Chapter Thirteen: Eradicating the Root

Lin Junxiu was killed without a trace. Once Wan Yi calmed down, he thoroughly examined the scene and swiftly erased all evidence before returning to his thatched hut.

Today marked his first battle since transmigrating into the cultivation world. Although victorious, the fight was far from perfect, leaving many flaws behind. He needed to carefully review every detail to identify and patch up any weaknesses.

After all, the death of a sovereign-level powerhouse from the Vast Sect was no small matter!

He was certain the sect would launch a full investigation soon. Before that happened, he had to wipe away all clues to avoid bringing disaster upon himself.

Though he called it a battle review, it was essentially a post-mission debrief—a habit he had cultivated during his time in the special forces in his previous life.

Now, although he was alone, his professional military discipline was more than sufficient.

Sitting cross-legged, he steadied his breath and calmed his mind, then began recalling every detail of the day’s events.

First, his makeshift master probably hadn’t told him the whole truth: the “Sovereign Severing Technique” had many shortcomings.

Aside from being useless below the sovereign realm, one major defect was its range limitation.

From the recent battle, he concluded that the technique had a passive skill that automatically warned the user of the presence of a sovereign-level enemy nearby. However, the exact detection radius remained unknown and would need to be explored gradually.

Second, the technique’s defense and offense.

Defensively, there was no range limit. As long as the technique was active, any attack launched against him, no matter the distance, would be nullified upon close approach.

But this required the technique to be continuously engaged; otherwise, he himself would be vulnerable.

Offensively, he could only sense effective targets within a hundred paces. Beyond that, the “Sovereign Severing Technique” could not lock on to enemies.

However, he now harbored a bold hypothesis: the attack range might expand as his cultivation level rose. This theory would need verification after he advanced.

Having analyzed the pros and cons, Wan Yi began mentally summarizing today’s mistakes.

His greatest blunder was revealing his special nature in front of Lin Junxiu.

Granted, it was understandable since he had only just inherited the technique and was still unfamiliar with its execution. But such errors must never be repeated.

His makeshift master was a cautionary tale: once an enemy discerned his weaknesses, death was imminent.

Moreover, over twenty thousand years ago, his master had slain many sovereign-level elites, striking terror into their hearts. If these surviving old monsters learned there was a new inheritor of the technique, they would relentlessly pursue him.

Though armed with the technique and unafraid of sovereign-level foes, he was helpless against even a formidable Foundation Establishment cultivator below that realm.

Henceforth, he must live cautiously. Even when forced to strike sovereign-level cultivators, he must plot carefully and move stealthily—no gunfire in the village!

After assessing the situation, he turned his attention to Lin Junxiu. Though already dead at his hands, the aftermath promised no small trouble.

The Vast Sect maintained a Hall of Honored Souls, where disciples’ life tokens were kept. Upon death, the token shattered. Lin Junxiu’s demise would have immediately shattered his, and it was likely that Sect Leader Lin Qiaosheng had already learned the news.

Two outcomes were possible: either the sect would launch a public investigation into Lin Junxiu’s death, or suppress the matter for the Enforcement Hall or senior elders to conduct a secret inquiry.

In either case, everyone who had quarreled with Lin Junxiu at Dan Peak today would be suspects, including himself, the lowly latrine worker.

Lin Junxiu’s three direct disciples posed an even greater uncertainty. If Lin Junxiu had informed them about seeking Wan Yi beforehand, he would become the prime suspect.

This thought sent a chill down Wan Yi’s spine.

Though it was unbelievable that a Qi Refining disciple could kill a sovereign-level master, the sect’s investigation would not care about plausibility. Whether he had accomplices or was manipulated by someone else, malicious speculation could not be avoided.

Particularly given his association with Zhou Tong: a brief inquiry in the medicinal garden would reveal their connection. Moreover, Zhou Tong was the daughter of Zhou Shuo, who was hostile toward Lin Junxiu and had nearly clashed violently with him in front of the sect leader today.

All these circumstances combined were truly terrifying when considered carefully.

The more Wan Yi thought, the more alarmed he became, until a daring idea surged into his mind.

He would silence anyone who knew too much. Lin Junxiu’s three disciples were the uncertain factor.

If he eliminated all three, the trail leading back to him would be severed, and his earlier conjectures would never come to light.

Therefore, regardless of whether those three knew about Lin Junxiu’s visit to him, for safety’s sake, they all had to die!

With this resolve, a cold gleam appeared in Wan Yi’s eyes.

Following the sect’s usual protocol, upon receiving notice from the Hall of Honored Souls, the sect leader was likely convening the elders in the council hall to discuss the matter.

Therefore, Lin Junxiu’s three disciples probably had not yet been informed of their master’s death.

This presented the perfect opportunity for Wan Yi to act swiftly and gain a time advantage.

Once the elders concluded their meeting, they would immediately seek out those three to investigate Lin Junxiu’s whereabouts. He had to strike before then.

Among the three disciples, aside from Zhu Peng, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage, one was at the Golden Core stage and another at Foundation Establishment.

Any one of them alone would be no match for Wan Yi.

But this did not worry him; if open confrontation failed, he could resort to covert methods.

In the six months he had spent cleaning dung at the Vast Sect, he had certainly not been idle.

In his previous life as an explosives specialist, how could he waste the opportunity of tending such a vast cesspit?

The black soil around the dung pit had been soaked for millennia, making it fertile ground.

When boiled down, this soil’s residue crystallized into saltpeter.

The Vast Sect’s Dan Peak and Artifact Peak both required sulfur for pill and artifact refinement.

Distilled and purified sulfur became sulfuric acid.

So, over the past half year, whenever he had free time, Wan Yi had been extracting and stockpiling large quantities of sulfuric acid and saltpeter.

Previously, to craft a concealer for Zhou Tong, he had also distilled plenty of glycerin.

Now that he had all the ingredients, what was there to wait for?

With a flick of his mind, he retrieved these three substances from his storage pouch.

After meticulous mixing, he hand-rolled a large barrel of nitroglycerin.

This liquid explosive was extremely unstable and would detonate upon shock or flame.

But this was no challenge for him. Opposite the cesspit stood a low hill composed mainly of diatomaceous earth.

Diatomaceous earth was excellent at absorbing nitroglycerin, greatly stabilizing it.

Once absorbed, the nitroglycerin-laden earth could withstand heat and shock without detonating—this was the dynamite invented by Nobel!

Wan Yi’s skill was deft; in less than fifteen minutes, he had crafted ten kilograms of dynamite.

Gazing at the explosive bundle, he carefully inserted a homemade simple fuse, then connected its other end to a sound-transmission talisman.

The talisman’s faint spiritual energy pulse, upon receiving a signal, would ignite the fuse.

Thus, Wan Yi had created a remotely detonated bomb with a sound-transmission talisman.

Stowing the bomb away, he changed into a nightwalker’s outfit.

Under the cover of darkness, he activated the “Cloud Sea Traverse” technique and soared toward Junxiu Peak.

To be continued...