An unkempt, white-bearded old man who looked like an archvillain from a historical drama lunged forward. His muscular, bronze arms bulged with veins as he grabbed Lin Tang's wrist, laughing wildly with a greedy expression on his face.
Lee Encai was stunned. Is this old guy blind? How dare he try to snatch sothing from Brother Lin…
Lin Tang felt the strength in the man's grip, realizing it was comparable to a Grandmaster's. That's surprising. Aren't Grandmasters supposed to be rare these days? How did I just randomly run into another one?
"Considering your cultivation isn't easy to co by, I can forgive your impudence. Let go," Lin Tang said calmly.
"Oh? You're quite bold for a young whelp. It seems you have no idea who I am or where I co from! Once I capture and imprison you, you'll know I..." the bearded old man sneered. If he hadn't seen Lin Tang as a talented Alchemist, he wouldn't have bothered with words and would have just slapped him dead.
He forcibly tried to pry Lin Tang's fingers apart, wanting to see what kind of pills he was holding. But he found he couldn't budge them at all. He exerted more strength, but it was still no use. Even when using all his might, there was no reaction.
"Huh?" The old man was perplexed, wondering if he was dreaming.
"You talk too much!" In the next mont, Lin Tang pushed Lee Encai aside and swung a fist the size of a clay pot toward the old man's face.
"Ah!" The old man's long hair shot straight up as if he'd been electrocuted. Danger! Danger! Danger! I absolutely cannot take this punch head-on! I'll die if I do! He retreated explosively, raising his arms to cross them in front of his face.
BANG!
The old man was sent flying dozens of ters before crashing heavily to the ground. He coughed up a wild spray of blood. Barely sitting up, he squeezed his eyes shut and yelled, "A misunderstanding!"
Lin Tang's fist, which had reappeared right in front of the man's nose, stopped abruptly. He heard the old man say with a tremor, "May I ask, are you the Holy Son of a certain Sacred Land?"
So young, yet so unbelievably powerful. He's far more outstanding than any of the young geniuses from my own Sacred Land. He must be the Holy Son from another one. It's impossible for such an extraordinary person to exist in the mundane Earth Surface World.
"Sacred Land? Holy Son? What the hell is that?" Lin Tang frowned.
"How dare you!" The old man, who had just been cowering, suddenly seed to draw infinite courage and fury from an unknown source. He leaped to his feet and bellowed, "You dare insult the Sacred Lands? You deserve to die!"
After speaking, he swiftly produced a bright yellow piece of paper shaped like a throwing knife. He dabbed it with his blood and knelt devoutly. "I beseech you, my treasure, to vanquish my foe!"
WHIR!
In the blink of an eye, the flimsy paper knife transford into a gleaming blade of light. The blade stretched a hundred ters long, slicing through the sky as it chopped down viciously at Lin Tang.
…
For a mont, Lin Tang could even taste death. Then he was completely enveloped by the shadow of the blade. The ground cracked and shattered, sending debris flying as dust and smoke billowed into the air, leaving behind a field of ruins.
"I didn't want to use this extrely precious trump card, but you have only your careless words to bla… GAH!" The old man was shaking his head with a sigh when his eyes suddenly bulged in shock. "This is impossible!" he shrieked, slumping to the ground.
In the middle of the devastation stood Lin Tang, protected by the image of a great ape brandishing a staff above his head and a dragon's silhouette swirling around him. They had withstood the blow with sheer force. Then, both phantoms dissipated.
"You thought you could kill … with just this?" Lin Tang cocked his head. "Now it's your turn to die!"
WHOOSH!
An afterimage remained where he stood, but he had already appeared behind the old man. The old man's pupils constricted as his mind turned to mush. He was dead.
Those who kill should expect to be killed. Besides, Lin Tang was worried the old man might have more of those trump cards, so he naturally hadn't held back.
"No—"
A piercing scream cut through the air as a pretty young girl with red lips and white teeth ran over. Her waist-length hair was woven into countless small braids. She looked lively and adorable, the picture of innocence. She wore an ornate gown fit for a princess, and at her waist hung a lavish, curved knife studded with pearls and agate. Trailing a fragrant breeze, she collapsed beside the old man's body, tears streaming down her face, a truly pitiful sight.
Lee Encai blinked. Are these two really from modern tis? Did they travel here from the past?
"Why? Why did you kill him?" the young girl shrieked through her tears, pointing an accusing finger at Lin Tang. "He just wanted a few of your stupid pills! If you didn't want to give them to him, fine, but you didn't have to be so malicious!"
Lin Tang's mouth twitched. "Are you blind? He tried to kill first with that ridiculously oversized attack."
"Then you should have just dodged! You're completely fine, so it's all your fault!" the little girl sniffed, saying with a pitiable look, "Since you killed my most loyal dog, I will reward you by letting you beco my new dog. Why aren't you on your knees, greeting your new master yet?"
THUMP!
Lee Encai face-planted. Seeing her cry so heartbrokenly, I thought the old man was her beloved grandfather or sothing. I never expected… he was just her loyal dog? And she wants Brother Lin to be her dog, too? Is she out of her mind?
Lin Tang frowned, agreeing that the girl's thinking was twisted. He walked toward her step by step.
The girl showed no fear, rely blinking her large, sparkling eyes. "What? Are you going to kill , too?"
Lin Tang observed her from a short distance for a mont. "Forget it. Go on, get out of here. I have no interest in killing a small, unard girl."
"Fine. If you want to throw away the great opportunity to be my dog, suit yourself," the little girl shrugged. A mont ago, she had been weeping bitterly for the old man, but now she didn't spare his body another glance as she hopped away cheerfully.
Lee Encai scratched her head. "Who on earth are they?"
"I don't know, but this runs deep," Lin Tang said, his expression grave. A little girl's dog is a Grandmaster. A paper blade he casually pulls out has the power of Yan Renjie's desperate strike. And the Sacred Land behind them... how fearso must it be?
Although the situation was serious, he felt no fear. He would face whatever ca his way. What was the basis of his confidence? It was his cultivation as an immortal practitioner! Pure, overwhelming strength!
「On the other side.」
The little girl ran far, moving with a speed and stamina that far surpassed Lee Encai's. Once she was certain Lin Tang was out of sight, her innocent expression was instantly replaced by a dark, venomous one. Her pretty features twisted into a ferocious snarl.
You killed my dog and insulted the Sacred Land. It doesn't matter who you are, you will die! And not just you. That cheap wench with you, all of your family, and all of your friends—your entire nine generations will be exterminated! Just you wait... hehehe...
She pulled a bronze Array Plate from her robes. Its surface was densely covered with fine contact points. Under a high-powered magnifier, one would see that they were not dots, but countless mysterious and profound talismans, all interconnected. When she activated the plate, the talismans shifted rapidly. Gradually, a gateway of light and shadow materialized before her.
The gateway began to open. Just before stepping through, the girl looked back in Lin Tang's direction and swore coldly, "I will kill you!"
"Is that so?" a voice replied. "In that case, I suppose I really should pull out the weeds by the roots."
"Who's there?!" The little girl was horrified. "Wait, you can't kill ! I'm—"
BANG!
A primal force swept over the area. The gateway of light, the little girl, and her ornate knife were all completely obliterated, disappearing without a trace. Not even ash remained.
CLANG.
The bronze Array Plate, however, was exceptionally sturdy. It fell to the ground, spinning a few tis before coming to a rest. Lin Tang appeared and picked it up. He saw that the core of the plate was an exceptionally precious Mount Suru Stone.
"Hiss... what an extravagance!"
A Mount Suru Stone! It could be used to refine a Space Artifact for storing items! The Array Plate itself was an incredibly complex teleportation device, capable of transporting soone to an entirely different space. Even if I reached the Golden Core Stage, I couldn't replicate it. I would have to reach the Nascent Soul Stage to even begin to comprehend how. That alone shows how powerful the creator of this Array Plate must have been!
I've really stirred up a hornet's nest this ti. I can't stay here for long… Lin Tang gave a wry smile. He forcibly snapped the Array Plate, destroying it. Then, he tossed the broken pieces and the old man's corpse into the lava, keeping only the Mount Suru Stone before making a hasty retreat.
The instant the Array Plate was destroyed, in a dark, cold underground space far away, a vast complex of buildings ford a mysterious city. Towers embedded with glowing stones provided a faint light for the many people moving about below. In the city's core, a stone hall housed a circular, elevated platform engraved with the sa kind of mystical, complex runes.
WHIR!
The platform began to glow, only to abruptly go dark.
WHOOSH!
Several figures appeared in an instant.
"Who was it?!"
"Who dared to destroy an Array Plate of our Langhuan Holy Land?"
"Investigate! We must find out! And we must kill them!"
Most of the Array Plates they possessed were precious heirlooms passed down from ancient tis. To lose one was a permanent loss. Although they had other ans of reaching the Earth Surface World, those thods were far more troubleso, ti-consuming, and fraught with danger. How could they compare to the simple convenience of an Array Plate? But more than just mourning the loss of the artifact, they were incandescent with rage that soone had dared to provoke the Sacred Land.
"Command the Sky Dog Clan to handle this. If they do not bring this person's head within three days, they will forfeit the lives of ten of their clan's children!"
Soon, Xiao Qingcang, the patriarch of the Sky Dog Clan, arrived in person. He knelt to accept the command. Taking another Array Plate, he stepped onto the platform. In a flash of light, he vanished.
「On the surface, near the volcano.」
A gateway of light ford, and Xiao Qingcang strode out. Having not seen the sun in a long ti, he found its light uncomfortable. He closed his eyes, and his pointed, elven ears twitched as he began to move swiftly. His nose twitched constantly as he murmured to himself, "The scent of the Transmission Hall's Vice Hall Master's daughter, and her Guardian Slave… both annihilated. They're dead. And there are the scents of a man and a woman, both very young…"
He spun around abruptly, facing the direction Lin Tang had fled. His eyes snapped open, revealing pupils that had narrowed into pinpricks of utter cold, the whites of his eyes a dense web of blood vessels. From dozens of kiloters away, he seed to lock onto Lin Tang's position.
He bared his teeth in a twisted smile. "You cannot escape."
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