Chapter 43: Chains of Destiny

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"Isn't this just fine?" Su Xiangling said indifferently, her tone as calm as still water, without the slightest ripple or fluctuation.

"That good-for-nothing Lin Chen killed Wenyun and got me punished. Senior Sister, please help me and plead with Master for mercy!" Ye Ling'er wept uncontrollably, lowering herself to the very dust as she begged bitterly.

Just at that moment, a voice as majestic and furious as a peal of thunder suddenly rang out: "Shut up! If you remain so unrepentant, you can stay right here for the rest of your life!"

Startled by this sudden, angry shout, the group turned their heads abruptly to see Liu Ruohan approaching. With a slightly weary expression, she took a few heavy steps forward and said, "Su Xiangling, Mei Xiulan, the two of you have finished your wall-gazing and may leave now."

Hearing this, the two women looked at each other in utter shock and disbelief. Their master had always been one to confound right and wrong; such words now seemed truly incomprehensible.

After a long moment, filled with suspicion, Su Xiangling asked with a trembling voice, "Master, you aren't joking, are you?"

"Hurry and come out. It was this master who wronged the two of you in the past," Liu Ruohan said, a rare trace of weariness in her demeanor as she put aside her usual severity.

With those words, she turned and strode away decisively. Harboring lingering fear and fluttering hearts, the two women followed tremulously behind her. Behind them, Ye Ling'er cried and begged until her voice grew hoarse, but all of it was to no avail.

Once they had departed, the dark thunder in the sky, as if harboring long-standing grievances, instantly whipped up a violent gale. Bolts of lightning, resembling giant dragons and carrying the destructive might of heaven and earth, struck furiously and directly down upon Ye Ling'er.

Within the span of just a few breaths, Ye Ling'er's skin and flesh had been torn apart, leaving her in a horrific and utterly wretched state.

For once, Liu Ruohan brought her two disciples along, each of them changing into a brand-new and magnificent set of robes.

Then, with a solemn expression, she instructed, "Return to your respective cultivation caves! This master is tired."

The two women didn't dare to make a sound, speaking in unison, "Yes!"

At that moment, it felt as though they had returned to the Peach Blossom Shrine of the past. Yet the difference was that the disciples within the shrine were growing fewer by the day, and the atmosphere had become increasingly desolate and bleak.

In Qinghe Town,

Lin Chen emerged from the House of Gold with joy beaming across his face. However, when he saw Qin Hao bound tightly in the courtyard, he instantly fell into deep contemplation.

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"Lin Chen, it was he who absorbed your karmic fortune and merit. He is the reason your cultivation has stagnated all these years. Deal with him as you see fit; I only hope you will spare the others in our sect henceforth," Liu Ruohan said in a heavy, pleading tone.

Hearing this, Lin Chen felt as though he had been struck by lightning. He was utterly shocked, having no idea how Qin Hao had managed to commit such heinous acts right under his nose.

"Mei Senior Sister, I will spare them naturally. As for the others, that is hard to say—I only hope you will not let them appear before me," Lin Chen said coldly, his face as dark as water.

"Very well. This master is leaving. Take care of yourself in the future." Before her voice had even faded, Liu Ruohan's figure vanished before his eyes like a ghost in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Lin Chen slowly squat down, the flames of hatred burning fiercely in his eyes. He reached out and yanked the cloth from Qin Hao's mouth.

Speaking in a slow, deliberate voice, he said, "Junior Brother Qin, you really know how to hide your true colors! I originally thought that bringing you back to the shrine to cultivate would make you grateful to me, but I never expected to bring home a crazed and vicious scourge. Had I known this would happen, I should have let you starve to death out there."

"Senior Brother Lin, I was wrong. After you left, I always wanted you to return to the shrine. Please give me another chance, and your junior brother will surely repay you well," Qin Hao whimpered, using a sickening, wheedling tone to beg for mercy.

"We are both men; you can spare me this hypocritical act. You caused my medium-grade Dao root to plummet to a worthless Dao root—is that something a few words of yours can compensate for?" Lin Chen roared, his eyes wide with fury and his face full of contempt.

With that! He spun around and rushed into the house like a gust of wind, returning with an extremely sharp dagger. With swift and merciless strokes, he began slicing into Qin Hao's face, cutting gash after gash so deep the bone was visible.

"Ah, ah, ah!!!"

Qin Hao let out a heart-rending scream that pierced the heavens.

"I was wrong, Lin Chen! Please, stop torturing me. I truly know I was wrong," Qin Hao wept until his voice grew nearly hoarse, as though his throat were being violently torn apart.

His face was already drenched in fresh blood, a uniform crimson, and an unidentifiable fluid began leaking from his lower body as a pungent, acrid stench suddenly filled the air.

"My good junior brother! Weren't you very impressive just now? Why have you pissed yourself in fright?" Furious to the extreme, Lin Chen continued to slash wildly at his body, cutting long, gruesome wounds that shocked the heart and terrified the soul.

The screams and pleas for mercy intertwined, echoing in the courtyard for a long time. The scene was nothing short of an Asura hell on earth, unimaginably tragic.

It was as if he wanted to carve every ounce of the endless pain and humiliation he had suffered over the years deeply into Qin Hao's flesh.

Qin Hao was tortured to the verge of psychological collapse, struggling repeatedly between unconsciousness and excruciating agony, unable to live and unable to die.

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Time slipped quietly away. After being tortured for a full two hours, Qin Hao finally succumbed to the agony and met his demise.

The courtyard looked like a blood-soaked slaughterhouse, with flesh and gore splattered everywhere, and a thick, pungent stench of blood permeated the entire space.

Lin Chen casually discarded the corpse and searched it, obtaining a storage ring containing mostly cultivation manuals and secret techniques of the Peach Blossom Shrine.

There were also over a thousand merit coins, but what puzzled Lin Chen the most was a two-finger-long iron chain.

It faintly exuded a red haze, looking thoroughly sinister.

After having Fox Charm examine it, he learned that this object was known as the Chain of Destiny, capable of turning the fortune and aptitude of others to one's own use.

Once Lin Chen had inquired about the method of use, he put it away into his newly acquired storage ring.

Lin Chen said indifferently, "Though this item is a bit wicked, it can still be considered a good thing."

"Using it to harm enemies isn't very feasible. If you aren't by their side, the chain loses its resonance and becomes useless," Fox Charm murmured.

"What of it? Even so, being able to inflict minor injuries on an enemy whenever we cross paths isn't bad either," Lin Chen said with a slight smile.

"You'd better banish that thought early on. This thing has side effects; it will cause you to lose what you originally possess. Otherwise, did you really think your good junior brother suffered retribution on his own?" Fox Charm retorted snappishly.

Sure enough, otherwise why would Qin Hao's cultivation realm have continually regressed? This meant the item could only be used on those close to one's side.

It was an object fit only for a complete scoundrel, suitable solely for the likes of Qin Hao.

"Sigh! It seems truly useless then. Whatever, I'll find a time to dispose of it," Lin Chen said with a hint of disappointment.