In the secret chamber of the Gou Family, Patriarch Gou Aowen knelt in a row with several of the highest-ranking mbers, their expressions devout.
Besides them, the patriarchs of the reclusive He, Weng, and Fei Families had also brought their core mbers. They had co here specifically for this, and they too were kneeling with utmost respect.
In front of them all sat an exceptionally tall man. He was almost naked, with skin like gold and stone, resembling a statue. In addition to the normal four human limbs, he had two extra arms protruding from his back, which were constantly forming hand seals that looked ancient and mysterious. By his side stood an elderly man with a look of haughty pride. The old man was nad Yi Qingbo, and he was from the Blessed Life Holy Land. The statue-like man was an incarnation of their Holy Master.
"When the Underworld formally invades the mortal realm, you reclusive families can take the opportunity to re-enter the world..." Yi Qingbo instructed indifferently.
Gou Aowen and the others, of course, complied repeatedly, looks of exhilaration blossoming on their faces.
How many years has it been? How many years have we been forced to lie low in frustration?!
This ti, the opportunity was one in a thousand years. Amidst the intense conflict between the mortal realm and the Underworld, they could take full advantage of the chaos to plunder and seek revenge, re-establishing the glory of ancient tis.
"No matter how you rampage, you will have the support of our Holy Master. In return, you need to collect at least 100,000 human souls for him. I will deliver the special magic vials used for collecting souls to you later," Yi Qingbo continued.
"Hiss, that many?"
"Actually, it's not that many, considering how large the modern population is."
"What does it matter if so insignificant outsiders die?"
Gou Aowen and the others felt no aversion whatsoever and readily agreed. Seeing their cooperation, Yi Qingbo looked satisfied. Just as he was about to give more instructions, the Holy Master's incarnation, who had been silent the whole ti, suddenly opened his eyes, sensing Lin Tang's invading Divine Sense.
"GET OUT!!"
With a roar, he burst forth, charging directly toward Lin Tang and locking onto him firmly.
Lin Tang was startled. This aura... It's definitely a Martial Saint! And a complete one with a martial presence, not a dead man like Number Seven.
As his martial presence emanated, a very solid projection manifested and hovered above the Holy Master's incarnation's head. The force of the punch whistled through the air, aid squarely at one's spiritual plane. Had it been anyone else, such a spiritual attack would have killed them on the spot. Even if they survived, they would be immobilized, only to be blown apart by the opponent's physical fist.
With his Divine Sense, Lin Tang naturally withstood the martial presence and retaliated fiercely, causing the man's body to stagger for a mont before he was kicked back by Lin Tang.
BANG!
A building collapsed with a crash, burying the Holy Master's incarnation under the rubble.
"How is this possible? Who is this?" Yi Qingbo cried out as he rushed out to look, completely dumbfounded. He couldn't comprehend how the Holy Master's incarnation could be at a disadvantage after making a move.
Such a tough body! The soles of Lin Tang's feet tingled slightly, and he knew the other party was far from dead. Summoning his flying sword, he struck again.
WHOOSH!
Everything in the path of the sword thread was split in two. Yet, it froze abruptly before the Holy Master's incarnation, unable to advance another inch! However sharp the flying sword was, it was useless if it couldn't strike its opponent.
Lin Tang looked closely and saw that the two hands on the creature's back were constantly changing their hand seals, releasing an invisible force in an attempt to seal and seize his flying sword.
My things? You think you can just take them?
Lin Tang sneered and charged forward with a flurry of punches and kicks. The Holy Master's incarnation's expression turned ugly as he used his front arms to block. The two fought faster and faster. The re shockwaves from their battle caused the ground to continuously sink, and the surrounding walls collapsed one after another.
The mbers of the Gou Family ran about in terror, and a few unlucky ones were crushed to death or buried alive.
Gou Aowen's eyes looked ready to burst from their sockets as he roared, "Retreat, retreat!!"
He utterly loathed this uninvited guest, Lin Tang, yet he bore no grudge against the Holy Master's incarnation. He desperately hoped that the incarnation would imdiately destroy this bastard.
Unfortunately, the Holy Master's incarnation was dividing his attention, and the formation of his hand seals slowed for a fraction of a second. The lock on the flying sword instantly failed.
SHINK!
In a shower of sparks, the flying sword sliced off one of the incarnation's ears and severed the wrist of one of his back hands.
The incarnation was enraged. Roaring, he swatted the flying sword away with his other back hand and brought his fist down toward the crown of Lin Tang's head. Lin Tang's hands were tangled with his opponent's two front arms, and he had no third hand to block. It looked as if his head was about to be smashed.
But Lin Tang's flying sword returned with lightning speed, piercing through the back of the incarnation's head and exiting between his eyebrows.
Golden liquid spurted from the holes in its head, and its martial presence projection vanished completely. His eyes bulged as he spat out each word: "So... you... are... a... Cultivator!"
The next mont, he fell completely silent, becoming a true statue.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could the Holy Master's incarnation be defeated?" Yi Qingbo's worldview collapsed. He fell to his knees, hysterical.
"What's all the noise about?"
Lin Tang was quite pleased. From the cross-section of the statue's severed wrist, he had spotted specks of Golden Fla Sand—a top-quality material for Artifact Refining. It was exceptionally sturdy, heat-resistant, and offered so protection against fire. If not for his good luck in "finding" the Xuanhuang Qi and refining it into his flying sword, he truly wouldn't have been able to cut through this thing. He would've had to flee!
Now, things were different. A body this large must contain a considerable amount of Golden Fla Sand. Once extracted, it would be perfect for refining a defensive Magic Artifact, like armor or clothing. Ordinary clothes were ruined too easily; a small fight could leave him with his butt exposed. How terrible for my image!
Besides the Golden Fla Sand, the Holy Master's incarnation's body contained other precious materials. Even the golden liquid that had spurted from its orifices was a treasure.
Lin Tang gleefully collected everything, not missing a single drop. Hearing Yi Qingbo's wails, he made a casual grab and brutally tore his soul from his body. With a single Soul Search, he gained so understanding of the Blessed Life Holy Land. It has an even deeper foundation than the Langhuan Holy Land? Just how many holy lands are there in this world?!
THUMP! THUMP!
The mbers of the Gou, He, Weng, and Fei Families… everyone who witnessed this knelt without hesitation. Despite the hatred in their hearts, they all began to beg for rcy to save their own lives, adding that it was wonderful the senior had arrived in ti to eliminate the Holy Master's incarnation.
"To be honest, our He Family never had any intention of re-erging to wantonly kill the innocent. We were coerced by the Blessed Life Holy Land. To protect ourselves, we had no choice but to feign compliance…"
"Our Weng Family was in the sa position!"
"And our Fei Family as well…"
"Heh—" Lin Tang sneered. "Do you take for a fool? You think I'd believe your bullshit?"
"You… you must be Long Tianji, the Dragon King, correct?" Gou Aowen swallowed his humiliation and forced a flattering smile. "As far as I know, you and the court of Central Earth have many conflicts. You yourself are a king of martial arts, perhaps even a Martial Saint? In that case, your natural stance is with us. The current court cannot tolerate the rise of martial arts, so why must you…"
"To hell with you! What makes you think you're qualified to be on the sa side as ? I don't associate with a bunch of trash who want to collect 100,000 souls. So, you can all die now!" Lin Tang's smile vanished, replaced by a cold indifference.
"Not good!"
"Run!!"
"Ahhh, Long Tianji, you're so cruel, so vicious!"
"I curse you to a horrible death… "
"The Holy Master of the Blessed Life Holy Land will avenge us!!!"
It had to be said that ever since Lin Tang broke through to the Golden Core Stage, his efficiency was truly astonishing when he got serious. A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed the secret vault. A flick of his Storage Ring and all the treasures were his. After using the Soul Searching Technique, he learned the locations of the He, Weng, and Fei Families' strongholds. Using his Flying Technique, he swiftly traveled there.
In a single night, Lin Tang traversed half of Central Earth, his gains plentiful.
By the ti he returned to Jiangbei for a al with Wei Zichu, the news of the successive annihilation of several major reclusive families had once again reached the ears of Yan Qinghe and the others.
Long Tianji has gone mad, completely mad! How many more people must he kill before he stops?!
The Heavenly Person Academy was so frightened they were beside themselves. Many students said they wanted to leave imdiately. As long as we're not inside the academy, small fries like us won't be hunted down and killed one by one by Long Tianji, right? After all, his enemies are the Dean and a few of the house masters, not us, right?
Regarding their clamoring to leave, Ji Yongyan, Lin Xincheng, and the other higher-ups were both disappointed and helpless. Long Tianji hasn't even attacked us yet, and the Heavenly Person Academy is already on the verge of falling apart from within? How ironic!
「…」
Lin Tang went to check on Lee Encai's condition again. Finding her vital signs stable, he was relieved. He touched the thick cocoon, sensing her heartbeat. Lin Tang was silent for a long ti.
"Little Cai, I'm so sorry… But don't worry. I will break through to the Nascent Soul Stage as fast as I can, and then I'll be able to save you!"
Afterward, he changed his clothes—his Storage Ring was full of them, after all, each one different. Having reverted to his original appearance, he appeared at the sanatorium where Shen Youling was staying. Unlike Lee Encai, Shen Youling required a continuous IV drip to provide nutrition during her coma; otherwise, she would starve.
"Master, you're here!" Mo Pinglan, who was personally watching over the bedside, hurriedly bowed when she saw Lin Tang enter. Zhu Yingning was busy relocating the company and stabilizing morale, as the load-bearing walls of the previous building had been destroyed by Number Seven, rendering it unusable.
"Mm," Lin Tang said, patting Mo Pinglan's shoulder. He then sat on the edge of the bed, took Shen Youling's hand, and checked her pulse.
Her body was perfectly healthy, not a thing wrong. Her soul was also fine. She just wouldn't wake up. It was perplexing.
Lin Tang stayed for a while. Just as he was about to leave, an idea suddenly struck him.
What if... I use hypnosis to try and enter her dreamscape…
No sooner said than done. He instructed Mo Pinglan to go outside, lock the door, and not let anyone in without his permission. Then, he released Martial Saint Number Seven and reinstalled its heart. With the shadow no longer causing trouble, Number Seven was completely under his control and followed his orders.
The next mont, Lin Tang lay down beside Shen Youling, touching his forehead to hers.
WHOOSH!
His Divine Sense seeped into her brain, bit by bit. Gradually, he "saw" a vast, endless forest. It was teeming with life but also fraught with the danger of the natural world's food chain, a place of survival of the fittest. Countless species of animals and insects were hunting and being hunted throughout the forest. And besides animals, there were also all sorts of monsters.
Youling's dream... why does it seem so real? Sothing's wrong, there must be sothing wrong! Lin Tang thought, alard. He continued to roam through the dream.
And then… he found Shen Youling.
She was being chased by various fierce beasts, running for her life in a state of terror. In reality, she would never be able to outrun them. But this was her dream, largely controlled by her subconscious, so no matter how fast the beasts ran, she could always evade them by a hair's breadth.
She was helpless. She was in despair. All the while, she heard a voice constantly calling to her:
"Co to , co to …"
But whenever she tried to follow the voice, another voice, identical to her own, would scream from the depths of her mind:
"Don't go, don't go, don't go!!!"
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