Array, becoming a part of my great existence. That's their good fortune, you understand?"

'What kind of bullshit is this?' Mu Lin thought. 'How can he say that so brazenly? Anyone with a shred of humanity wouldn't be able to say something so cold.'

Looking closely, he saw that this person cultivated Magic, and his strength was at the Celestial Human Realm.

This was the reason for the man's astounding arrogance.

Mu Lin was furious. He pointed at the old man and began to curse him out.

"What are you thinking? Are common people not human? For an inhuman monster like you to reach such a realm... you're a disgrace to all the Martial Artists in the world! Just die already and stop embarrassing yourself here!"

The black-robed elder cackled. "You arrogant little brat, you actually think you can kill me? Who gave you the courage? What makes you think you're capable of killing me?"

As he spoke, he pursed his lips and, with a WHOOSH, spat something out.

Mu Lin saw it—a purplish-black ball of gas, flying at an unimaginably high speed.

Mu Lin dodged instinctively, flashing to the side.

The ball of gas hit the wall behind him, letting out a HISS as black smoke billowed from it.

'So poisonous... really, really poisonous!'

Mu Lin sucked in a cold breath, a wave of fear washing over him.

'This old bastard is truly venomous. If I don't get rid of him quickly, things will get very dangerous.'

With that thought, Mu Lin raised a hand and struck at the old man. His Profound Thunder True Qi erupted, intending to overwhelm and kill the old man in one fell swoop.

The old man chuckled sinisterly. "Look at you, getting anxious now? How could people like us, who walk the underhanded path, not be prepared for this sort of thing?"

"You wanted to use speed to overwhelm me, but unfortunately for you, I was prepared from the very beginning. I'm not going to give you that chance."

All the Profound Thunder True Qi flowed like water, drawn in a single direction.

It was an inconspicuous accessory hanging from the old man's body. Now, Mu Lin finally recognized what it was.

This was a Thunder Ancestor Root, which naturally attracted lightning energy. All of his Profound Thunder True Qi was instantly drawn toward it, leaving the old man himself completely safe.

'What a joke... This is infuriating.'

A Thunder Ancestor Root was a hundred times more expensive than ordinary Thunderstruck Wood. It was probably the most valuable thing the old man owned.

And it had just saved his life. Its value was unimaginable.

No matter how much more Profound Thunder True Qi Mu Lin used, it would probably be useless.

Mu Lin pursed his lips, feeling tense.

He had to think of a way around this.

'Ultimately, I have to choose a different path. The most realistic option is to stop using lightning energy and switch to fire.'

Mu Lin thrust out his hand, and a Fire Dragon shot out from his palm, roaring toward the black-robed old man.

The black-robed old man looked disdainful. He casually took out a piece of paper and unfurled it in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, the Fire Dragon was completely absorbed by the talisman paper.

"A Fire Control Spell! I didn't expect you to have so many tricks up your sleeve. That's a Daoist artifact. How did you get it?" Mu Lin's expression grew grim.

"It's only natural," the black-robed old man sneered. "How else are we supposed to survive? To stay alive, you have to find a way. You so-called righteous cultivators take living for granted, but it's not like that for us."

"As for this, I got it by killing some fool of a Daoist disciple who didn't know his place!"

'I should create some distance,' Mu Lin thought. 'That's the only way I can figure out what to do next.' But after a moment's consideration, he realized that would be a bad move.

'I shouldn't retreat. If I pull back, the old man, who excels at long-range attacks, will gain the upper hand. I'd be at a total disadvantage.'

'What should I do?'

While Mu Lin was contemplating, the old man unexpectedly stepped forward on his own, not using any of the sinister moves Mu Lin had anticipated.

The old man was smug and complacent, looking at Mu Lin with contempt.

"Let's see what other tricks you have!"

Mu Lin smiled. "I haven't even used my real skills yet!"

He made a grasping motion with his hand, and a long, straight saber flew toward him from behind.

This was the saber he had just acquired from Ye Ying. Its quality was average, but it was the perfect medium for channeling his blade qi.

Mu Lin closed his eyes, took a long breath, and then unleashed a spiral of blade qi, sending it hurtling toward the old man.

Caught off guard, the old man saw the frenzied blade qi rushing straight for him.

Terrified, he dropped and rolled on the ground, hastily chanted an incantation, and his figure flashed twenty meters away before he started running into the distance.

Mu Lin noticed talisman paper stuck to the old man's feet. 'Looks like talismans to increase his running speed. Judging by how fast he's sprinting, they're working quite well.'

Mu Lin immediately used the Vertical Cloud Ladder. Space wobbled twice like gelatin, and he landed right beside the black-robed old man. A couple more steps and he was running alongside him.

The process was so fast that the old man didn't even notice what had happened before Mu Lin had already overtaken him.

"Where are you running so fast, you old bastard?" Mu Lin said coldly.

The old man looked up and saw Mu Lin. His face twisted as if he'd seen a ghost.

"You... you..."

"Me what?" A torrent of blade qi surged from Mu Lin's hand, rushing toward the old man like a river to tear him apart.

Half of the old man's body was instantly shredded into a bloody pulp. He collapsed to the ground, staring at Mu Lin in terror.

"Who told you to go after Qiao Canhua? Tell me, and I might spare your life."

"Deng..." The black-robed elder spat out a mouthful of blood and then stopped breathing.

The rampant True Qi had directly destroyed the elder's heart meridians, not even leaving Mu Lin a chance to finish his questioning.

This man specialized in sinister, underhanded methods and hadn't spent much effort on his Martial Dao cultivation. As a direct result, his physical constitution was several levels weaker than most, and he simply couldn't withstand such a powerful blow. It was impossible for him to have survived.

Mu Lin pondered for a moment. "So it's this Elder Deng again."

That Elder Deng was like a persistent ghost. He had come up several times recently; everything seemed to be connected to him.

'Just who the hell is he?'

Mu Lin had no choice but to loot all of the old man's possessions and leave his body where it was.

The old man's inventory was truly rich. Mu Lin guessed that if the old man had a stronger physique, he probably could have worn Mu Lin down to death several times over.

He called Yun Cheng and told him to come over.

"Yun Cheng, I've sent you the address. Get over here quickly."

After receiving the message, Yun Cheng rushed over.

Only when he arrived did he realize why Mu Lin had called him over so urgently.

This old man was somewhat famous.