Cultivation Begins with Skill Points-Chapter 227 Turmoil

Zhong Lin placed the Poison Pearl into the Storage Bracelet, the weakness on his face gradually dissipating, although his body still felt somewhat feeble.

"The method is indeed feasible. The barrier of the Fifth Layer has already begun to loosen. It seems that a few more attempts will allow me to break through."

Zhong Lin’s face was full of joy, mainly because the Dragon Elephant Golden Body was so practical. If he could break through the Fifth Layer, he would gain a tremendous power of 160,000 pounds. Even if he hadn’t broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm, he could still battle against it, crushing those of the same rank and greatly enhancing his combat power.

In the following days, besides sharing some intelligence on the Luoxing Islands with Yu Jinglei and the other two each day, Zhong Lin focused on training with the Poison Pearl, attempting to break through the Fifth Layer.

However, an incident shattered the tranquility of the Xuan Gui Continent.

In Jianghu, phenomena of chaos appeared in the countries of Chen, Cheng, and Lu. A large number of powerful figures disappeared, entire sects and noble families were wiped out overnight, and even entire villages mysteriously vanished, with no culprit known, causing all the martial artists in Jianghu to tremble in fear.

The royal families of the three countries were furious, sending people to investigate, but the powerhouses dispatched also mysteriously disappeared, with even Upper Third Grades martial artists losing contact, unable to send back any news.

Zhong Lin also learned from the news sent to him that the Gu Family of Linyue was one of those turned to ashes.

When Zhong Lin heard this news, he was momentarily stunned, thinking of Gu Ning, who had bet everything on him.

During the year he disappeared to the Luoxing Islands, the Gu Family continued to send various supplies each month, never mentioning the deal from back then.

Zhong Lin was originally planning to find time to visit the Gu Family. If satisfied, he would reward them with a Breakthrough Pill. Yet he didn’t expect the Gu Family to have already vanished.

"Zhong Lin, according to reports from the disciples, there is still one survivor from the Gu Family," Yu Jinglei said.

"Who?"

"A little fellow named Gu Chen. It’s said that on the night the Gu Family was massacred, he was training under a waterfall in the back mountain and managed to escape the disaster."

"Gu Chen?"

Zhong Lin heard the name once more, with Divine Light flickering in his eyes.

He glanced at the Soul Nourishing Ring on the index finger of his left hand, not forgetting that this personal old grandpa of his was snatched from Gu Chen’s neck.

"Where is he?"

"In the Gu Family’s ancestral land."

Zhong Lin abruptly stood up, saying, "I’ll make a trip."

With a thought, the Red Flames Wings unfolded from his back. With a flap of the wings, he transformed into a blaze and shot into the sky, disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

Seeing such a scene, Yu Jinglei’s eyes burned with excitement, and he anticipated the Luoxing Islands even more.

The Gu Family was situated in Linyue County, Chen Country. It took merely an hour to arrive with the speed of the Red Flames Wings.

Looking down at the familiar structures beneath him, Zhong Lin retracted his wings and fell from the sky.

As he scanned the area, Zhong Lin’s expression grew more solemn.

The entire Gu Family compound was already empty, devoid of the bustling noise of the past. The entire courtyard was filled with a desolate and eerie chill.

The Gu Family was exterminated overnight, yet Zhong Lin couldn’t see any damage on the buildings before him, indicating that the entire Gu Family was slaughtered with overwhelming force, without any power to resist.

"The Gu Family head, Gu Xiaofeng, was an Upper Third Grades martial artist with condensed inner breath, and the Gu Family’s Mixed Essence Gang Qi excelled in defense. A First Grade Martial Artist couldn’t breach it in a short time. Could it have been an Innate Martial Artist? When did the Xuan Gui Continent see the rise of a new Innate Martial Artist?"

Zhong Lin’s brows were tightly furrowed, with confusion apparent in his eyes.

A hurried sound of footsteps came, and soon a small figure appeared before Zhong Lin.

Upon seeing Zhong Lin, the figure immediately knelt at his feet, crying, "Gu Chen greets Senior Zhong, please seek justice for my Gu Family!"

After speaking, he repeatedly knocked his head against the ground, and in an instant, his forehead was bleeding, the blood flowing down his cheeks, filled with endless grief.

"This little fellow was the one who obtained the Soul Nourishing Ring where I hid?"

Chen Jia’s voice echoed in Zhong Lin’s mind.

"Yes, you drained him so much at the time, nearly sucking him dry."

"Don’t be snide; at that time, my soul was dormant, left only with the instinct to absorb energy to repair the soul body. This kid was just unlucky. However, being able to condense Qi-Blood within a year, this lad has pretty good aptitude."

Chen Jia gave a compliment.

Zhong Lin nodded slightly, noting that although Gu Chen was negatively affected by Chen Jia, in just a year, he had progressed from the Eighth Rank External Cleansing to condensing Qi-Blood, moving into the Middle Third Grades. His cultivation speed was commendably fast.

"Get up."

Zhong Lin waved his right hand, an invisible force lifting Gu Chen.

"Take me to see Gu Ning’s body."

"Yes."

Gu Chen wiped the bloodstain off his cheek, turned around, and led Zhong Lin toward the back mountain.

The once beautiful back mountain was now dotted with graves. The white banners fluttered in the wind, sounding like someone was quietly sobbing. In front of each grave was ash, the remnants of burned incense and candles.

"Senior, all 543 members of the Linyue Gu Family are buried here. There lies Young Master’s grave," Gu Chen said solemnly.

Zhong Lin gently sighed, stepping forward.

Looking at the new grave before him, memories of that day in Wuyun City flashed in his mind, where Gu Ning had supported him. At that time, Gu Ning was so high-spirited, yet now he lay in this cold grave, silently awaiting decay. Would his future be like his?

No.

A sharp glint suddenly appeared in Zhong Lin’s eyes.

I have the System Panel, I have infinite Skill Points. My future self will eventually reach the pinnacle, one day soar to the heavens in broad daylight, becoming an immortal, invincible divine being. No one will impede my path.

After calming his inner turmoil, Zhong Lin asked, "Do you have incense and candles?"

"I do."

Gu Chen hurriedly ran to a nearby hut, quickly bringing back a basket of incense sticks and yellow paper.

At Gu Ning’s grave, Zhong Lin lit an incense stick. He spoke once the incense had burned out: "Brother Gu, you and I met in humble circumstances, yet who would have thought we are now worlds apart. Truly, fate is unpredictable. Rest assured, I will avenge you. I must disturb your peace by examining the coffin. I hope you forgive me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Lin stomped his foot sharply. The next moment, Gu Ning’s grave suddenly split open, revealing the black coffin inside.

The coffin’s color was black, symbolizing those who died from war, suicide, or early death. Gu Ning died an unnatural death, murdered cruelly, so this color was appropriate.

Unexpectedly, Gu Chen didn’t react when Zhong Lin suddenly did this but only stood quietly in place.

With a wave of his right hand, the coffin lid was lifted, revealing Gu Ning’s corpse inside.