Chapter 726: Falling Short
This sounded like a good tactic and Patriarch Xue Pao successfully persuaded the Beast Deity Cult’s leader once more.
“Alright, Patriarch Xue Pao, I’ll believe you one more time. But I’ll be brutally blunt here. If things go awry one more time, I won’t be seeking your opinion on how to do things from now on, do you understand? Also, now that my vice leader is dead, you will be my vice leader.”
Patriarch Xue Pao agreed.
He had to. As the Beast Deity Cult was still useful to him, he couldn’t fall out with them yet.
In addition, if it weren’t for the Beast Deity Cult’s Hell’s Cage, he wouldn’t be able to come out of that underground cave either.
And so, they waited patiently.
They didn’t even budge when the water level had passed over their heads.
Because with their cultivation level and strength, they could even go to sleep under the deepest ocean.
“Now, we just have to see who is more patient. If Lin Jin doesn’t see us coming out, he might think we’ve reached a critical point in releasing the immortal’s soul. Based on my understanding of his character, he’ll surely rush in here. And when that happens, hehe…” Patriarch Xue Pao snickered as he reassured the others.
By now, the entire Daluo Temple was submerged underwater. However, before Lin Jin charged toward them as they had speculated, they got the Purple Thunder Needle instead.
In a suitably conducive environment such as water, the purple lightning’s speed and might would only increase.
In other words, Patriarch Xue Pao, the cult leader, and the other half immortals didn’t even have time to react before they were struck by the purple lightning.
Patriarch Xue Pao immediately cursed in pain. Unable to endure the shockwaves, he leaped up and invoked a spell that could block off the electric attack. But easier said than done.
The Beast Deity Cult’s leader was in a similar situation. Just as Lin Jin predicted, even profound immortals would find this attack difficult to handle.
“Why does this purple lightning carry traces of profound immortal strength?” The cult leader looked confused. Being a profound immortal himself, although he was suffering right now, it still wasn’t enough to kill him.
Being in just as much pain, Patriarch Xue Pao said, “Lin Jin definitely isn’t a profound immortal. He must have used a needle crafted by one. But where did the brat get so many magic treasures?”
“Oh no!” The cult leader suddenly came to a realization and checked on his three subordinates. The instant he saw them, he seethed with anger.
This purple lightning was a profound immortal’s ability and carried a corresponding strength. Monsters like Patriarch Xue Pao and profound immortals like the cult leader could withstand its attack, but average half immortals would find this purple lightning much too formidable.
The remaining three half immortals of the Beast Deity Cult were now twitching after the electrocution. All of them had their eyes rolled back and they died a pitiful death.
They may be immortals, but against the Purple Thunder Needle, personally crafted by Miao Yan Zhenren, these half immortals didn’t even stand a chance. Especially when the electricity’s might was doubled by adding water into the mix. Hence, they simply died from electrocution.
Murderous aura overflowed from the cult leader.
He had reached a mental breaking point.
From the beginning, his Beast Deity Cult had nine immortals, making them a powerful force. After he had successfully mastered control over the black clouds, he thought he could return to the mortal realm and become the new immortal emperor, seizing control over the mainlands.
And yet, nothing had been going his way and all of his subordinates died from the get-go.
Leaving no survivor left.
Thus, didn’t this make him a cult leader with no followers?
“Patriarch Xue Pao, what is the meaning of this?” the cult leader questioned out of rage. After all, it was Patriarch Xue Pao who designed this plan. Now that mishaps had occurred, he had to seek an explanation from him.
Only, Patriarch Xue Pao didn’t know how to explain.
He couldn’t say anything.
That Lin Jin brat was obviously too cunning and had schemed against them. Patriarch Xue Pao had initially laid out a trap, waiting for Lin Jin to get caught in it, only to end up having themselves caught in Lin Jin’s net instead.
How was he to explain this?
“Cult Leader, this Lin Jin is just too sly. He must have known about our plan so he used it against us and…”
“I don’t care. I want this Lin Jin dead! I will go out there and kill him right now.” The cult leader rushed out of the water in mad fury without caring for anything else. However, Lin Jin had already left the black clouds cage by then. No matter how furious, the cult leader was aware that if he were to leave the protection of these clouds, the immortal devouring beast would kill him first before he could even get to Lin Jin.
Patriarch Xue Pao flew up as well and looked around at the vast sea. When he didn’t see Lin Jin anywhere, he knew that Lin Jin had fled.
“Why is this brat so clever?” Patriarch Xue Pao gritted his teeth in anger. However, rather than thinking about that, he should be worried about his current predicament.
He didn’t exactly have a strong friendship with this Beast Deity Cult’s leader. The latter only came to his rescue because Patriarch Xue Pao coincidentally found traces of their activity and contacted them on his own accord. Only after persuading and befriending them did they come to his aid.
After further persuasion, he did manage to secure some merits, but now, the situation was different. His schemes had continuously gone awry. While he could bluff his way out the first time, he surely couldn’t do it again. Aside from the cult leader, everyone else in the Beast Deity Cult was dead.
And right now, everything just felt like a dream.
Eight immortals, with one being a body profound immortal, were massacred by Lin Jin in the short span of a few days. Patriarch Xue Pao couldn’t believe it.
Seeing how the cult leader was now on the verge of breaking down, he might just vent his frustrations on Patriarch Xue Pao instead.
He had to be cautious.
Speaking of which, he still had one more trick hidden up his sleeve. Patriarch Xue Pao requested to come to Daluo Temple because he wanted to use the Immortal Expiation Sutra to deal with Lin Jin. He had explained that the Immortal Expiation Sutra couldn’t actually remove the immortal corpse imbued in his body so the cult leader wouldn’t be wary of him.
After all, if it could actually remove the immortal corpse, the cult leader would surely be suspicious.
Because then, Patriarch Xue Pao could roam outside the black clouds without restraint.
But none of it was true. The Immortal Expiation Sutra wasn’t actually used to remove the immortal corpse. The immortal corpse couldn’t actually be removed, only suppressed.
And the Immortal Expiation Sutra had that function, to suppress the corpse.
Once suppressed, the immortal’s aura would be concealed, and that was what Patriarch Xue Pao had been hiding.
Now that the cult leader was the only person left in the Beast Deity Cult, Patriarch Xue Pao had to consider an escape route, especially when the former was in a volatile mood. With the Immortal Expiation Sutra in hand, he had a choice now.
If the situation could still be controlled, he would continue to stay by the cult leader’s side. But if the latter had other ideas or went berserk, Patriarch Xue Pao would leave.
With the Immortal Expiation Sutra to suppress the immortal corpse’s aura, he could go anywhere. The only problem would be the inability to use his powers. Otherwise, when it clashed against the suppression effects, he would be in trouble.