Chapter 1402: Peak of the Cloud Sea, Who Is the Oriole!

Chapter 1402: Peak of the Cloud Sea, Who Is the Oriole! (Second Update)

Looking at the red mist, the middle-aged scholar wore a faint smile. He was naturally cautious and as cunning as a fox; even in the Primordial Stars, he was known as the "Scheming Fox."

Although his cultivation was only at the third heavenly and mortal decay, he had always believed that his schemes could compensate for everything. And indeed, this was true; many times, he relied on his cunning nature to navigate between life and death, ultimately becoming the victor.

This time, he was calculating to obtain the treasure coveted by Lingdong Shangren, so he was even more careful.

He wasn't even satisfied with faking his death once, so he first used a Jade Slip to stop the circulation of the mist's Restriction, effectively opening the door to this mist. Then he faked his death. If anyone existed here like him, they certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to rush out.

Once someone actually appeared and entered the mist, the middle-aged scholar would launch a counterattack, trapping the other person alive within the mist.

Furthermore, this person was extremely confident in his faked death. He had encountered a fortuitous opportunity in his early years and learned a Divine Ability that allowed him to appear truly dead—even his Primordial Spirit would collapse, making it impossible for outsiders to distinguish the truth from the fake.

Coupled with the rotting appearance he intentionally created, it was even more realistic!

At this moment, the middle-aged scholar was completely at ease. He waved his right hand in front of the red mist, and immediately, the mist squirmed and receded, revealing the nine Jade Slips. He tapped the Jade Slips several times, and immediately, six of them shattered with a bang, turning into black ash and dissipating. The mist paused again, as if frozen.

These nine Jade Slips—six of them were actually tools for killing, having no connection to stopping the operation of the Restriction.

A look of extreme complacency appeared on his face. The middle-aged scholar took a deep breath, stepped forward, and entered the space formed by the three Jade Slips, which resembled a gateway.

All his attention was focused on it. He performed Hand Seals to calculate, then tapped his right hand on the mist in front of him several times, causing the solidified mist before him to be slowly torn apart by him.

Before long, the mist was lifted layer by layer by this person, gradually approaching the depths. Excitement appeared in the middle-aged scholar's eyes. He raised his right hand to tap again, but the moment his fingertip fell, his mouth moved unconsciously, revealing an extremely eerie smile.

The moment this smile appeared, the middle-aged scholar's expression changed drastically. He retreated violently, wiped his face with his right hand, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.

But on his face, that eerie smile remained, forming a stark contrast with the fear in his eyes!

"Impossible… Impossible…" The middle-aged scholar's body trembled, the fear in his eyes reaching its limit, yet the smile on his face grew even wider!

He frantically raised his hands, squeezing his face repeatedly, wanting to squeeze the smile away, but no matter how he rubbed it, that eerie smile persisted and grew increasingly intense.

Blood overflowed from his mouth, but he seemed not to notice, frantically rubbing his face, yet it was of no use…

"How could this be!!!" The middle-aged scholar roared miserably, but this roar came from within that eerie smile. Gradually, he couldn't control the laughter and began to laugh up at the sky.

Yet, his eyes were drowned in fear like a tide.

"Don't laugh, don't laugh!!!" Amidst the laughter, his body retreated rapidly, but after only retreating a few zhang, his body shuddered violently, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood. His eyes dimmed, finally losing all luster, and his body fell to the ground with a thud.

On his face, that eerie smile remained, as if looking at the sky…

His Primordial Spirit, within his body, also wore the same smile, completely dead…

Life-Death Restriction!

On the silent ground, a black light flashed, and Wang Lin stepped out from the Restriction with a calm expression.

The various Restrictions the middle-aged man had deployed while moving through the red mist were impossible for outsiders to understand; even a Great Master of Restrictions would find it hard to see the clues. If not for Wang Lin being well-versed in three of the four great Restrictions and having extraordinary attainments in Restrictions, he wouldn't have been able to see the problem either.

The individual Restrictions the middle-aged man deployed were indeed for breaking the formation, but after these countless "breaking" Restrictions were combined, they strangely reversed, not only failing to break the red mist Restriction but instead becoming a force of excitation!

He ultimately even borrowed the incense power strike of Lingdong Shangren to completely trigger this red mist Restriction, causing it to erupt several times over, attempting to kill everyone driven to this place.

To avoid suspicion, he risked his life, and using some unknown method, hid within the mist, letting out miserable screams, making everyone believe he had died.

He successfully killed more than half of the people here, drove the rest away, and with the expansion of the red mist, caused everything at the horizon of this sealed land to enter the Rift and disintegrate, making it impossible for anyone to enter through this Rift again, leaving only him here!

Such a scheme, such courage—he was truly an outstanding person!

Wang Lin looked at the corpse with the eerie smile hanging on its face, raised his right hand, and slapped it. With a bang, the man's body collapsed and dissipated into fly ash.

"This way, even if you were still faking it, there is no possibility of resurrection!" He had long seen through the man's clues, so he simply played along, leaving behind a teleportation Restriction that acted like a beacon.

With his cultivation, he wasn't afraid of the opponent discovering the Restriction. Afterward, although he left through the Rift in the sky, he instantly teleported back using that Restriction.

This middle-aged scholar was not killed by him, but by his own failure to see that within this red mist, besides the Ancient Soul Restriction and the Time Restriction, there was also a Life-Death Restriction!

As for the earlier scene of the Cultivator faking his death, Wang Lin naturally saw it, but such methods were ineffective against Wang Lin!

Withdrawing his gaze from the middle-aged scholar's corpse, Wang Lin stepped forward and arrived outside the red mist Restriction. This simple Restriction had already claimed many lives; Wang Lin once again experienced the cruelty of the Cultivation World.

Looking at the three Jade Slips that had stopped the operation of the red mist, Wang Lin slowly entered, standing where the middle-aged scholar had been. His gaze flashed, and thoughts of deduction rapidly intersected.

"It really is a Life-Death Restriction…" After a long while, Wang Lin raised his right hand and pointed rapidly forward. A slight thumping sound was heard. The mist in front, which had been stopped, began to rotate, becoming a red mist vortex.

Within this red mist vortex, a black line faintly appeared, entangled with the red, looking quite distinct.

The key to breaking the Life-Death Restriction was to find that glimmer of life within death. If one could find it and extract this vitality, the Life-Death Restriction could be broken. However, for a Cultivator who didn't understand the Life-Death Restriction, there was simply no way to extract this vitality!

Wang Lin watched intently. After observing for a moment, he quickly performed Hand Seals with his right hand. In the blink of an eye, a Restriction appeared in his hand. Taking a deep breath, Wang Lin very cautiously pressed this Restriction slowly toward the red mist vortex!

Muffled thumping sounds echoed suddenly. The mist vortex stopped abruptly, absorbing Wang Lin's Restriction. Gradually, the black line within it became clearer and clearer. Wang Lin's eyes flashed. Without any hesitation, he thrust his right hand directly into the mist vortex, grabbed the black line, and yanked it out violently.

The black line was completely pulled out by Wang Lin with a bang, twisting like a long snake before dissipating in Wang Lin's hand. Immediately after, the red mist vortex collapsed, vanishing in large swaths like boiling water poured onto snow, revealing a passage. This passage was very long, seemingly connecting to the thousand-zhang platform within the mist!

"There is more…" The moment the passage appeared, Wang Lin's eyes shrank sharply, but he recovered instantly. His expression revealed no clues, but a flash of wild joy crossed his face. After quickly suppressing it, his body did not pause, and he prepared to rush into the passage.

"Stop!" Just as Wang Lin was about to rush in, a cold, chilly voice suddenly appeared within this world.

"What a 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'!" As the voice echoed, a blurry figure slowly appeared outside the mist in the sky. After becoming clear, it was none other than Lingdong Shangren, who had one foot in the Third Step! Behind him, the two-thousand-zhang platform emerged.

At this moment, his face was devoid of joy or sorrow, no longer wearing the seemingly foolish expression from before. In his eyes, mockery was pervasive.

Wang Lin's body trembled. He turned around slowly, his expression extremely ugly. Looking at Lingdong Shangren behind him, he forced a bitter smile, panic in his eyes.

"Junior… greets the Shangren…" Wang Lin cupped his fists, his body imperceptibly about to take a small step back.

"If you take another step, I will kill you!" Lingdong Shangren said grimly.

"The Shangren's calculations are flawless, hidden in your heart. This Junior admires you!" Wang Lin's body paused, the bitterness on his face deepening, the panic in his eyes forcibly suppressed.

"I have long known of Xiao Jing's ambition. A mere Junior who thought he could deceive me—how ridiculous! Although I am not skilled in Restrictions, since you two are skilled and have opened it for me, it saves me the effort!" Lingdong Shangren sneered. Wang Lin's subtle movements made him even more certain. He said slowly, "Come out and wait on the side!"

For the naturally born Dao Spirit, a complete soul of a living creature that hadn't been soul-searched was needed for the sacrifice. In Lingdong Shangren's view, Wang Lin would definitely not be able to stir up any big waves, let alone escape his palm, so he kept his life temporarily, waiting to sacrifice the spirit later.

Wang Lin's face was pale, seemingly hesitant, but after a moment, he sighed softly, lowered his head, and slowly walked out of the mist. The moment his body walked out, Lingdong Shangren waved his right hand, and a massive force landed on Wang Lin, turning into a bubble-like prison, sealing Wang Lin within it.

Without even looking at Wang Lin, Lingdong Shangren was extremely confident in his own methods. He took a step forward, directly entering the mist. In a flash, he seemed about to rush into the passage, but the moment he stepped in, his footsteps paused. He looked back at Wang Lin suddenly, his eyes like lightning.

Wang Lin's expression remained bitter, without any change. Although Lingdong Shangren's gaze swept over very suddenly, he didn't see any clues.

"I have changed my mind. You go in first!"

Wang Lin was stunned. Before the joy in his eyes could surge, it was forcibly suppressed, but it still affected his expression slightly. Lingdong Shangren laughed heartily, ignored Wang Lin, turned around without hesitation, and stepped into the passage!

His figure moved like lightning, entering the middle of the passage directly. But just at this moment, a miserable, shrill scream suddenly arose!!!

"There is still a Restriction!!!"

Wang Lin suddenly raised his head, a flash of killing intent in his eyes.

A powerful second update! The next chapter will be even more powerful!