Chapter 1236: Modus Operandus

“You?”

Upon hearing Yan’s words, Lin Dong instantly gawked before quietly chuckling in his heart. Since his awakening, this fellow had always hid within his body. Moreover, for matters pertaining to straight up combat, he rarely volunteered himself. Therefore, this was the first time Lin Dong encountered a situation like this.

“Can you handle it?” With suspicion in his heart, Lin Dong asked. The Scythe Spirit before them was exceptionally powerful and it was comparable to a Reincarnation stage expert that had passed one Reincarnation Tribulation. Therefore, even Lin Dong would find it extremely troublesome to deal with. Although Yan had recovered significantly since his awakening, his appearance suggests that he does not possess much combat abilities.

“Tsk. I’m the boss of the divine objects and I am ranked second on the Ancient Divine Object Ranking List, okay? During the ancient times, at my peak condition, even an opponent that had passed one Reincarnation Tribulation wouldn’t pose a threat to me.” Yan replied with a laugh.

Lin Dong secretly smiled. With regards to this, he had never doubted Yan. Judging by the fact that he had suppressed numerous Yimo kings during the ancient great world war, it was clear that this super grade divine object created by the Symbol Ancestor possessed extremely astonishing combat prowess. Nevertheless, he had similarly suffered great damage back then and had yet to recover since.

“During that ancient great world war, the Darkness Saint Scythe suffered the heaviest blow. Back then, the Darkness Master was wielding it when she crossed blows with the Yimo Emperor. In the end, she suffered a miserable defeat and the Scythe Spirit of the Darkness Saint Scythe was also killed by the Yimo Emperor. Ever since then, the Darkness Saint Scythe has never been as powerful as before.” Yan slowly said.

Hearing that, Lin Dong’s pupils froze slightly. The Darkness Master was actually that fearsome? She actually dared to cross blows with the Yimo Emperor. This was something that he could not tell judging by her sweet and delicate appearance.

“As of now, the current Scythe Spirit should have been forged after the second owner of the Darkness Ancestral Symbol sacrificed his body. Nevertheless, given his strength, it was clear that he was not powerful enough to recreate the Scythe Spirit. Therefore, I believe that this is only because there were remnant traces of the original Scythe Spirit within the Darkness Saint Scythe . Therefore, he merged with them and repaired it, before he was finally able to create a new Scythe Spirit.” Yan was clearly extremely knowledgeable about this situation, as he was able to decipher the truth with a single glance.

“Nevertheless, the Scythe Spirit that we are seeing now does not possess much intelligence. Clearly, it’s still at its infancy. Therefore, it’s extremely easy for me to deal with it.” Yan said with a smile.

Upon hearing that, Lin Dong nodded his head slightly before he said, “Since that is the case, I’ll leave it to you.”

Standing in the sky, while Lin Dong was conversing with Yan, the faces of the two grand elders below fluctuated as they stared at the Sky Devouring Corpse standing in front of Qingtan. That was because they were able to sense extremely dangerous fluctuations radiating from its body.

“Where exactly did that brat come from? Not only is he terrifyingly powerful, he also has such a formidable puppet.” The two grand elders shot a look at one another, before they both noticed the uneasiness present in each other’s eyes. It seems like there was no way they were going to wrap up today’s matter so easily.

“We can only hope that the Scythe Spirit is powerful enough to deal with that Lin Dong…”

The two of them quietly sighed in their hearts. After which, they lifted their heads before their pupils suddenly froze as they exclaimed, “That is?”

At the spot that they were looking at, a faint white glow had suddenly erupted from Lin Dong’s body. After which, the white glow condensed and transformed into a glowing figure.

That figure bore some resemblance to the Scythe Spirit. However, when they realized that unlike the Scythe Spirit, there weren’t any frightening ripples radiating from the latter’s body, they began to feel slightly at ease.

“Hmph. Is that brat planning to rely on that to deal with the Scythe Spirit? He is truly overestimating himself.” The two men snorted coldly, while a derisive glint flashed across their eyes.

At this moment, countless pairs of eyes in the Darkness Square had similarly converged on the two glowing figures in the sky. Meanwhile, anyone could tell that the Scythe Spirit was already the final trump card of the two grand elders. Therefore, if this move failed, the elders who opposed Qingtan would all be in trouble.

Yan appeared in a flash. Shooting a look at the somewhat vacant looking Scythe Spirit, he shook his head before he sighed and said, “I never imagined that you would end up like this. Nevertheless, it’s still better than vanishing into thin air. Given sufficient time, you should be able to make a complete recovery.”

When the Scythe Spirit’s vacant eyes looked at Yan, some fluctuations began to ripple within its deadpan emotionless eyes.

“Something’s wrong?”

Upon seeing this, the faces of the two grand elders changed as they hastily changed their hand seals and tried to control the Scythe Spirit.

“The Scythe Spirit of the Darkness Saint Scythe isn’t something that you trash can control.” Yan sneered as he shot a ridiculing look at the two of them. In the next instant, he used his finger to tap the empty space, before a warm white ray of light shot forth and flew right into the middle of the Scythe Spirit’s forehead.

Humm!

After that warm white ray of light shot in, the Scythe Spirit’s body suddenly began to tremble. After which, white glow continuously erupted from its body. As the white glow flowed, black symbols began to appear on the chest of the Scythe Spirit.

Under the illumination of the warm white glow, the black glowing lines melted away at an astonishing speed. Immediately, the faces of the two grand elders became violently contorted. That was because the black symbols were the curse that they were using to control the Scythe Spirit. However, it was actually being expelled from the body of the Scythe Spirit right before their eyes.

“Dammit!”

Their faces were filled with fear as they quickly tried to activate the curse. However, soon after, a faint cracking sound appeared before the black symbols vanished one after another. Moreover, the instant the symbols disappeared, they immediately realized that they had lost control of the Scythe Spirit.

“How is this possible…”

Their faces instantly turned pale as they stared in bewilderment at Yan. After all, never did they expect that the the latter was actually able to dispel their curse so easily. Moreover, this was something that even peak level experts, that have passed Reincarnation Tribulations, weren’t able to do so!

Yan changed his hand seal before glowing seals descended onto the Scythe Spirit’s body. In the next instant, a bright and resplendent light erupted from its body, before the light began to condense. Finally, while it was being stared at by countless onlookers, it once again transformed into a black pearl.

Yan opened his palm before that black pearl landed within. Then, he tossed it towards Lin Dong and said, “Place the Scythe Spirit back into the Darkness Saint Scythe . Only by doing so, will it be able to gradually recover.”

Lin Dong caught that black pearl. Meanwhile, there was a tinge of shock in his eyes. Clearly, he never expected that the curse on the Scythe Spirit would be dispelled so easily by Yan.

“There’s nothing strange about this. Amongst the ultimate divine objects created personally by my owner, I am the top-ranked object. Therefore, it’s only natural that I’ve got the means to suppress them.” Yan said with a smile. Although he had hardly displayed his astonishing strength in the past, regardless, he was the legendary item that was ranked second on the Ancient Divine Object Rankings. Therefore, one must be stupid if one dares to underestimate him.

With a faint smile, Lin Dong nodded his head. Promptly, he flicked his finger before that black pearl shot towards Qingtan, “Catch it.”

When Qingtan saw this, a black glow immediately erupted from the Darkness Saint Scythe in her hand. After that light swept forth, they absorbed the black pearl and brought it into the body of the scythe. In the next instant, the Darkness Saint Scythe started to hum and shake, before terrifying fluctuations erupted from within it. Then, its originally massive body grew by a notch. As it was being held by the petite Qingtan, this scene looked beautiful in a peculiar way.

Located in the square, the elders from the Elder Council were staring at this scene with ashen faces. In particular, the first elder’s body started to tremble uncontrollably, before he staggered and stumbled as he took two steps back.

Currently, a commotion had erupted in the square. Moreover, everyone clearly knew what the scene before them implied. The Elder Council’s attempt to force Qingtan to step down had failed completely.

Above the altar, Qingtan tightened the grip over her Darkness Saint Scythe . However, her beautiful face suddenly turned icy cold. She gently swung her scythe before a brilliant black ray of light shot out, causing the Ancestral Tablet floating in the sky to slowly disappear. As it slowly disappeared, the suppression effects on the Ancestral Symbol within her body began to disappear. Once again, the entire place slowly darkened.

“Two grand elders, do you know the crime that the two of you have committed by hiding the Scythe Spirit?”

When they heard Qingtan’s icy cold voice, the two grand elders’ bodies trembled. Just as they were about to speak up, they saw Lin Dong slowly descending from the sky. After which, that terrifying puppet wielding a long black blade hovered over. Meanwhile, there was a chilling glow, that caused their hearts to shudder, shimmering on its black blade.

A dense killing intent spread from within Lin Dong’s body. Clearly, if those two grand elders made the slightest move, a bout of lightning attacks would immediately descend upon them.

The two grand elders’ expressions changed drastically as the rich scent of death gushed into their hearts. Finally, a shade of fear flashed across their eyes. After struggling for a brief moment, they trembled as they spoke, “We two old men were indeed blinded by greed today. Please have mercy, palace master!”

“Plop!”

After the two of them spoke, the numerous elders within the Elder Council immediately knelt down before they cried out, “Palace master, we were forced by the first elder. Please have mercy, palace master!”

Upon hearing that, the face of the first elder instantly turned ashen while his body began to tremble continuously due to fear and dread.

The situation within the square had changed so quickly that no one had the time to react to it. Who could have imagined that the overbearing and forceful Elder Council would collapse so quickly.

The leaders of various factions in the Northern Xuan Region sighed secretly within their hearts. When they turned to look at that lovable figure above the altar, their eyes were all filled with respect. From today onwards, she was clearly the true palace master of Darkness Palace!

“Palace master. There are too many individuals involved in this matter. If you punished all of them, I am afraid that it’ll be detrimental to our Darkness Palace.” Upon seeing this scene, the two black robed elders spoke out softly.

Those two grand elders clearly knew how crucial they were to Darkness Palace. That was also why they chose to surrender so swiftly.

Qingtan nodded her head slightly. Promptly, she waved her small hand before dozens of black glowing talismans appeared in a flash. Finally, they flew across the sky before they appeared in front of the two grand elders as well as the numerous elders. Meanwhile, there was a dense black glow glimmering on the surface of those talismans.

“Elders, your attempt to force me to step down is a crime punishable by death. However, on account that all of you have made contributions to my Darkness Palace, I’ll pardon your death sentence. However, even though you are all exempted from death, all of you cannot run away from your sentences. This is the Darkness Saint Talisman of our Darkness Palace. If all of you want to keep your lives, you will swallow it.” Qingtan’s icy cold voice resounded across the square.

When they heard her words, the elders’ expressions changed drastically. After all, all of them knew about the Darkness Saint Talisman. Once they ate it, their lives would be completely under Qingtan’s control. Furthermore, any attempts at resisting will immediately result in their death.

“As long as all of you are loyal and faithful to me in the future, I will naturally not take action against any of you. As such, the Darkness Saint Talismans would be rendered useless. After all, I do not wish to weaken my palace on my own accord...”

Sweeping her gaze across those hesitating elders, Qingtan asked in an indifferent tone, “What’s the matter? From the looks of it, it seems like you elders are still trying to rebel?”

“We don’t dare!”

When they heard her words, those elders finally clenched their teeth viciously, before they swallowed the Darkness Saint Talisman down their throats. Regardless, they wanted to live. Furthermore, what Qingtan said wasn’t wrong. They were the elites of the palace, and as long as they did not plot against her in the future, Qingtan would not harm them. In that case, swallowing the talisman might even serve as a guarantee that Qingtan would not take action against them in the future.

When the two grand elders saw this scene, they released a deep sigh before they swallowed the Darkness Saint Talisman into their bodies.

When Qingtan saw this scene, she finally nodded her head gently. Finally, she cast her icy cold gaze towards the one and only first elder, who wasn’t given a Darkness Saint Talisman. Then, her cold voice rang out, “As for the perpetrator, he must die. Elders, capture that man!”

“You!”

The face of the first elder changed instantly. He was just about to roar in anger when he saw the malicious gazes from the numerous elders in his surroundings. Even before he could resist, they had already made a move. Boundless Yuan Power swept forwards, suppressing him until he couldn’t move at all.

“Send him into the Darkness Judgement Hall and deal with him using our rules!” Qingtan roared out.

After this sentence rang out, shades of despair instantly gushed into the eyes of the first elder. Meanwhile, the bodies of some elders turned stiff. After entering the Darkness Judgement Hall, even death was considered as a luxury. At this moment, they began to celebrate the fact that they had responded quickly previously.

On the square, shock filled the hearts of the various leaders as they took in the scene before them. This was the first time they witnessed the modus operandus of the new palace master. In a few moves, not only did she maintain the strength of her Darkness Palace, but she even took complete control of it. Moreover, her final move was exceptionally vicious as she wanted to intimidate those elders and force them to be grateful that they were able to live. As such, it seemed like no one would ever dare to commit the same offence ever again.

Her methods… were truly formidable.

Standing in the sky, Lin Dong remained calm and tranquil as he stared at how Qingtan cleaned up the mess. Nevertheless, not the slightest bit of joy was present within his eyes. Instead, with no emotion on his face, he kept his Sky Devouring Corpse before he descended above the altar.

Qingtan saw that Lin Dong had came over with an emotionless face. Since she knew Lin Dong’s temperament down to the core, she naturally knew what the former was thinking about. Gently waving her small hands, she dismissed the experts from the Darkness Judgement Hall, leaving only the two black robed elders, who had their heads gently lowered.

After everyone left, she lowered her head slightly before she walked towards Lin Dong. Then, she extended her small hands and gently tugged at him. However, despite that, the former only shot an indifferent glare at her before giving a cold snort, “Truly a good move. Where did you learn it from?”

He was quite angry over this. Although he knew that Qingtan had to utilize such methods in order to cement her position as the palace master of Darkness Palace, from the perspective of an older brother, he didn’t like seeing his lovable, naive and cute little sister pulling off such frightening schemes. That was because at times, when people pull off such schemes, it was equivalent to corrupting their own bodies.

Pouting her little mouth, Qingtan gave Lin Dong a hug, before she drilled her little face into his bosom. Then, her frail little shoulders started to tremble gently, before a mutter filled with grievance rang out, “I don’t like to wear these masks as well. However...you were not around and no one was taking care of me… Furthermore, as long as I can take revenge for you, I don’t care even if I become someone that you don’t like .”

At this moment, Lin Dong’s body began to tremble gently. Promptly, he turned to look at that little girl in his embrace, before he gave a long sigh. This lass has truly grasped his Achilles heel. After that one sentence, how could he possibly fault her?