Worse Than Death

"Senior Yun, please help Brother Chen!" Hua Wanru shouted anxiously.

Yun Lintian looked up and saw that Yang Chen's body had turned almost completely purple. He left Luo Kun with Yun Li, quickly arrived at Yang Chen's side, and checked his condition.

"Purple Thorn Poison!" Yun Lintian recognized the poison immediately.

This poison was rare in the Heavenly Fortune Nation and was extremely deadly. When the target was infected by it, they would feel as if countless needles have drilled into every part of their body. Moreover, this Purple Thorn Poison acted incredibly fast. In just two seconds, its effect would immediately manifest on the target's body.

Yun Lintian inserted several silver needles into Yang Chen's body to slow down the effects of the poison. He said solemnly, "I don't have the necessary medicinal ingredients to create a detoxifying pill for him. Let's bring him back to the central hall first. Maybe there is someone who can help him."

***

Yun Lintian's group returned to the central hall hours later.

"Senior Yan, can you help me remove this Purple Thorn Poison?" Yun Lintian went to ask Yan Qi after laying Yang Chen on the bed.

Yan Qi squinted his eyes and smiled playfully. "You are willing to call me Senior now?"

In fact, Yun Lintian still held a grudge from before, but now was not the time to be petty. He said with a solemn expression, "Please, Senior Yan. This is not the time to make a joke. I don't have medicinal ingredients in my hands right now. Otherwise, I can concoct a detoxifying pill for him."

Yan Qi didn't continue to tease him further. He moved to Yang Chen's side and frowned slightly. "How did he get this poison? Although I haven't left this place for thousands of years, I still know something about the outside world. This poison shouldn't appear around here."

Yun Lintian glanced at the lifeless Luo Kun, who was tied up by Yun Li, and replied, "Senior, have you ever heard of the Poison Valley?"

"It's them!?" Yan Qi's expression changed dramatically.

Yun Lintian was surprised by Yan Qi's reaction. He asked Yan Qi this question without hoping to get a piece of information from him. He didn't expect Yan Qi to actually know the Poison Valley. That meant this notorious group had also existed thousands of years ago.

It seems that Poison Valley is scarier than I thought. Yun Lintian thought inwardly. He nodded. "Yes, it's them. Can you tell me about this, Senior Yan?"

Yan Qi went silent for a while before he turned to Yang Chen and sent a trace of crimson energy into his body. A moment later, the purple color on Yang Chen's skins returned to normal at a visible rate.

Yang Chen opened his eyes in disbelief and got up from the bed, looking at himself with astonishment.

"Senior, thank you for saving my life." Yang Chen bowed ninety degrees to Yan Qi.

Hua Wanru on the side was overjoyed and also gave a deep bow toward Yan Qi. "Thank you, Senior, for helping Brother Chen. I have nothing to repay Senior. Please accept this bow."

Yan Qi waved his hand dismissively. "You don't have to bother saying this. Even if I want you to repay me, I won't be able to wait that long." He said in a joking manner.

Hua Wanru glanced at Yun Lintian, as if she wanted to ask something.

Yun Lintian introduced, "Everyone, this senior is none other than the Blazing Sun Monarch, who built this mythical realm."

Everyone had an incredible expression upon hearing this. What kind of concept was this? Their ancestors had explored this mythical realm for thousands of years, but no one had successfully met the owner of the realm. However, they managed to do it unexpectedly. How could they not amaze?

"Greetings, Senior Blazing Sun Monarch." Everyone quickly bowed their heads toward Yan Qi.

Yan Qi laughed slightly, appearing like a benevolent old man. "Raise your head. As all you juniors can see, I am no longer the Blazing Sun Monarch. Just treat me as an old man in his final moments."

Everyone looked at each other in silence.

Yan Qi looked at these juniors and sighed with emotion. "All of you are good people... Oh, sorry, except for that boy over there." He pointed at Luo Kun with a chuckle, and the latter glared at him as if he wanted to devour him. Yan Qi said further, "I have nothing to teach you much, but there is one thing I want all of you to remember in your heart. Just don't lose your good heart in your profound ways."

"We will remember Senior's words in our hearts." Hua Litong led everyone in expressing their gratitude.

Yan Qi turned to Yang Chen and said, "Boy, I see you are a sword practitioner and also using fire element mainly. You are similar to me back then. I'll give you my profound arts." He pointed his finger at Yang Chen's forehead, and a crimson light immediately penetrated him.

Yang Chen involuntarily closed his eyes, digesting the enormous amount of information that had appeared in his mind.

"Let's go to the next room." Yan Qi said to Yun Lintian.

Yun Lintian shook his head. "Please wait for a moment. I have to finish something first."

Yan Qi glanced at Luo Kun and nodded, then sat on the chair next to Little Flame.

Yun Lintian cut the rope off Luo Kun and smiled faintly. "Are you ready?"

Luo Kun shrank back in fear. "W-What are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do? Are you stupid, Young Master Luo? Did you lose your cunning brain somewhere?" Yun Lintian teased and stepped forward, grabbing Luo Kun's right hand.

Crack!

"Arghhh!" Luo Kun screamed out loud when Yun Lintian broke his index finger.

"You used this hand to touch my senior sister, didn't you?" Yun Lintian asked calmly and proceeded to break Luo Kun's remaining finger, eliciting another agonizing scream from him.

When profound practitioners were crippled, unless they were practicing a body refining technique, their bodies were not much different from those of ordinary people. They could no longer use profound energy to alleviate pain as they had done during battles.

A young master like Luo Kun, who rarely got injured, naturally could not bear such pain with a body that was similar to that of an ordinary person.

The piercing screams of Luo Kun echoed through the central hall as Yun Lintian mercilessly broke every finger, toe, arm, and leg of Luo Kun. He also inserted needles into Luo Kun's nails, ears, and eyes.

The scene was so brutal that even a brave woman like Hua Litong could not bear to watch any longer. At the same time, she felt that Yun Lintian was simply a reincarnation of a devil. She didn't know where he learned all of these torture methods.

Yun Ting looked at Yun Lintian with tears in her eyes. She was deeply touched in her heart. This junior brother of her had avenged her in the most satisfying way. At present, all the grievances she had suffered from Luo Kun had completely vanished from her heart.

"K... Kill me. I'm begging you." Luo Kun uttered hoarsely. He screamed until his throat became dry. At this moment, he wished he could die immediately. He didn't want to experience all this pain again.

"Oh? Is that all? Where is your arrogance gone to?… Don't worry. As I told you before, I won't let you die easily." A smile on Yun Lintian's face appeared devilish to Luo Kun.

Luo Kun was terrified to the core. He wanted to pass out several times, but Yun Lintian applied pressure to acupoints, preventing him from fainting.

Yun Lintian used his profound energy to heal Luo Kun and started with his fingers over again.

"Ahhh!" Luo Kun screamed miserably. All the veins on his body visibly protruded from the pain, as if they were on the verge of rupturing at any moment. His face was abnormally distorted, erasing any trace of his previous handsomeness.

Yan Qi and Little Flame looked at Yun Lintian with interest. Especially Yan Qi. One had to know that he had lived for thousands of years, possessing vast experiences. However, he still felt a chill running down his illusory spine when seeing Yun Lintian's method.

He glanced at Little Flame and said, "Old friend, what do you think of him?"

Little Flame turned to him and let out a soft squeak in response.

Yan Qi nodded. "You're right. He didn't seem to be a person from this world. If so, where exactly did he come from? From the way he treated that poor boy, it seems that he is the one who understands the principle 'there is no absolute evil or absolute good' the most."

"He didn't care whether these little girls would change their views of him. He did what he needed to do. Good will be rewarded with more good. Evil will be paid back with a hundred thousand times more evil... He can be a saint to his friend and a vicious devil to his enemy. Everything in his mind is clear, even clearer than those old geezers from Central Continent… He is definitely not a sixteen-year-old boy as he appeared to be." Yan Qi said in a low voice that only he and Little Flame could hear. At the same time, his previous conjecture appeared in his mind once again.

"Ha! It's not fun at all, Young Master Luo. I will end this as you wanted because my hands started to sore now." Yun Lintian shook his head with disappointment, looking at Luo Kun that had nothing resembled the previously handsome Young Master Luo.

He took an ordinary kitchen knife out and whispered softly, "Don't worry. I'll return your head to your father when I go back. I wonder what kind of rewards he will give me."

"Ugh… uh…" Luo Kun uttered a strange noise as his neck being slowly sliced by Yun Lintian bit by bit.

Because the knife wasn't sharp enough to cut human muscles, Luo Kun could not die fast enough as he wished. His eyes were dull, lacking any hint of liveliness. A bunch of memories since he was born, growing up as a lofty young master of the Luo clan, kept replaying on his head vividly until his last breath.

Yun Lintian stored Luo Kun's head and his belongings in his interspatial ring. Then, he conjured a fireball and used it to incinerate the corpse, along with the bloodstains on the ground.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that? Is there a flower on my face?" Yun Lintian turned to look at everyone with a harmless smile, innocently touching his face.

He wanted to crack a joke to lighten the tense atmosphere, but unfortunately, no one responded to him. They looked at him with a hint of fear in their eyes.