Chapter 16: The Trap Beneath the Moonlight, A Bloody Harvest

Ten days had passed in seclusion.

Inside the quiet cave, Lin Xuan sat cross-legged, his body trembling slightly as waves of spiritual energy surged within him. A deep rumble echoed through his meridians.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

A sudden breakthrough!

His cultivation, which had been at **Foundation Establishment Level 3**, surged directly to **Level 5** in one go.

With a sharp inhale, Lin Xuan's eyes snapped open. A gleam of satisfaction danced in his pupils.

"Finally," he murmured, a faint smile on his lips.

Just as he stood up, the system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

> *Ding! Ye Tian is heading to meet Su Mei today.*

Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Su Mei... The daughter of the Su Family."

His expression turned cold, and a dangerous glint flashed across his eyes.

"In the original novel, she was ambushed by bandits tonight and severely injured. Ye Tian appeared like a hero, saving her just in time. She fell for him instantly..."

He chuckled softly. "From that moment on, she gave him everything—pills, spiritual stones, rare treasures. Eventually, even the Su Family stood behind Ye Tian to help crush the Lin Family."

"Interesting… Tonight should be fun."

Without another word, Lin Xuan left his cave and quickly made his way to the mountain's base.

As the sun dipped beyond the horizon, casting deep shadows through the forest, Lin Xuan concealed his presence and waited silently beneath the trees.

Time passed slowly.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed in the distance. A figure appeared, running desperately through the night.

It was a young woman, her body covered in blood and injuries, her robes torn in several places. Her breathing was ragged, and panic shone in her eyes.

Behind her, a group of **Foundation Stage 6 to 8** cultivators chased with wicked grins.

"Haha! Bitch, tonight we'll play with your body until dawn!" one of them cackled.

Su Mei's heart trembled with fear.

*They're monsters! I have to escape… I must escape!*

But just as she turned to flee, a blast of spiritual energy struck her back. She screamed and collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.

"Hahaha! Where will you run now?" another cultivator jeered, stepping closer.

Su Mei clenched her fists, her face twisted with hatred. *If I survive this, I'll kill every last one of your families…!*

But just as the cultivators approached her—

A cold voice cut through the air like a sword.

"Bullying a fellow cultivator in the dark of night... you people are truly disgusting."

Everyone turned toward the voice.

A young man stood calmly in the shadows, his black robes fluttering slightly in the wind. His eyes were calm, yet cold.

One of the bandits stepped forward. "Kid, stay out of this! You're only at **Foundation Level 5**. This has nothing to do with you."

Lin Xuan smirked. "Is that so?"

The cultivator sneered and dashed toward him, swinging his sword.

But before he could even blink, Lin Xuan's palm shot forward—

**Basic Verdant Flow Palm.**

*Boom!*

With a single strike, the attacker's chest caved in, and he flew backward, smashing into a tree. Blood sprayed, and his lifeless body slid to the ground.

"You—!! You killed our brother!" another one screamed and charged with his sword.

This one was a sword cultivator, his movements sharp and precise. But as he approached, Lin Xuan's eyes turned cold.

**Sword Intent—Release.**

A burst of invisible pressure lashed out, slowing the man's movement. Before he could react, Lin Xuan struck again, slashing across his chest and finishing him in one move.

The final cultivator—**Foundation Level 8**—roared with fury. "You bastard! You'll pay for killing my brothers!"

He charged with everything he had.

Lin Xuan calmly activated his full strength.

**Advanced Verdant Flow Palm.**

This time, a torrent of spiritual force gathered in his palm. With a thunderous roar, he struck the enemy dead-on.

*BOOM!*

The final cultivator's body exploded backward, blood gushing from every orifice. As he fell, he gasped, "T-This… this is a mid-grade technique… I provoked a monster…"

And then, silence.

Lin Xuan exhaled and turned toward the injured girl.

"Are you alright?"

Su Mei looked at him with wide, grateful eyes. "Thank you, senior brother… Could you please… tell me your name?"

Lin Xuan stepped closer, a gentle smile on his lips. "My name… is Lin Xuan. From the Lin Family."

Her expression froze.

Before she could react, Lin Xuan's palm shot forward—piercing her chest.

"Wha—?"

Blood spilled from her lips as her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Lin… Family…"

And with that, Su Mei collapsed, lifeless.

Lin Xuan crouched beside her, his expression completely indifferent.

He quickly stored all the valuables from her body into his **System Storage**, including her spatial pouch and the treasures she had carried.

Not leaving a single trace behind, he gathered all the corpses and erased all signs of the battle.

Moments later, he vanished into the forest—long before Ye Tian or the Su Family could arrive.

> *Ding! Host has successfully plundered the Son of Destiny. 800 Villain Points acquired.*

Later that night, Ye Tian arrived at the scene, only to find... nothing.

No Su Mei.

No attackers.

Just silence.

Ye Tian's brows furrowed deeply. His eyes scanned the area once more, but there was nothing—no sign of a struggle, no trace of anyone.

After a tense pause, he turned and walked away in haste.

But in his heart, a strange unease gnawed at him.

It feels like… I've lost something incredibly important.

He didn't understand why, but the emptiness around him felt heavier than it should.

Shortly afterward, an elder from the Su Family arrived with a tracking compass.

"The soul lamp traces end here… but there's no one."

He left in frustration.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Lin Xuan stood before a clearing. One by one, he pulled out the corpses, took every pill, spiritual stone, and item, then burned the bodies to ashes.

Finally, he retrieved Su Mei's corpse and checked her belongings.

Among them, he found a skill book titled **Shadow Steps**.

> **Grade:** Low

> **Effect:** Increases stealth and speed.

Lin Xuan laughed.

"I thought I'd have to wait six months before I could enter the Skill Pavilion… but this saved me the trouble."

He looked at the book with bright eyes.

"If I gift this… what will I get in return? Hehe… this is getting more interesting."

After storing everything, Lin Xuan burned the last traces, then vanished into the night—leaving behind only ashes and silence.