Chapter 186: Chapter 175: The Incident in Luoshui City

"Don’t kill him! I still have a use for him!"

Seeing that Hei Yan had landed a successful blow and was about to strike again, Nie Yun quickly stopped him.

’I have Seven Great Dantians. One is the Main Dantian, and the others are Storage, Pill Fire, Beast Taming, Healing, and Tracking! I’ve only unlocked five of them so far, leaving one slot open. If I could open an Assassination Dantian, I’d become an Assassin Master in an instant. Then I could even kill the Mi Tian Sect Master!’

’Only then would I be considered a true expert, and I wouldn’t have to fear anyone in the Divine Wind Empire!’

’After all, no matter how strong you are, you’d still be afraid of an assassin hiding in the shadows, plotting against you at every moment!’

Letting go of the person he was interrogating, Nie Yun took two steps to the Assassin Master’s side. He reached out, about to feel the Assassination Qi inside the man’s body, only to see that the man’s face had already turned black and his body was starting to stiffen.

"He’s dead?"

Nie Yun froze.

Once a person died, their Dantian would lose its vitality. No matter how strong their talent, it would turn to nothing. The so-called Assassination Qi would vanish, making it impossible to sense.

"Master, I didn’t do it. I wasn’t the one who killed him..."

Fearing that his master would blame him, Hei Yan hurriedly explained, terrified.

"I know. He committed suicide by taking poison! Strike and miss, then immediately escape. If escape is impossible, die for the cause! The code of an Assassin Master is truly ruthless..."

Looking at the corpse that was already growing cold on the ground, Nie Yun knew he had certainly lost his chance to obtain the assassination talent and shook his head helplessly.

According to legend, Assassin Masters had followed a great creed since ancient times: Strike and miss, then immediately escape. If escape is impossible, die for the cause!

’It really is true!’

Nie Yun knew the Stealth Technique and had done a great deal of research into the way of Assassination. However, he was still a far cry from an Assassin Master who possessed assassination talent.

’Since he’s dead, I can’t sense his Assassination Qi, and I can’t form an Assassination Dantian. So be it. There’s no point feeling disappointed. The most important thing right now is to find out the whereabouts of my father and the others from these people!’

He hurried over to check on the man who had just been willing to reveal the secret. After just one glance, his expression turned extremely grim.

"He’s... dead too!"

’I can’t believe this guy died too.’ He glanced around and saw that the few Qi Sect experts he had injured now all had blackened faces. They had all become corpses!

’Killing all these people right under my nose? How is that possible?’

’Could it be that the Assassin Master wasn’t here to assassinate me at all, but to poison these people?’

A certain possibility came to mind, and a tremor ran through Nie Yun.

Poisons, just like Martial Arts and Secret Techniques, came in countless varieties. There were all sorts of them. It was said that one particular poison was divided into two agents, Yin and Yang. Taking the Yin Medicine or Yang Medicine alone would have no effect. But once the two powders merged—even if just dispersed in the air—the Yin and Yang would neutralize each other, spelling certain death for anyone exposed!

The flash of the Assassin Master’s sword just now must have contained one of these powders, either Yin Attribute or Yang Attribute. When it neutralized the medicine inside these people’s bodies, his mission to silence them was complete!

Right now, only the man in black from the beginning, the Peak of Qi Sect expert, was not yet dead. He was lying on the ground, struggling.

’He’s the leader of this group. As long as he’s not dead, Father and the others should be fine. Besides, they only captured my parents to get the item from the Luoo Qu Tomb. They probably won’t do anything drastic!’

’After all, doing so would mean losing everything for nothing!’

Having figured this out, Nie Yun was no longer anxious. He walked over to Yangg Yan and Feng Xiao.

"Let me heal your injuries first!"

The two of them had been severely injured by the men in black earlier. They were still lying on the ground, unable to move a muscle.

The Healing Qi surged. After he circulated it for a moment, the two men leaped to their feet, full of energy, their injuries completely healed!

"So this is a Healer’s Healing Qi? It’s truly miraculous!"

Seeing their injuries recover so quickly, both of them found it somewhat unbelievable.

However, so many unbelievable things had happened around Nie Yun that even though the two had strong nerves, they were shocked to the point of numbness!

"Tell me, what exactly happened to the Nie Family!"

Ignoring their amazement, Nie Yun asked.

"After you left, the two of us came by every three days, aside from when we were in Cultivation. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Then, last night, everyone in the Nie Family vanished overnight! And we didn’t hear a single thing about it! But the strange part is, at noon today, it wasn’t just us—everyone in Luoshui City found out at the same time that something had happened to the Nie Family. That’s when we rushed over!" Yangg Yan spoke first, a look of bewilderment on his face as he talked.

The Yangg Mansion and the Nie Mansion weren’t far apart. ’At such a close distance, and with countless spies, how could I have known nothing when something so major happened to the Nie Family? It’s just too strange!’

’Even though the Nie Family lost many of its Gang Formation Realm and stronger experts after the great purge, they weren’t exactly a soft target, free for the taking. Especially with Xiaohu at the Peak of Qi Sect and Nie Xiaotian in the Late-Stage Qi Sect. To abduct that man and beast without them making a sound... even if those eight people’s Array was powerful, that should be impossible!’

"It was an Ultimate Venerable Powerhouse. I can’t believe they sent an Ultimate Venerable Powerhouse after my little Nie Family!"

Nie Yun’s expression darkened, and he clenched his fists again.

’To accomplish something of this magnitude without a single sound escaping the mansion... Other than the sealing techniques of an Ultimate Venerable, not even a host of Peak of Qi Sect experts could do it!’

’There’s no doubt about it. An Ultimate Venerable Powerhouse must have come and sealed the entire courtyard first, preventing any sound from escaping. Only then did the others make their move!’

’As for Xiaohu and Dad, they must have been forced to stop fighting and willingly surrendered only after the enemy captured Mom, my sister, and the others! Of course, it’s also possible they were poisoned and couldn’t use their strength!’

’Abduct my parents and the others silently, then spread the news to lure me or my "master" over...’

’What a brilliant scheme!’

’Who on earth are they? Why are they targeting my family?’

’They want the treasure from the Luoo Qu Tomb... could it be the Phecda Sword?’

’Hm? That’s right...’

"What about the City Lord’s Mansion? Did anything happen there?" Nie Yun asked hurriedly, having thought of something.

"The City Lord’s Mansion has been empty for three days. The City Lord, Luoo Zhanhao, vanished long ago!" Feng Xiao, who seemed to know the details of this matter well, said, shaking his head.

"The City Lord’s Mansion has been empty for three days?"

Nie Yun’s heart tightened and he frowned. "What about Luo Qingcheng? Was she captured too?"

"Luo Qingcheng wasn’t captured. She returned to her Sect less than three days after you left Luoshui City. The Baihua Sect is a titan in the Divine Wind Empire; no one would dare to move against them!"

Feng Xiao explained.

’These people must have captured the people from the City Lord’s Mansion first. Then, when they didn’t find the Phecda Sword, they came for my family... Who on earth are they?’

’The men in black are Death Warriors; I can’t get anything out of them. Just now, a Qi Sect expert was about to talk, but he was silenced. The only thing I know for sure is that Dad and the others have definitely been taken to the Imperial Capital. As for where they are there, I have no way of knowing!’

’What exactly is the Phecda Sword? Why does it attract such powerful forces?’

’Who could possibly want this thing so badly that they’d abduct my parents, Luoo Zhanhao, and all the others? And how did they find out?’

Nie Yun rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)