Awaken Ao Yin!

Within a few minutes, Dong Yanlin and the rest finally got a clear look at the green dot tracking them. Dong Yanlin was visibly surprised when he saw that it was a green swallow made of wind. He had assumed it was a living creature, based on the cries it made, but it turned out to be the creation of someone's cultivation spell. The realization shocked him, bordering on fright.

He was deeply worried, to the point that even Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen could easily notice it. Peng Zhen had a thoughtful expression as he stared at the green swallow and then at Dong Yanlin. He gestured for Gui Bingwen to wait a moment, and Gui Bingwen nodded back.

"A sentient cultivation spell… No core formation realm expert can do this, not even those at the peak. This can only be done by someone who has broken through to the palace stage. Did the Order send someone at the palace stage? It doesn't make sense. The Green Fog Swamp Sect is just a fourth-rate sect; it doesn't warrant the attention of someone at the palace stage."

Dong Yanlin silently thought, gripping his bone saber. "Luckily, I brought the Ao Yin saber, a monarch-rank weapon. I need to take care of this quickly and meet up with Senior Brother Shiren. Only then can my safety be guaranteed—especially if a palace stage expert is involved."

A thin, dark red gale swirled around the saber, the shade deepening to match the color of Dong Yanlin's dark red hair. The small vein-like tendrils on the bone saber protruded, pulsating rapidly.

THUD!

Gui Bingwen collapsed to his knees from the pressure radiating off Dong Yanlin. The ground beneath Dong Yanlin's feet cracked, caving in within a small radius.

Peng Zhen quickly rushed to his side and helped him up. Even he struggled to move, but he managed to pull Gui Bingwen to his feet as they supported each other.

Gui Bingwen opened his mouth to say something, but Peng Zhen shook his head, signaling for him to remain silent. He then gestured toward Dong Yanlin.

The green swallow was now less than a hundred meters away when Dong Yanlin drew his saber back and made a curving upward slash. A thick, red scythe-like gale sliced through the air, aimed directly at the green swallow.

The green swallow screeched before unleashing a conical gust of wind from its beak. What started as the size of a palm rapidly expanded into a massive tornado, swallowing the red scythe whole and disintegrating it into tiny bits before it dissipated entirely. The tornado showed no signs of stopping as it charged directly toward Dong Yanlin and the rest, with its focus on Dong Yanlin, who didn't look well.

His skin had turned a sickly pale, and sweat pooled on his palms and face. An overwhelming sense of death flooded his senses as the tornado bore down on him.

He quickly slit one of his wrists, letting the blood spill over the bone saber. The vein-like tendrils on the saber embedded themselves into his open wrist, greedily draining his blood. The saber, once black, shifted to a dark grey, almost silver in color.

The tendrils continued to devour Dong Yanlin's blood, and his appearance deteriorated rapidly. Strands of white hair began to sprout, his skin dried and shriveled, and cracks appeared on his hands like dried clay.

"This still isn't enough. I'm too weak to fully activate it. I need more. Those two will have to do."

Dong Yanlin grimaced as he removed the tendrils from his wrist, which healed almost immediately. However, the tendrils didn't seem satisfied, still trying to poke into his wrist as if they wanted more.

A purple-black talisman appeared in his hand, which he pasted onto the blade. The talisman seemed to soothe the saber, and the tendrils calmed down, reattaching themselves. Dong Yanlin continued drawing ancient-looking symbols on the talisman with the remaining blood on his palms.

A red door materialized over the talisman, and a thick, snake-like tendril emerged. Unlike the smaller red tendrils on the saber, this one was pitch black.

"Drain the two to your satisfaction," Dong Yanlin said weakly.

Forcing open one of the saber's seals drained his vitality, qi, and spiritual essence. In response to his words, the tendril surged toward the passed-out Jia Tingfeng, while part of it split off and slithered toward Hao Ye, whose eyes had already rolled back, his body covered in thousands of scratch marks.

When the tendrils pierced the bodies of the two elders, Peng Zhen saw something that sent a chill down his spine. Elder Jia and Elder Hao were drained of their blood until they were nothing but bags of bones. Their skin cracked and disintegrated into fine sand, blown away by the wind moments later. Two late-stage foundation experts had disappeared, just like that.

Gui Bingwen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his mouth wide open as he stammered, "What... what..."

Peng Zhen, standing beside him, trembled uncontrollably. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Horror and despair overtook his expression, his gaze fixed on the bone saber, now gleaming in an immaculate silver color. The tendril that had pierced Hao Ye and Jia Tingfeng, along with the talisman pasted on the blade, vanished.

Dong Yanlin's face showed satisfaction as he muttered, "This should be enough."

"First awakening, Ao Yin!" Dong Yanlin roared, swinging the sword forward to meet the oncoming tornado.

Above the saber, the faint silhouette of Ao Yin materialized, throwing a fist toward the tornado. Ao Yin was a terrifying, bloodthirsty creature that relished in devouring people. Its appearance resembled a massive bull, standing on two hind legs, with human-like hands. The creature's body was immense, almost 20 meters tall, and appeared to be the size of ten bulls stacked together. Four horns adorned its head, and its eyes resembled leech suckers. The silhouette, faint and light grey like smoke, held an otherworldly presence.

Ao Yin roared and punched forward as Dong Yanlin slashed. The tornado and the fist collided with an earth-shattering explosion. The force of the clash sent Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen flying back several meters. The impact knocked the air from their lungs, tore their robes into tatters, and subjected their bodies to numerous wounds.

Gui Bingwen weakly struggled to rise but coughed up blood, barely able to keep himself steady.

"Gui, are you okay?" Peng Zhen weakly asked as he moved over to help Gui Bingwen. He, too, wasn't in the best shape. Deep cuts marred his torso, and blood leaked from his ears.

"I feel like a mountain has just been slammed onto my body in its entirety," Gui Bingwen replied with a tremor in his voice, fear flickering in his eyes as he stared at the massive crater ahead of him, still swirling with dust and wind. "Peng, we may be in over our heads here."

"Dong Yanlin hid his abilities well. I didn't think he'd have a trump card this powerful," Peng Zhen sighed as he handed Gui Bingwen some pills, swallowing some himself. The wounds began to heal slowly.

"I hope the person the Order sent is capable," Peng Zhen added, his voice quiet but heavy with concern. "They may be our only hope if our measures fail."

Gui Bingwen remained silent, his gaze fixed on the clearing dust, as if hoping for a miracle.

Dong Yanlin, panting heavily, stared ahead. His pupils constricted in horror as he saw the green swallow, unharmed, surrounded by a faint, concave green shield with a nondescript glowing mark at its center.

The swallow screeched again, but this time, it didn't attack. Instead, it rapidly flew upward. Soon, two more screeches echoed, and two small green dots swiftly moved toward where the green swallow had flown.

"THERE ARE TWO MORE!?" Dong Yanlin shouted, panic creeping into his voice. "Just one has pushed the first seal this far. No... I need to get out of here. I've already gotten half of what I came for."

His earlier confidence shattered, replaced by desperation. The Ao Yin silhouette flickered, now fainter than before. The energy used to summon it—drawn from the sacrifice of the two elders—had been partially depleted by the earlier attack. It still had enough energy for two more strikes.

Dong Yanlin couldn't risk using his blood again. If he did, the weapon might end up swallowing him whole. He had measures in place to prevent that, but they weren't foolproof.

The Ao Yin saber was a spiritual weapon, and it was not his. It belonged to his master. Every time he called upon its power, the risk of it turning on him grew. The saber was a bloodthirsty weapon, capable of devouring anyone who wasn't its true master. Handling it was a constant gamble. The more Dong Yanlin used it, the greater the chance it would betray him.

Dong Yanlin quickly turned to flee when he saw Peng Zhen and Gui Bingwen together. A wave of unconcealed killing intent radiated from him. With the situation escalating, he couldn't afford to bring them along. The secrecy of everything that had transpired—especially the revelation of the saber—was too important. It was better to kill them both. Though he felt it was a shame, particularly with Peng Zhen, it had to be done.

Peng Zhen may have been old, but Dong Yanlin admired his spirit. With the right support from his organization, he believed they could help Peng Zhen break through to the core formation realm. He would be a valuable addition, and they wouldn't have to worry about betrayal due to the curse poison embedded in his dantian.

It would take a palace stage expert to remove the poison, but not just any cultivator—someone skilled in cultivation techniques aligned with wood, water, or lightning elements. What were the odds Peng Zhen would ever find such an expert?

Dong Yanlin hesitated for only a second before charging at them with his left palm raised.

"Death Worm Fang." Dong Yanlin's hand coiled to form two fangs, black ashy shadows enveloping his whole arm.

"Gui. NOW!" Peng Zhen shouted, pulling what looked like smooth green-white bark from his storage ring.