"Peng you....." Cheng Yuan said in a shaky sorrowful voice as he stared at Peng Zhen in disbelief.
"Why didn't you…."
"There's no need for that Cheng Yuan. I did what I thought was best with what I had. The sect would live on as long as it has you, I on the other hand I'm just a cultivation fanatic. I don't have any other worthwhile skills other than my passion for the dao which always gives me the cold shoulder," Peng Zhen couldn't help but smile bitterly once he said this.
He had been diligently cultivating never slacking off but he was 260 years old and still at the peak of the foundation realm. Dong Yanlin's true face seemed younger than him once he had openly revealed himself in the fight. He seemed to be around 27 years and was already in the 3rd stage of the core formation realm. His senior brother Cheng Yuan was just four years older than him and was already a fifth-stage core formation realm. What about him he has been spending his sole focus on cultivating and was only at the peak of the foundation establishment realm.
"Was I maybe too extreme in my requirements," Peng Zhen couldn't help but wonder to himself as he shook his head.
"Please Judge I knowingly agreed and supported everything Peng Zhen did. Whatever punishment you deem fit to for him I'd like the same treatment." Gui Bingwen who was silent all this time suddenly interjected.
"Gui what are you doing?" Peng Zhen asked in surprise
"Shut it, Peng. You're not going to hog the glory of being a martyr alone and have monuments of you placed all around the sect. I want some monuments too with disciples burning incense for me bawling their eyes at how I had the spirit of a true cultivator. If there is one thing I'm good at is throwing my life away gloriously. Peng, you won't steal this moment from me. Cheng Yuan remember not to be stingy with the monuments, I want excellent craftsmanship that will be able to bring out my heroic demeanor," Gui Bingwen righteously said as he raised his gait showing he won't be dissuaded from his decision.
"Fine, it's not like I don't know you've always been bullheaded. No wonder you're still a single dog till now" Peng Zhen said as he offered a grateful smile to Gui Bingwen.
"Sect master Cheng Yuan you have yourself, nice sect mates. I can see why you went this far," Yang Qing said as he admired the bond between the two elders. Cheng Yuan's eyes were beetroot red with his lips quivering that he couldn't bring himself to say anything. He wanted to speak up for leniency but he doubted whether his words could help change anything. He could only swallow and accept what was to happen next and move forward carrying their wills with him.
"Well then now that we have everything I shall pass my judgment. But before that I need to take care of a little sleeping parasite," Yang Qing said as he flashed from his desk and reappeared where Peng Zhen was. Before Peng Zhen could even register how Yang Qing had blitzed in front of him he was poked in his forehead by Yang Qing. He instantly lurched over and started vomiting blood and a black sticky substance.
"STAY!!" Yang Qing calmly said once he saw the agitated expression Cheng Yuan had as he quickly wanted to make his way over. Cheng Yuan wanted to rush over the moment he saw Peng Zhen vomiting blood but the moment Yang Qing uttered that word it was like his body was chained to the ground. No matter how much he willed it, his body couldn't move an inch. His thoughts operated normally but his body had betrayed him. He couldn't even utter a single word. Gui Bingwen wanted to rush over too but he was paralyzed just the same. Unlike Cheng Yuan who was paralyzed with words, his case was done by a mere gaze.
Peng Zhen continued vomiting as the blood and the black substance started congealing together. He stopped vomiting when a palm size worm that looked like an overgrown larva with razor-sharp teeth and no eyes fell from his throat down to the ground. The worm was black that had red runic symbols drawn over its body. They looked like they were drawn in blood. The worm wiggled as it shrieked like a vulture with shredded vocal cords.
A sudden change soon happened to the blood, the black sticky substance, and the worm once they came into contact together. The worm dissolved like salt in water as the new mixture congealed together and morphed into an oval shape. Within seconds the shape had additional features forming from it which drew surprised expressions from Gui Bingwen and Cheng Yuan who despite being paralyzed could see all that was happening. The features were body parts of a face. First were the ears then the nose then the eyes and finally a mouth. The eyes wiggled as though they were trying to open up.
Peng Zhen who was still coughing had his pupils frozen in fright once he saw the face formed below him as he was lurched over.
"How is he alive? And when did he?" Peng Zhen asked in a shocked shaky voice. How could he not be in shock when the face he just saw below resembled that of Dong Yanlin. By all accounts, he thought he was dead but now here he was, a bloody face that he had just vomited. It was his strong willpower that stopped him from passing out in fright.
"W..h..e..r..e I'm I," a weak raspy parched voice was suddenly produced from the blood pool face of Dong Yanlin.
"Nice of you to join us. You know it's not nice of you to hitchhike on someone else's body without their knowledge. You should ask permission first and discuss terms before doing something like this," Yang Qing said as he put on a playful smile. He pressed something on his golden eagle medallion which then changed the look of the courtroom to look exactly like the site where Feng Xin had found Peng Zhen and the rest. Every single detail was mimicked to resemble that battleground as much as possible.
"Who are you? Are you the one who forcefully broke my technique and ejected me from Peng Zhen's body?" Dong Yanlin coldly asked. His bloody face was fully formed making his communication clearer than before and his eyes finally opened. The whole sclera was black with a red pupil
"I did it because I wanted to ask you a few things," Yang Qing said like he was talking to an old friend.
"Good, good, good... I didn't expect to meet a meddlesome kid. Peng Zhen so this was your trump card?" Dong Yanlin snidely asked as he had a mocking smile on his face.
"Kid seeing how you dispelled my technique I can tell you are someone with talent. I don't know what Peng Zhen offered you but I can offer you much better opportunities. Meeting me can be considered your greatest fortune. I'm part of an organization that is as powerful as any rank 1 sect and It appreciates talents a lot. With your level, you'll be highly favored and nurtured. Reaching the domain realm in a hundred years isn't impossible. I'm even willing to put in a word with my master who is a domain-level expert to take you in as his disciple. What do you think kid?" Dong Yanlin asked as he put on a smug grin. No one could resist a chance at stepping into the domain rank, especially within 100 years. He made such a generous offer because he recognized Yang Qing's talent and wanted to rope him in. The grade of the technique he had used to parasitize Peng Zhen was a blue grade technique and someone who can disrupt and dispel it had to be someone with great talent.
The offer he had made to Yang Qing was also a genuine one. With the blood ghost hands resources, it would not be hard to help someone with his level of talent to reach the domain level. He would get more merit points if he brought someone of this talent to the syndicate and getting his master to accept such a talent would help improve his master's prestige and the overall strength of his faction within the syndicate. The syndicate wasn't united as it was like a viper's nest each viper vying for dominance.
"Domain expert in a hundred years? Mmmh this is a rather intriguing offer. if I say yes what do you want in return? There's no such thing as a free meal, especially from someone like you who has the word villain written over you with that fiendish technique you used on this old man here," Yang Qing calmly asked as he played along.
"Don't worry, I won't ask much I only need your help in recasting my technique on Peng Zhen. In my current state, I won't last long, I need to be incubated in a living being. I'll give you the formulae of the technique. After you have successfully cast it, we will make our way to amber town not far from here, and have my senior brother fly us back to the organization. He is a palace stage expert," Dong Yanlin added the last part as a form of threat to warn Yang Qing against trying any funny business.
"I still don't know the name of the organization I'm to join. Care to share their details?"
"I'll reveal it when we make it to amber town. We are a hidden organization just like those hidden clans and sects that not many people know of but are extremely powerful," Dong Yanlin said. He would only reveal it when he was in his senior brother's presence. Incase Yang Qing rejects his offer taking care of him won't be hard. This was one of the ways the syndicate recruited. They'd make their offer but if rejected the person would be killed to keep the identity of the recruiter hidden.
"I thought keeping this reuse up would help me glean something but seeing how secretive you are with just a name I guess I can't get much from you. Blood ghost hands members sure love their secrets and mysteries. Oh well, better to send you off to the higher-ups to deal with you. They're sure to be more fruitful at it than I am with their array of techniques specifically geared toward making you chatty. After all, you're not the first blood ghost hands member we have our hands on," Yang Qing said as he gave the most innocent smile he could.
"You who are you?" Dong Yanlin yelled in fear at the sudden change in events.
"Oh sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Yang Qing a soft-life judge from the Order. I've heard great things about you Dong Yanlin and your senior brother too. He disappeared before we could have a chat and left his hand behind. So pitiful. Well, Dong Yanlin I wish you a pleasant stay in the Order. Don't worry we have techniques that will ensure your longevity and safety. Make sure to tell the guys I'm about to send you to about that domain master of yours. They like juicy gossip like those ones. Bye Bye ." Yang Qing cheerily laughed before he waved his medallion as a huge white cocoon enveloped Dong Yanlin and disappeared on the spot as the courtroom resumed its normal appearance.
