Like a large hand forged from refined iron, it grasped Cao Luan's neck. Cao Luan felt difficulty breathing. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he suddenly felt his neck loosen, and then he was thrown to the ground, a wave of intense pain washing over him.
"You rely on this thing to discern my cultivation Realm?"
Cao Luan was thrown into a daze, gasping for breath. The feeling of helplessness from being restrained left him unable to react at this moment.
Lin Sheng was playing with a jade sphere that emitted a faint red glow, a look of interest on his face.
Although he hadn't paid much attention to the half-grown youth since entering, his perception clearly told him that the youth's attitude towards him had changed drastically after the jade sphere changed color.
Especially since the youth could discern his Realm using this thing, it surprised him greatly. He hadn't stopped cultivating the Shape Concealment Art that Qi Ning had given him during this period.
Every day, he would spend a considerable amount of time cultivating this concealment technique.
Over these ten-plus days, he had cultivated this technique to the introductory level, capable of vaguely concealing his vital energy fluctuations. Even a Blood Transportation Warrior, extremely sensitive to vital energy, couldn't discern his specific Realm purely through perception.
Yet the youth before him, whose cultivation had only just entered the Body Tempering Realm, could discern it, making him quite curious.
Playing with the round jade sphere in his hand, he soon discovered some clues. This thing only appeared to be a jade sphere, but it wasn't.
Picking up the jade sphere and holding it before his eyes, Lin Sheng squinted and examined it carefully.
The next moment, with a squeeze of his hand, the jade sphere shattered.
"You... stop!!"
Cao Luan, finally reacting, saw Lin Sheng's actions and couldn't help but shout.
But Lin Sheng paid him no mind, crushing the jade sphere on his own.
Inside was surprisingly a strange small insect emitting a faint red glow.
It looked somewhat like a firefly that emitted red light.
Suddenly free, the small insect tried to fly away, but Lin Sheng extended two fingers and pinched it.
At the same time, a string of information appeared in his consciousness.
【Beast Name: Caiyu Worm (Larva) (Mortal Beast)】
【A flying insect that feeds on jade. Extremely sensitive to vital energy fluctuations, not strongly aggressive. After reaching adulthood, it possesses a certain ability to avoid danger. A high-grade mortal flying insect.】
【Integration Requirement: None】
【Integration Boost: Perception Boost 3】
【Talent: Danger Perception (Low-Grade) Not Activated】
"Caiyu Worm!?"
Seeing the information description about this small insect in his mind, a look of surprise appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
He truly hadn't expected that this unassuming-looking little insect was actually a high-grade mortal exotic beast.
Although it only provided a three-point attribute boost, it possessed a talent ability.
"Danger Perception sounds like a decent ability..."
Lin Sheng's gaze fell upon the information panel, specifically on the last section, Talent.
The color of this section was gray, clearly due to it not being activated yet.
As for why it wasn't activated yet, he understood after a moment's thought. Clearly, this flying insect named Caiyu Worm was only a larva. It should activate after reaching adulthood.
As he was thinking, a whistling sound came from the side.
Lin Sheng suddenly felt the Caiyu Worm in his hand become quite slippery. Without noticing, it flew out of his palm and landed in the hand of Cao Luan nearby.
Cao Luan carefully looked at the small insect in his palm. After confirming it hadn't suffered any damage, he quickly put it away and glared angrily at Lin Sheng.
"What's wrong? Xiao Luan, you must not be rude to Sir Ghost Face."
At this moment, Cao Ying had already walked out of the room, holding a small jade gourd in her hand. Seeing the two people in the courtyard with a clearly tense atmosphere, she immediately asked.
"Sister, don't believe this person. He's a liar. He's not even a Blood Transportation Warrior. His cultivation is only at the Forging Tendons Realm. I tested him with the Caiyu Worm, and I'm absolutely sure!!"
Hearing this, Cao Ying's willow-like brows furrowed slightly, and her beautiful eyes fell upon Lin Sheng.
"Your Excellency Ghost Face, you..."
"When you posted the commission, did you place any restrictions on the cultivation Realm?"
Lin Sheng spoke indifferently, not caring at all.
His gaze shifted from Cao Luan and landed on the woman.
"No, we didn't. However, Your Excellency Ghost Face, that Luo Hu's strength is considerable. In the Blood Transportation Realm, he can be considered a rare expert."
Cao Ying spoke softly, her gaze remaining on Lin Sheng from beginning to end, as if trying to see the expression on his face through the concealment of the bamboo hat.
"I know. If you feel it's not suitable, then forget it."
Lin Sheng spoke in a low voice.
To be honest, while he was interested in this task, it wasn't to the extent that he absolutely had to accept it.
In the Wanhua City outpost, the rewards for other Gray Star Envoys were mostly more generous than this task. It was just a matter of spending a little more time. He could use this time to temporarily slow down the cultivation of the Qingniao Chasing Star Finger and first cultivate the Ape Embryo Skill or the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm to the Blood Transportation Realm.
The Caiyu Worm, however, was somewhat interesting, but it wasn't very significant before it matured. He could keep an eye out for this type of flying insect in the future.
"Sister, let him go! This scoundrel clearly came here to mess with us. Just now, he even dared to attack me... You absolutely must not give the task to him, otherwise..."
Cao Luan, standing nearby, looked at Lin Sheng and said through clenched teeth. He still felt waves of pain in his neck. The suffocating feeling from earlier had left a deep shadow in his heart, and at the same time, it made his proud heart feel even more enraged.
But before he could finish speaking, he immediately stopped because he found that the detestable scoundrel was now looking at him, making his heart palpitate. The pain in his neck also intensified slightly.
Cao Ying didn't rush to answer. She just frowned and kept looking at Lin Sheng, lost in thought.
Lin Sheng, however, had lost much of his patience. He stood up, no longer paying attention to the two of them, and walked towards the door.
He didn't have any other feelings about it. After all, he was indeed at the Forging Tendons Realm. If it were someone else, knowing that a Forging Tendons Martial Artist was going to kill a Blood Transportation Warrior, and that the opponent had a group of skilled helpers, they would definitely think it was a joke or that he was courting death.
It was perfectly normal for them to want to change the contractor.
"Wait, Your Excellency Ghost Face!"
But before he had taken a few steps, Cao Ying's voice sounded from behind him.
"I entrust this task to you. Also, inside here is a moth that I have raised for many years. It has excellent tracking abilities and has already memorized Luo Hu's aura. As long as he is within a dozen miles, it can find him."
Saying this, she quickly took a few steps, came before Lin Sheng, and handed him the small jade gourd in her hand.
"Alright."
Seeing this, Lin Sheng gave Cao Ying a somewhat surprised look but didn't hesitate. He reached out and took the small jade gourd, then turned and left.
"Sister, what are you doing!!?"
After a while, Cao Luan, who was standing nearby, finally reacted. He looked at his sister with disbelief and immediately spoke.
"He's just a Forging Tendons Martial Artist! Let alone killing Luo Hu, he might not even be a match for Luo Hu's few subordinates. And you gave him the Snow Silver Moth? What if he takes the Snow Silver Moth and runs away!?"
Looking at his sister, Cao Luan felt a sense of frustration, like seeing iron that couldn't be forged into steel.
He knew his sister too well. She was good in every way, except that she was too trusting of others.
In his opinion, that person was clearly a liar. Even if he wasn't a liar, he was definitely a fool.
Thinking about the great changes their family had suffered, and now only the two siblings were left, he couldn't just watch the Snow Silver Moth be lost like this.
"Xiao Luan, since His Excellency Ghost Face has the confidence to accept this task, he must have some skill. Father once said that you can't just judge people by their appearance. You need to change your impulsive temper, otherwise, you'll inevitably suffer losses in the future..."
Cao Ying spoke softly, reaching out to rub the red mark on her brother's neck.
She knew her brother's temperament was reckless and impulsive. After a moment's thought, she understood what had happened just before she entered the room.
After applying some ointment for her brother, she returned to her own room.
In fact, she was just as uncertain about Lin Sheng. The reason she still handed the Snow Silver Moth to him just now was because she was confident in her judgment of people. The other party had been calm since entering, and although his aura wasn't as imposing as the previous two, it gave her a feeling that she couldn't see through him.
Although she didn't possess cultivation, the inexplicable feeling she had since childhood had always been very accurate. She could faintly sense the Realm of His Excellency Ghost Face. Although it wasn't high, his strength wasn't weak; he might even be stronger than the previous two individuals.
That's why she chose to trust the other party.
However, after calming down and thinking about it carefully now, she felt that she had been a bit impulsive. She felt it was impossible to always be right.
She should have tested him more, but it was clearly too late now.
"I hope my judgment isn't wrong this time..."
Her gaze went through the window, looking at the sky outside, and she murmured to herself.
Meanwhile, Cao Luan in the front courtyard was gripping a steel knife, swinging it wildly as if venting his anger.
But after a short while, he stopped.
"No, I absolutely cannot let that scoundrel get off easy... When can I avenge Father by relying on these useless people?"
A look of determination appeared on his somewhat young face.
...
On the other side, after Lin Sheng left, he didn't rush to act. Instead, after buying some potentially useful items on the street, he returned directly to his residence in the city.
In the courtyard, he was playing with a delicate small jade gourd in his hand.
With a flick of his finger, the stopper of the jade gourd popped open.
Soon, a completely snow-white moth flew out. This moth was a circle larger than common moths, looking plump.
The moth's speed wasn't fast. After being freed from confinement, it didn't fly away but circled around the jade gourd repeatedly, as if something inside was attracting it.
Lin Sheng opened his palm, and the moth, as if possessing sentience, slowly flew down into his palm.
And information about this moth quickly appeared in his mind.
"It's actually another high-grade mortal flying insect."
Seeing the panel information, he raised his eyebrows slightly, a look of surprise on his face.
This snow-white moth, called the Snow Silver Moth, just like the insect previously hidden in the jade sphere, is a high-grade mortal exotic beast.
Although it doesn't have a talent like that small insect, its boosted attributes are stronger.
It also only has one attribute, Perception, but the Perception boost is four points.
This is already the exotic beast with the highest Perception attribute he has seen among mortal beasts.
No wonder that woman handed this item to him. With a 4-point Perception boost, the Snow Silver Moth's tracking ability is indeed excellent.
Lin Sheng even had the thought of integrating this Snow Silver Moth into his body, but he dismissed the idea for now after just thinking about it.
As a high-grade mortal exotic flying insect, the Snow Silver Moth is naturally expensive, much higher than the price of ordinary high-grade mortal beasts.
Furthermore, this wasn't his item. Although he didn't consider himself a good person, he still didn't want to simply take something from others.
Also, he hadn't integrated this type of small-sized flying insect exotic beast before, so he couldn't be sure exactly how it would work.
The blood requirement for integration basically wouldn't kill the exotic beast, but the proportion wasn't low, and the result of severely depleting its vitality was unavoidable.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. After completing this task, I can discuss it with Cao Ying. It might be possible to integrate this Snow Silver Moth at some cost."
He thought this in his heart.
"Moreover, these siblings don't seem as weak as they appear. With flying insects of the Caiyu Worm and Snow Silver Moth level by their side, they should also have some secrets."
He had already made up his mind. After the task was completed, he could have more contact with Cao Ying. If there were mature Caiyu Worms, that would be even better.
With that thought, he put the moth back into the jade gourd and began to regulate his breathing and cultivate.
He had decided to set off for Pingshan County tomorrow to search for the whereabouts of the Red Hair Bandits and complete the task as soon as possible.
Just as he was immersed in cultivation.
Shuixiang Street.
"Sister, rest early. You haven't been sleeping well these past few days. If you don't get some good rest, I'm worried you won't be able to handle it..."
In the courtyard, after Cao Ying and Cao Luan finished dinner, Cao Luan proactively cleared the dishes and urged his sister to rest early.
A hint of relief appeared on Cao Ying's face, and she sighed inwardly, feeling that her brother was becoming more sensible.
She indeed hadn't slept well during this period. Now that someone had taken the task, it was time for her to get a good night's sleep, so she didn't refuse.
"Xiao Luan, after you finish tidying up, you should also rest early. Don't practice martial arts anymore."
"I know, Sister, don't worry."
A smile appeared on Cao Luan's face, and his movements became more nimble. Watching his sister enter her room to sleep, the smile on his face also disappeared.
Expressionlessly washing the dishes for both of them, and after confirming that his sister was completely asleep, Cao Luan didn't hesitate. He went directly to the last room down the corridor, which had a heavy lock on the door.
He took out a key from under a loose green brick in the shadow on one side, quietly unlocked the door, and slipped inside. Not long after, he came back out.
In his hand was now a cylindrical object, as thick and long as a baby's forearm.
He tightly clutched the cylindrical object in his hand, a look of determination on his face. His gaze fell towards his sister's room, and he whispered in a low voice.
"Don't worry, Sister. If that scoundrel dares to deceive us, I will make him pay the price. I will also personally avenge Father and kill that Luo Hu..."
Before his voice faded, he had already rushed into the darkness outside the courtyard.