Chapter 789: Chapter 789

Immediately afterward, a grand cloak was shaken out by Lin Lin, blocking the path of their gazes.

Physically, the staring contest ended!

Vice Officer Zou reacted extremely fast, seizing the brief moment the cloak obscured his sight to avert his own uncontrollable, bewitched glance.

The next moment, a sudden gust of wind sounded beside his ear.

Before the sound of the wind died down, Lin Lin had already charged down the hill.

His speed was even faster than the wind.

Almost the instant Hong Zhong and Zou Hai caught each other’s eyes, he had acted, throwing the cloak to block the view, and then during the brief time the former adjusted his gaze to look at him, he blasted forward like a cannonball, arriving right in front of his opponent!

In an instant, he was before Hong Zhong—facing this ghastly, corpse-like "hero," he showed no mercy, throwing a punch directly at the other’s cheek!

Lin Lin was indeed a cannonball!

The punch he delivered had the force of a cannonball!

In the Gu Castle Fortress, it had been many years since anyone had seen the Quasi-General strike with all his might!

The raging hot wind swept through, directly shattering Hong Zhong’s cheek... Such a punch was undeniably beyond the resistance of a Third-Order Transcendent like Hong Zhong!

The hot wind swept out dozens of meters.

Lin Lin furrowed his brows.

His fist had indeed smashed Hong Zhong’s cheek, specifically the shadows pieced together in the darkness. After the scorching gust swept through, the cheek was torn apart and then pieced back together.

What kind of specter was this?

The Hong Zhong capable of launching a "Spiritual Attack" on Zou Hai was merely a Spiritual Illusion?!

The figure in front of him had no physical body!

Yet, something more terrifying occurred...

After this punch, the sluggish, numb-looking Hong Zhong slowly looked towards Lin Lin.

Lin Lin saw those golden pupils.

He felt the terrifying pressure previously faced by Zou Hai. Within those vertical pupils, it seemed to contain an extremely sinister, extremely dark Spiritual Consciousness.

That consciousness surged over like a torrential flood!

Lin Lin’s expression immediately darkened; energy surged in the palm of his hand. This time, he gathered the Domain Power and struck again, slapping towards the Hong Zhong standing in the dark rift!

This time, Hong Zhong was directly reduced to dust by the wind.

Wild winds swept through, scattering the tombstones and snow in all directions.

The shadow, too, was directly swept away by this fierce wind.

Zou Hai hurried over, seeing Lin Lin holding his forehead with one hand, forcefully shaking his head before he rasped, "I’m fine... I’m fine... Call everyone outside, open the coffin!"

The cordon around the cemetery was lifted.

But it wasn’t fully lifted; elite Transcendents from both the sentries and the fortress were now allowed in, although the new cordon was placed not far from the site of Hong Zhong’s tombstone.

Only a few people were allowed inside.

Zhong Yuan, due to his special status, was also within the cemetery... though he was stopped by the cordon, this captain of the second team wasn’t angered but instead frowned as he observed the process of "opening the coffin."

He had already heard about the earlier incident at the cemetery.

Initially, he thought that the Gu Castle Fortress was putting on an act with him!

Due to the continuous pressure from public opinion, the news about Hong Zhong, the Returning Hero, attracted many viewers daily... Zhong Yuan believed that coming personally to the fortress to retrieve his brother’s body was a sure thing.

It was merely a matter of time.

As for Lin Lin’s attack... that was mere hearsay. In the entire Northern Continent front, under the Titled ranks, how many had the prowess to attack him?

All these thoughts changed the moment he saw Lin Lin.

The young Quasi-General, cloaked in a great mantle, looked exceptionally pale.

Unlike Zou Hai, at an extremely close distance, Lin Lin had borne almost the entirety of the "Spiritual Attack" from the specter in the mausoleum, and even now, his Spirit Sea was still in a tumultuous state.

Whether his eyes were open or closed.

There was an imprint of "golden snake eyes" manifesting at the very center of his vision.

However... Lin Lin did not explicitly mention this spiritual anomaly to his subordinates; he was commanding the scene, and the coffin of Hong Zhong had been unearthed, which was horrifying— the coffin that had been buried only a few days ago had already decayed, and the body within the coffin, upon being exposed, was corroded beyond recognition.

"The decay started from the head..."

The doctor in the team said in a complex tone, "Just from the scene before us, if someone said this man had been dead for a year, no one would doubt it..."

This was truly an ironic situation.

But in the world of the Transcendent, anything was possible.

"This is Spiritual Poison."

A deep voice sounded from beyond the cordon, and Lin Lin looked up at the blond man who had spoken.

He gestured with his hand, signaling the guards not to stop him.

Zhong Yuan crouched down, looking at the corpse, his voice a bit hoarse: "In the Duolu River Disaster Realm, we encountered a similar situation. This kind of Spiritual Poison often lurks in the Spirit Sea, deceiving one’s organs. Before it erupts, everyone, including the ’victim’ themselves, thinks that all is well."

Zhong Yuan said in a low voice, "However... after the eruption of the Spiritual Poison, the disaster begins. Hundreds of Transcendents died in the Duolu River, and that was the result of the timely intervention by the Lord of the Legion. This toxin first appeared in the territories of the Five Continents, possessing extremely rapid aggressiveness and unparalleled speed of transmission."

Lin Lin squinted his eyes.

"How does the Spiritual Poison spread?"

Zhong Yuan looked at Lin Lin and slowly stated, "By all means."

The greatest fear of humanity towards Extraordinary Power stemmed from this.

Six hundred years ago, the initial pioneers, who had not yet stabilized the order within the giant wall, faced the greatest danger of continuously understanding what exactly the power they were fighting against and utilizing each day was, what its origins were, and how to master it... This ultimate dilemma remains unresolved to this day.

Whenever humanity thought they had found the answer.

The waves of history would ruthlessly crash down.

To give humanity a lesson engraved in their bones!

"... Seal off the Gu Castle Fortress, strictly forbidding anyone from entering or leaving." After hearing Zhong Yuan’s description, Lin Lin quickly issued an order, his voice hoarse, "Then, use the sealant to isolate this mausoleum, and if necessary, resort to special measures for handling."

"Special measures..." Even Zou Hai did not react immediately.

Lin Lin silently looked towards Zhong Yuan; this last silent glance was the final act of kindness within the rules.

Zhong Yuan softly spoke, articulating the command for Lin Lin.

He stood up, his face expressionless as he looked down at the body below him.

The blond man snapped his fingers.

The ring worn on Zhong Yuan’s thumb suddenly burst into flames, the crimson Phoenix Fire accompanied by a sharp cry echoed over the mausoleum.

He hesitated not a moment to ignite the body of "Hong Zhong."

Using a Grade-A sealant, the "Phoenix Ring," which contains Spiritual Fire, it is said that as long as the fire is strong enough, even the ethereal Spiritual Power can be completely incinerated!

This trip to Gu Castle, his objective had been very clear: to bring the body of the "Returning Hero" Hong Zhong back to the Northern Continent Inland. But at this moment, Zhong Yuan suddenly realized the terribly wrong and horrific decision he had initially made.

The body of Hong Zhong contained an unknown source of "Spiritual Poison."

In the Duolu River Disaster Realm, explorers paid a heavy price to isolate the toxin within the disaster zone.

If this body were brought back inland by him...

The sacrifices of the Duolu River Disaster Realm would be meaningless, and the entire Northern Continent would face the severe impact of the power of the "Old World" disaster...

Zhong Yuan stared at the flames below him.

He couldn’t understand.

What exactly happened during the Maze Mission 38 north of Gu Castle?

(I took a three-hour high-speed train home today, so the time to finish typing is a bit later than usual, apologies.)