Chapter 252: An Eye for an Eye
Added 2025-06-24 20:53:51 +0000 UTCAll Novels || Martial God
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In He Yiming's Spatial World, there was also a similar piece of hide.
This was something he obtained from Lu Xinwen, but what was recorded on it were not these incomprehensible patterns, but the cave dwelling in the Hohhot Mountain range.
He Yiming pondered for a long time, then asked, "Everyone, do you know what kind of beast hide this Totem is made from?"
Everyone stepped forward, touching and examining the Totem, clearly very curious about it.
Lian Yi even tried to tear the Totem like He Yiming did, but no matter how much True Qi he used, the Totem remained unharmed.
Lian Yi's old face flushed slightly. "This thing is very unique, and must be very valuable. But I don't know what kind of beast hide it is, but it's definitely a Spirit Beast's."
Everyone nodded outwardly, but inwardly, they all thought, "Isn't that obvious?"
A beast hide that even an Innate expert's full power couldn't destroy was, of course, from a Spirit Beast, and an unusually powerful one at that.
"Strange." He Yiming suddenly frowned. "Since this hide is so tough, how was it cut off in the first place?"
Everyone fell silent. After a long while, Xu Chengchang suddenly said, "In our Heavenly Lake Mountain's Book Collection Pavilion, there are many ancient books recording events from the ancient wilderness. I've read some of them. It seems that in ancient times, human cultivators possessed divine abilities to move mountains and seas. Perhaps only such powerful cultivators could have done this."
He Yiming's heart stirred. "Brother Xu, are you talking about Dao of Spirit experts?"
Xu Chengchang hesitated. "I don't know if they were Dao of Spirit experts, but this level of expert hasn't appeared for thousands of years. It's probably just a legend."
He Yiming's eyes gleamed. He thought to himself, This isn't a legend; it's just that you haven't seen them.
According to One Hundred and Eight, the first owner of that cave dwelling was a Dao of Spirit expert, but that was at least a thousand years ago, or even several thousand years ago. And even if he told them, most would surely not believe it.
"Alas..." Medicine Daoist suddenly let out a long sigh. "No matter what, this Totem was found in our Hengshan Mountain. I'm afraid we're going to have a hard time explaining this."
Xu Chengchang's eyes darted around. "Brother Yao, you should also know the origin of the Totem tribe. Even without this incident, I'm afraid they would come out to cause trouble after some time. Instead of fighting them then, it's better to act now and disrupt their plans. That's a good thing."
Medicine Daoist smiled bitterly again and again. "Brother Xu is joking."
Even if Xu Chengchang was right, for the Hengshan Mountain lineage, which was on a knife's edge, this was certainly not a good thing.
He Yiming's heart had long since calmed down. He faintly felt that a huge conspiracy targeting him seemed to have arrived here, but he had no idea what it was.
Such a force, operating from behind the scenes, was definitely the most troublesome.
Faintly, He Yiming even thought of Sima Yin from before. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: could the person who hired Sima Yin to kill him be related to this matter?
Medicine Daoist put away the Totem on the ground. He sighed, "No matter how this matter is finally resolved, we must return this Totem to its rightful owner." His words were immediately agreed upon by everyone. No matter if someone framed them, they couldn't keep this Totem any longer.
Otherwise, it would cause an unending feud between the Hengshan Mountain lineage and the Wolf Totem Clan, which was not something anyone wanted to see.
"Brother Xu, please help us ask where our six missing disciples are," Lian Yi suddenly said.
Xu Chengchang quickly nodded. "Brother Lian, you're too kind. It's just a small matter, of course I should help."
Everyone returned to the main hall outside. Only after breathing the fresh air there did Xu Chengchang's heart finally settle. However, based on his observations along the way, he was somewhat confident that perhaps this matter really wasn't done by the Hengshan Mountain lineage.
Upon entering the hall, Xu Chengchang spoke a few strangely toned words, and Angda woke up. However, his eyes were still as dazed as ever, as if he hadn't escaped the Bewitching Technique yet.
"Angda, tell me, did you capture any disciples of the Hengshan Mountain lineage down the mountain?" Xu Chengchang's voice was filled with a strange power, as if it could directly penetrate into people's hearts.
Angda opened his mouth. His body and mind were already dominated by the Bewitching Technique; all his answers were subconscious actions, even without his own knowledge.
"Yes, a few of us captured some isolated Hengshan Mountain disciples."
"How many did you capture in total?"
"Six."
He Yiming and the others' expressions subtly changed. The exact number of their missing disciples was six; it was clear they had all been captured by these people.
"Where are they now?"
"They are all dead."
He Yiming and the others' faces instantly darkened. Lian Yi's face was particularly grim. Although the six missing disciples were ordinary disciples of the Hengshan Mountain lineage with relatively low cultivation, one of them was his junior, and also a distant relative by blood, so he was naturally incomparable to ordinary disciples.
"Why kill them?" Xu Chengchang felt the strong killing intent behind him and couldn't help but groan inwardly. He dared not delay and quickly asked the crucial question.
"We asked about the situation in the mountains to prepare for entering the mountains at night. These six people no longer had any value alive, so of course they had to be killed," Angda said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
A chilling wave swept through He Yiming's heart. He had a vague, terrifying thought: perhaps in the eyes of these people, their lives were as worthless as pigs and dogs.
Medicine Daoist sighed deeply. "Brother Xu, please help us inquire about where their bodies are placed."
Xu Chengchang also sighed faintly. "Brother Yao is right. The deceased should at least be laid to rest in peace."
He turned and asked, "Where did you bury the bodies of the six Hengshan Mountain disciples?"
Angda said blankly, "They have been offered to the Spirit Wolf for consumption."
Xu Chengchang's face instantly became the grimmiest it could be.
He Yiming was slightly stunned. "What does he mean by that?"
Xu Chengchang said word by word, "The remains of your sect brothers were eaten by this Innate Spirit Beast." His gaze turned to the unconscious Spirit Wolf beside him, his voice filled with an extreme chill.
Everyone's hearts simultaneously surged with anger and coldness.
As humans, they naturally viewed things from a human perspective.
Humans going to great lengths to kill Spirit Beasts for their Inner Cores seemed perfectly normal in their eyes. However, Spirit Beasts killing humans and eating them was absolutely not a normal occurrence.
Xu Chengchang snorted angrily. "Everyone, you may not know this, but these barbaric mountain people believe in these Spirit Beasts and feed outsiders to them. This is a common occurrence for them. But since they came here and did this, it's too much..."
Lian Yi's eyes flashed with intense anger. As an Innate expert, to have his junior eaten by a Spirit Beast was an unbearable humiliation. Looking at the three patterned Wolf Totem people and the unconscious Spirit Beast, his eyes were filled with killing intent.
"Elder He, what do you think..." Medicine Daoist's brows furrowed deeply. He asked in a low voice.
Now that Yu Jinglei was not present, everyone naturally looked to He Yiming for the final decision.
Although everyone knew that He Yiming had the least experience, in the Innate Realm, so-called experience was only relevant among cultivators of the same rank. If there was a difference in martial power, then experience would take a backseat.
He Yiming remained silent, as if he didn't see Lian Yi and Medicine Daoist's gazes.
He turned and approached the Spirit Beast, gently waving his sleeve.
Silently, a large amount of True Qi surged wildly into the Spirit Wolf's body.
Although this Spirit Wolf had bronze bones and iron muscles, if it had been alive, He Yiming would have found it difficult to kill it with one palm strike. But at this moment, the Spirit Wolf was severely injured and its condition was gradually worsening. If it didn't receive effective treatment, it might not have survived anyway.
So, when He Yiming struck with his palm, he instantly killed it on the spot.
Everyone present had sharp eyes and witnessed the Spirit Wolf's aura rapidly weaken, completely disappearing in a very short time.
They all breathed a long sigh of relief.
Regardless of whether He Yiming's action was right or wrong, since it had been done, there was no point in regretting it.
Even Xu Chengchang would not object to He Yiming's actions. Perhaps after killing the Spirit Wolf, the hatred between the Hengshan Mountain lineage and the Wolf Totem would truly be unresolvable.
But this Spirit Wolf had eaten the Hengshan Mountain disciples alive. In this situation, if it were allowed to live and leave, the cohesion within the entire Hengshan Mountain would immediately collapse, and no disciple would remain loyal to Hengshan Mountain.
Xu Chengchang's gaze held a hint of admiration as he looked at He Yiming.
Such decisive and ruthless methods truly befitted a young expert who had reached the Single-Line Sky Realm at such a young age.
However, he didn't know that He Yiming hadn't thought about it that complicatedly at all.
He had simply done what a human should do, far from the profound implications Xu Chengchang had imagined.
"Elder Yao, this Spirit Wolf is an Innate Spirit Beast. We shouldn't waste it," He Yiming said calmly.
Medicine Daoist was slightly startled. "Elder He, do you want to extract its Innate Inner Core to refine pills?"
"Of course." He Yiming's eyes turned cold. "Take its flesh and fur, and distribute them to the families of the six deceased disciples. If we can refine an Innate Golden Pill this time, then in the future, we will prioritize selecting disciples with Tenth Level of Inner Strength from their families' descendants to consume it."
Medicine Daoist and the others nodded one after another. Although they had reservations, they dared not speak much in front of He Yiming at this moment.
Lian Yi, in particular, was secretly delighted. He knew the situation of the six missing people best.
The others were fine; although they had some family members, there were no remarkable experts in those families. But his junior was different; he had a biological elder brother who had just reached the Tenth Level of Inner Strength as an Acquired Stage expert. If fully cultivated, he would definitely reach the peak of the tenth layer within ten years.
Therefore, if the Spirit Wolf Inner Core could be refined into Innate Realm, then this Golden Pill would be destined for this person.
With this compensation, his slight dissatisfaction had long since disappeared. He even had a vague thought: two Wind-Fire Peak disciples for one Innate Golden Pill, this deal was truly worthwhile.
Xu Chengchang's expression changed slightly. He softly said, "Elder He, killing the Spirit Wolf is enough, but dismembering it, I'm afraid..."
He Yiming snorted coldly. "Brother Xu, no matter the reason, since the Wolf Totem Clan has come to our Hengshan Mountain lineage and harmed our disciples, I, He, naturally cannot let it go. Besides..." A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Do you really think that at this point, there's still any possibility of resolving the enmity between us and the Wolf Totem Clan?"
Xu Chengchang smiled bitterly. He knew that even if he said yes, no one would believe him.
He Yiming hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Brother Xu, besides being a spiritual symbol, does the Wolf Clan's Totem have any other use?"
"Probably not," Xu Chengchang said hesitantly. "If it really had a use, there wouldn't have been any rumors throughout history."
He Yiming nodded slightly, thinking, Indeed. If it had any magical use, it wouldn't have been easily stolen, nor would it have been thrown into the Hengshan Mountain public treasury like discarded trash.
"Since it's a useless item, we'll return it to the Wolf Totem tribesmen when they come again in the future," He Yiming said with a hint of regret.
Xu Chengchang nodded, forced a bitter smile, and pondered for a moment. "Brother He, since those people have already confirmed the Totem's location, they will surely go back to summon reinforcements. We cannot be unprepared."
He had wanted to leave earlier, but now that the situation had stabilized, his thoughts immediately changed, and he actually wanted to stay and fight those Totem Emissaries.
In such small-scale confrontations, it would definitely be greatly beneficial for personal cultivation.
Medicine Daoist nodded repeatedly. Although he looked young outwardly, he was undoubtedly the most seasoned and steady among them.
"How about this? We immediately send someone to inform Martial Uncle Yu and ask him to return and take charge. As long as Martial Uncle Yu and Elder He, two Single-Line Sky Realm elders, are here to oversee, there shouldn't be too big of a problem."
Everyone praised him, and they all knew that beside He Yiming, there was also a mysterious and profound friend. According to Yu Jinglei, this person's cultivation had even reached the Three Flowers Gather at the Summit realm. With this person residing on the mountain, they had great confidence in their defense.
Of course, speaking of this person, everyone also harbored a subtle dissatisfaction.
When Yishibao escaped, if this person had been willing to help, they would have long since captured that Wolf Totem Emissary. But from beginning to end, One Hundred and Eight didn't even show his face.
However, although everyone was dissatisfied, let alone going to argue with him, no one even revealed the slightest hint of it to He Yiming.
This was the impact caused by the disparity in strength. When the other party possessed power far exceeding theirs, no matter how dissatisfied they were, they could only swallow their bitterness.
He Yiming's eyes darted around. "Brother Xu, you said the Totem tribe should be our Northwest's public enemy, right?"
"Precisely," Xu Chengchang said seriously. "The Totem tribe is the perennial scourge of our entire Northwest."
"Excellent," He Yiming said with a broad smile.
Everyone was stunned, wondering what was so good about it.
"Elder Yao, please send someone to inform Kairong Country and the neighboring countries to dispatch their Nation Protecting Masters to Hengshan Mountain," He Yiming said with a smile. "Since they are the public enemy of the Northwest, we Hengshan Mountain lineage naturally cannot be the only ones putting in effort."
Medicine Daoist and the others exchanged bitter smiles. He shook his head. "Elder He, this isn't a full-scale invasion by the Totem tribe after all. I'm afraid not many people will come."
He Yiming smiled. "Even if only one comes, that's one. I want to see how many people are truly friends of our Hengshan Mountain lineage."
Medicine Daoist and the others finally understood his intention, but this was indeed the best opportunity to test them.
The remaining miscellaneous matters were naturally left to Medicine Daoist and Yu Xichen. After setting the general direction, He Yiming bade them farewell and returned to his room.
As soon as he entered the room, his face immediately darkened, and he whispered, "Brother Bai, you should be here, right?"
As his voice fell, a person leaped down from the roof. It was the elusive One Hundred and Eight.
However, this time One Hundred and Eight did not transform into other forms, but merely remained hidden on the roof.
He Yiming's eyes sparkled. "Brother Bai, why didn't you stop Yishibao when he escaped this time?"
Although Medicine Daoist hadn't expressed his innermost thoughts, since they had such thoughts, how could He Yiming be exempt?
One Hundred and Eight calmly replied, "I was following you the entire time; I couldn't split myself to pursue him."
He Yiming snorted softly. "A mere Spirit Wolf can't threaten my safety."
"I know, but you didn't tell me to pursue Yishibao either."
He Yiming was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth, then smiled bitterly. "You mean, if I don't give an order, you won't do it?"
One Hundred and Eight stated matter-of-factly, "My mission is to protect your safety. This is the first priority. Until you give other instructions, nothing can conflict with the first priority."
He Yiming's lips trembled a few times. Encountering such a person truly left him deeply speechless.
"I understand. You may go."
One Hundred and Eight left without a word. As he left He Yiming's room, he didn't even open the door, simply walking through the wall.
Looking at his back, He Yiming sighed inwardly. To achieve tacit understanding with him, there was still a very long way to go.