Chapter 146: A Thief Is Caught-Dumped While Cultivating Immortality in Old Age—Now That I’m Dead, System, You Finally Show Up?(With a single stroke, the landscape is brought to life.)

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This startled Xiao Junlin. If he were branded a thief, how could he ever hope to marry Ji Lingyue? He had no choice but to kill these Xuanyuan Guards. In an instant, the guards were decapitated, their lives extinguished on the spot. To ensure no trace remained, Xiao Junlin waved his hand, conjuring a flame that consumed their bodies and reduced them to ash.

Only then did Xiao Junlin let out a long sigh of relief. The only complication was that these Xuanyuan Guards left a sliver of their souls in the Ji family ancestral hall. Upon death, this would transmit the final moments of their lives back to the hall, allowing the Ji family to identify their killer. Fortunately, he had shielded the heavens and concealed his presence; while the death images would be recorded, they would be blurred and indistinct, likely failing to reveal his true face.

Just as Xiao Junlin prepared to leave, a round of applause echoed through the air. "Better to arrive early than to arrive by chance—that saying truly holds true. Otherwise, I would have missed such a magnificent scene."

"In the Taixu Holy City, on the territory of the Imperial Ji Clan, someone actually dares to kill the Xuanyuan Guards. Such audacity."

"It’s you again."

When Xiao Junlin recognized the person, his expression shifted violently. His nerves tightened, and a sense of dread welled up within him. The man standing there was none other than Chu Feng.

Just as Chu Feng had said, it was a fortuitous encounter. He had originally intended to go for a stroll when, upon turning a corner, he saw several men chasing a figure in black. Upon inquiry, he learned they were Xuanyuan Guards pursuing a thief. Rumors circulated that the Ji family had been robbed, and the thief was Li Kongkong, known as the "Number One Thief of the Central Region." Were it not for a Heavenly Sovereign of the Tribulation Transcending stage from the Ji family discovering him, he might have succeeded without a trace. Though wounded by the Sovereign, Li Kongkong had still managed to escape, piquing Chu Feng's interest.

With telepathy and a sweep of his divine sense, aided by his Double Pupils, Chu Feng spotted the sword case in Li Kongkong's possession. Driven by curiosity, he had followed, never expecting to run into Xiao Junlin once more. This stalk of "leek" had presented itself before him; it would be a shame not to harvest it.

How coincidental. Could this be called finding love at a street corner?

It was more like a cursed entanglement. Chu Feng smiled. "Yes, it’s me again. You really do have guts to kill the Xuanyuan Guards. I wonder, if the Ji family finds out, what they will think?"

"What a pity. By then, Ji Qingyue will have married someone else. To have someone else sleep with your woman and raise your children—how truly pathetic."

Xiao Junlin trembled with rage. "What do you want?"

Chu Feng laughed. "Naturally, the treasure you just took from Li Kongkong. You seem to be the heir of the Supreme Hall; you must have plenty of treasures. Why not offer a few to broaden my horizons and seal my lips? The more valuable the treasure, the tighter my mouth will be. I guarantee no one will ever know you killed the Xuanyuan Guards."

At these words, Xiao Junlin’s face changed. His fortune was dwindling. He realized that Chu Feng was also a Child of Destiny and was suppressing him specifically to plunder his luck and shatter his destiny. If his fortune plummeted and his destiny collapsed, the consequences would be unimaginable. If he gave in to the demand, this would be the second time. No, he absolutely could not be suppressed again. So what if he killed the Xuanyuan Guards? At worst, he would reveal his identity as the heir to the Supreme Hall. He would not let himself be bullied.

Xiao Junlin took two steps back and turned to flee, his figure moving like lightning. But how could Chu Feng let him escape? With a cold snort, a black hole appeared before him. Chu Feng reached out, and in the next heartbeat, Xiao Junlin was dragged out from the void and dropped to the ground.

As a cultivator at the Great Vehicle stage and heir to the Supreme Hall, Xiao Junlin was a force to be reckoned with, but before Chu Feng, he was like a child being bullied by an adult. Once on the ground, Chu Feng gripped his throat. "If you won't give me what I want, I'll take it myself."

The Heaven-Devouring Indestructible Art was activated. In an instant, Xiao Junlin’s cultivation, foundation, aptitude, and bloodline were all being devoured by Chu Feng.

"What did you do to me?" Xiao Junlin cried out in terror. "My cultivation! My aptitude!"

A crisp, shattering sound echoed from within his body. One of his greatest reliances—his Supreme Bone—had cracked. The Supreme Bone was a legacy of the Supreme Hall; every heir possessed one, though it differed from the one in Chu Feng’s own body. A Supreme Bone could be condensed postnatally or be innate, which was one of the reasons the Supreme Hall was so formidable.

Postnatal condensation of a Supreme Bone took ten thousand years, which was why the heirs of the Supreme Hall only emerged once every ten millennia. Of course, Xiao Junlin himself was extraordinary, born with the Nine-Yang Sacred Body.

"Not a bad physique. I'll take your origin."

Another crisp sound rang out. His aptitude shattered, dropping from the Nine-Yang Sacred Body to the Nine-Yang Divine Body, and then further down to the Nine-Yang King Body.

*Hmm, that’s enough. I should leave him a little something.* After all, a leek must be harvested slowly; one cannot pull it up by the roots. If he killed him now, he would surely face a backlash of destiny. While Chu Feng did not fear such a thing, it would reduce his rewards.

He released his grip, and Xiao Junlin slumped to the ground like a pile of mud. Just then, another squad of Xuanyuan Guards rushed toward them. Chu Feng’s mind stirred, and his aura shifted instantly, becoming identical to the void energy of the Ji family. The Nine-Turn Profound Art included seventy-two transformations, and although he had not reached the fifth level—the realm of infinite change—mimicking an aura was well within his capabilities. Moreover, having obtained a portion of the Void Emperor Scripture from Ji Ling'er, simulating the void aura was trivial.

"Xuanyuan Guards! This man is an accomplice of Li Kongkong. I caught him in the act—seize him immediately!"

"Understood!"

The guards did not doubt Chu Feng’s identity. The Ji clan was vast, with thousands of members; they could not possibly know everyone. Furthermore, the aura Chu Feng radiated was unmistakably that of the Ji family.

By then, Xiao Junlin was already at death's door. With his Supreme Bone shattered, his aptitude ruined, his vitality withered, and his magic power drained, his cultivation had plummeted from the late stage of the Great Vehicle to the early stage. He could not muster a shred of strength and was easily seized by the Xuanyuan Guards and thrown into the dungeon.

Watching Xiao Junlin being dragged away, Chu Feng did not believe he would die. A Child of Destiny only grows stronger through adversity. Could it be that the Ji family dungeon held some hidden opportunity? If so, he would simply harvest him again once he escaped.