Chapter 2331 - Silverthread

"What's going on?" Tianming asked.

"It's coming!" Yin Chen said.

"What is?" It didn't take Tianming long before he saw it. Yin Chen's warning was quickly followed by the sight of a figure ahead of him.

"Guchi Xiaoyin!" Yin Chen finally said.

"Holy shit." Tianming could only lament his bad luck. While he would be able to keep himself alive if he were to come up against someone in the top forty, Guchi Xiaoyin was in the top ten. He was definitely someone Tianming didn't want to meet. Even his encounter with Yi Taoyao was mostly displeasing, apart from the accidental kisses.

"What's wrong with our luck? How could we run into that ebon monster right after the room opened?" Tianming knew how much danger he would be in if Guchi Xiaoyin insisted on causing him trouble; it would be even more dangerous than the previous room. Back there, he’d been confident enough to choose to stay behind, but he had no choice but to retreat in this case.

"The terrain here is far worse than the previous room. The room behind me is pretty small, and as long as Guchi Xiaoyin guards the exit, there's no way I can slip out, even with Meow Meow." All kinds of nightmare scenarios flashed across his mind. The only thing he could do was to try to run past Guchi Xiaoyin, but there was always a chance that he would be caught. Not to mention, Tianming was already in his sights!

"Who’s this?" Guchi Xiaoyin said with a lazy, yet gleeful drawl. He sounded like a hunter facing cornered prey.

Tianming backed off a bit more and returned to the small room.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Where do you think you're going?" said a midget who stood at the entrance of the room. He had silver hair that was so long it touched the floor. He eyed Tianming up and down with his pitch-black eyes. Standing at the entrance, it looked like he would be able to stop an entire army. Tianming was like a cornered rat.

Tianming guessed that Guchi Xiaoyin had probably also been inside one of those closed rooms, but was confident enough to charge straight out when it opened, sealing Tianming's path. He had even been faster than Yin Chen.

As he took his time eyeing Tianming, his expression changed. "Lin Feng... It's a really old-fashioned name. Haven't I heard of you before?"

Fortunately, he didn't strike right away. Instead, he approached with both hands behind him, as if he was the bigger man. "Ah, I remember now! The infamous son of Lin Mu." The thought of that made him laugh uncontrollably, causing his silver hair to shake in the air, making a sound that resembled scraping metal. Tianming squinted and observed the hair, only to find that it was actually a warbeast that was smaller than the superfiend! It didn't look like a beast at all. No normal person would be able to tell that it was anything but hair.

It was known as a silverthread. It had no eyes, nose, or mouth, only incredibly sharp and tough 'tentacles'. That silverthread and the divine soul eyes on the ebon’s hands made Tianming incredibly wary. Guchi Xiaoyin was giving him even more pressure than Yi Taoyao did, and he looked sinister enough to play the part, to boot.

Tianming noticed that the mysterious ring was still worn around his neck like a collar. That was something he wanted really badly, but he had given up on it as Guchi Xiaoyin had already taken it. Guchi Xiaoyin was ranked seventh in the minor ranking. While he seemed dissatisfied by it, it was a ranking that was incredibly terrifying for Tianming to face.

"That's not right...." Guchi Xiaoyin was still keenly observing him.

"What isn't right?"

"You're only a twelfth-level stellaminor, so how’re you ranked a hundred and forty-ninth?"

"Who knows? It could be an error." Tianming couldn't stand being evaluated like that. Though he wanted to escape, the silverthread on Guchi Xiaoyin's head was stretching millions of tentacles out to completely seal the entrance. Tianming wasn't sure if it was possible for him to burst through it.

"There's no way the minor reges mundi ranking can be mistaken. That means you have some sort of special talent. Otherwise, there's no way you'd be able to get all six walnuts and arrive here." Guchi Xiaoyin smiled dashingly.

Tianming told himself it wasn't the time to act yet. "Brother Guchi, since the Swordgod Lin Clan and ebons are allies, can you spare my life?"

"There's no need to be that formal. Just call me Xiaoyin." Tianming was suddenly taken aback by the unexpected gentle smile. "However, don't try fooling me. Do you really support the ebons? I know who your grandfather is."

"That's a misunderstanding, truly. I have only respect for the ebons, boundless amounts of it," Tianming unflinchingly said, without even wincing.

"Hahaha...." Guchi Xiaoyin circled Tianming a few times. His gaze went from Tianming's face, to his body, fingers, waist, and thighs. He took an incredibly detailed look at everything, giving Tianming a bad feeling. "Hey, Lin Feng, you're still wearing the Oldgod Ring, right?"

"Yes."

"Remove it."

"What for?"

"Do you want to live?"

"I do."

"Then do as I say." Guchi Xiaoyin rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure you'll spare me if I remove it?" Tianming looked at the silver hair that kept stretching out, covering more than half of the floor. There was no way he would be able to escape.

"You have my word. A righteous man like me doesn't give it that lightly," Guchi Xiaoyin said, patting his chest.

"Alright." When Tianming put away his Oldgod Ring, Guchi Xiaoyin did the same. Henceforth, nobody could see what was happening inside the room. Not even Chi Hun could see what went on from the Swordsoul Chamber. Many disciples in the Infinitum Swordsea nervously sweated when they saw Guchi Xiaoyin, and seeing the image vanish made them even more anxious.