Originally, Yun Jin had no leads.
But someone remotely controlled a curse and killed a person right in front of her. That provided a clue. It was enough for the system to locate that person. No matter who these poachers were, she intended to confront them properly.
The system completed the location scan quickly. Yun Jin narrowed her eyes. The person was in the spirit beast forest, not far from her.
"Let's go." Yun Jin recalled the spirit beasts she had summoned and vanished instantly.
"Wait…" Phantom Leopard started to speak, but Yun Jin had already disappeared.
"Big Brother, this elder sister really is a good person," Spike Deer said innocently.
Phantom Leopard nodded but reminded, "This human may be good, but that doesn't mean all humans are. Stay alert, understand?"
The little beasts nodded.
"Let's leave too. We'll find a hidden place to heal properly," Phantom Leopard said.
Soon, the little beasts departed. Only the pools of flesh and blood remained on the ground.
With the system's guidance, Yun Jin moved quickly. The person who had cursed remotely could not have imagined that Yun Jin could trace the curse to their location. He had remained motionless for half a day.
Following the system's instructions, Yun Jin arrived at a small hill. She sneered and drew Tai'a Sword. Leaping into the air, she swung her sword down.
Tai'a Sword cut through the hill, splitting it in half.
"What's happening?"
"What happened?"
Chaos reigned below.
Inside the hill was a hidden structure. A group of people looked up at the sky in panic. Yun Jin stood on the peak, lips curling in a cold smile. "Oh? Impressive. The spirit beast forest still hides quite a few people."
Without hesitation, they attacked Yun Jin.
"The blood scent is strong, Master. They're covered in spirit beast blood," Yun Mu's voice sounded.
Yun Jin nodded. "I know."
She checked the map.
Interesting. The person who cast the curse was not here.
The map showed him underground. The red dot representing him began to flee wildly.
No matter. With the system, he could not escape. With a casual wave of her hand, vines sprouted underground, instantly crushing and killing all the attackers. Yun Jin drew her sword and broke the ground.
An entrance appeared underground.
Following it down, she discovered a passageway created by someone. On both sides were secret chambers. Yun Jin entered and examined them.
Many chambers contained hanging spirit beast corpses. Some had long since died, others were freshly killed. Every spirit beast was dead.
Yun Jin's fist clenched slightly. These people wanted the bones and blood of spirit beasts; they would naturally leave none alive.
The condition of the chambers suggested this passage had existed a long time. For such a long time, not a single person had discovered this secret.
No wonder. Their earlier actions had been cautious, and the forest was in Qingxiao territory. If Lin Xiao had been covering for them, their concealment made sense.
Yet, Yun Jin noticed the poachers had become suddenly active in the days she entered the forest.
Was this intentional?
What was Lin Xiao planning?
Yun Jin did not believe this had nothing to do with him. She pursued with maximum speed.
The underground passage twisted and turned, easily causing strangers to get lost. With the system's guidance, she could not be deceived.
Soon, she arrived at a secret chamber. The system indicated the target was inside. Yun Jin drew her sword and split the chamber door open.
Inside, a man in red sat upright. He looked at Yun Jin and smiled. "Sect Master Yun," he said. "Your deeds are known throughout the world. Meeting you proves they are not exaggerated."
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow. "You are not afraid."
The man's tone was gentle. "Why should I be? Those people are irrelevant. Dead is dead. Sect Master Yun, do you know, I still wish to call you… Junior Sister."
Junior Sister!
Yun Jin's pupils contracted sharply.
The next moment, she noticed a bead identical to the one hanging at her waist in the man's hand.
It was the bead given by Master Liu Li!
"You recognized it, Junior Sister? The spirit beast forest king has an agreement with the Beastmaster Sect. To show goodwill, ten beads were given as tokens, allowing access to the core area. Only the best disciples could have these beads. Master Liu Li worked hard to give one to you, persuading the sect's senior members," the man said, smiling lightly.
Yun Jin drew her sword, pointing it at him. "Since you are a Beastmaster, why commit such madness? With your master absent, today I will clear this mess in his stead."
Her gaze was cold and unwavering.
The man remained calm. "Junior Sister, you are naive. Have you considered that all of this reflects your master's will, the Beastmaster Sect's intent, and that of all Beastmasters?"
"You claim using spirit beast blood and bones for body refinement is the will of all Beastmasters?" Yun Jin sneered.
She refused to believe Master Liu Li was involved.
The man sighed. "Junior Sister, your refinement method arrived too late. You know, the weakness of Beastmasters is their body. To overcome it, they tried many ways. Using spirit beast blood and bones is the most effective. The sect has prepared for years and trained a group of body-refinement experts. Don't worry; we use middle and lower-tier beasts. The strong ones are kept for contracts. With so many spirit beasts, our strategy is to leave the strong for contracts and use the weak for refinement."
His voice was seductive. "Junior Sister, think about it. Non-human species must differ in mind. When we fight demons, we leave none alive. Why be merciful to these spirit beasts? They are not human either. They are merely tools to increase our power. How we use our tools is irrelevant. What do you think?"
"Master, he is talking nonsense!"
"This person is shameless!"
"Master, release me. I will kill him."
In Yun Jin's mind, the spirit beasts were already furious.
"Junior Sister, have you realized the truth? If you do, we can join forces here in the spirit beast forest and achieve great things," the man seduced.