Chapter 31: Killing Intent (Seeking Favorites and Recommendations)

In the main hall of Lin Fan's Cave Abode, Gao Dakuan and Lin Fan both stood in place with solemn expressions; by this time, Zhang Nuo had already returned to his room to rest, leaving only the two of them in the hall.

On the stone table lay two identical bronze mirrors, which were the "Flowing Light Mirror" used by the Zhao Brothers. When Gao Dakuan returned, he had brought this pair of Magic Treasures back with him.

"Is everything you just said true?"

Lin Fan frowned tightly, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the Magic Treasure on the stone table. As soon as Gao Dakuan and Zhang Nuo returned to the Cave Abode, he had seen that both were injured. Upon questioning, he learned it was to save the second young lady of the Song Family. Gao Dakuan had let Zhang Nuo go back to rest first, then told Lin Fan the entire sequence of events, including how Zhang Nuo, in a state of fury, had slain two cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan simply did not believe it. After all, he understood Zhang Nuo's cultivation level better than anyone; let alone killing two cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he couldn't even defeat a Qi Refining Stage cultivator at the ninth level.

Yet Gao Dakuan spoke with such sincerity that it did not sound like a lie at all, and given Gao Dakuan's character, he would absolutely never fabricate such a thing.

"I don't know the specifics either. I was unconscious at the time; Song Ziyu told me all of this later!"

Lin Fan nodded slightly, then suddenly fell silent. Supporting his chin with one hand, he sank into deep thought. According to what Gao Dakuan had just said, the pure Spiritual Qi on Zhang Nuo's body originated from the "Nine Dragon Sword Case," but Zhang Nuo had been completely unaware of this while using it.

The entire hall fell silent, and one could only hear Gao Dakuan's heavy breathing caused by his injuries.

"Da Kuan, do not speak of this matter to anyone, including Qu Yuan and Linger! Go back and rest first!"

After a long silence, Lin Fan finally sighed deeply and spoke.

"Understood, Master!"

Gao Dakuan acknowledged the order, then turned and returned to his own room.

In the main hall, only Lin Fan remained. He picked up the wine gourd at his waist, took a few helpless sips, looked at the two bronze mirrors on the stone table again, and then turned to walk toward Zhang Nuo's room.

The stone door opened, and Lin Fan stepped into Zhang Nuo's room. He saw Zhang Nuo sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, faint Spiritual Qi circling around him, as if he were circulating his energy to heal his wounds.

Hearing the sound, Zhang Nuo opened his eyes from his meditation. Seeing his master had entered, he was about to get off the bed to greet him, but Lin Fan gently waved his hand, signaling him not to.

"How are you feeling?"

Walking to the bedside, Lin Fan asked. Zhang Nuo had not actually been injured; he had merely been flooded with powerful Spirit Power, making the pain unbearable for a time. Now, after circulating his energy to recover for a while, he felt much better than before.

"Many thanks for your concern, Master! There is no longer any serious trouble!"

"Do you not remember anything about what happened before?"

Lin Fan looked at his youngest disciple. No matter how he looked at it, he could not believe that the Zhao Brothers had been killed by him.

"I only remember a great deal of pure Spiritual Qi pouring out from within the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case.' This Spiritual Qi crazily flooded into my body. At the time, I only had one feeling, which was to kill the Zhao Brothers! As for what happened afterward, I don't know!"

As Zhang Nuo spoke, he picked up the Sword Box from the side of the bed. The Sword Box looked the same as before, with nothing special to be seen. Lin Fan's mouth twitched, and he reached out to take the "Nine Dragon Sword Case." He had possessed this Magic Treasure for a long time, yet the things Zhang Nuo described had never occurred.

"Could it be that the Magic Treasure has self-repaired and undergone new changes?"

Muttering softly, Lin Fan carefully examined the Sword Box. With eyes narrowed, he released a strand of Divine Sense, which silently slipped into the Sword Box. Aside from the eighty-one Flying Swords lying quietly inside, there was nothing else there.

Just as Lin Fan was about to withdraw his Divine Sense, he suddenly sensed another aura—an existence beyond Spiritual Qi.

"This is..."

His expression turned somewhat ugly. Lin Fan increased the search range of his Divine Sense within the Sword Box. Suddenly, he let out a loud "Ah!" and his Divine Sense retreated from the Sword Box as if bitten by a snake. His hands trembled slightly as he threw the Sword Box onto the ground.

"Killing Intent!"

Lin Fan's action startled Zhang Nuo. He had never seen his master act this way. He jumped off the bed, ran to Lin Fan's side in a few steps, and said:

"Master, what is wrong?"

At this moment, Lin Fan seemed to wake from a dream. He took a few deep breaths before saying:

"This Sword Box is an ancient divine artifact. It has experienced countless fierce battles and slain countless cultivators. As the number of slain cultivators increased, a great deal of killing aura remained within the Magic Treasure. Over time, the contained killing aura became quite heavy. If this killing aura is not properly handled, the user of the Magic Treasure will suffer from its backlash. I just did not expect that even though the Sword Box has been abandoned for nearly a thousand years, there is still killing aura inside!"

Lin Fan sighed long and hard, looked at Zhang Nuo, and continued:

"Because the Sword Box has been abandoned for a long time, most of the Killing Intent inside has slowly dissipated with time. Fortunately, this killing aura is not too heavy, otherwise you would have lost your life long ago!"

Zhang Nuo looked at the "Nine Dragon Sword Case" on the ground. Hearing Lin Fan say this, he felt a lingering fear in his heart. Although he did not know what he looked like at the time, his body, which had been flooded with Spirit Power, still ached faintly.