The displeasure on his face quickly turned into a smile.
"That’s how it should be. Of course, we have to treat our saviors well. How could we possibly bla you? Shuang’Er, you take everyone to settle in first. I have so important matters to discuss with Leader Gao."
The old man instructed Zhao Shuang’Er, then pulled Gao Lin aside to speak in a hushed and urgent tone.
Lin Chang’sheng tried to use his Divine Sense to eavesdrop on their conversation, but was t with a stabbing pain in his mind.
"This place actually seals off Divine Sense?"
Lin Chang’sheng was shocked. He couldn’t release his Divine Sense here?
But thinking about it, it made sense—if Divine Sense couldn’t be released here, then outsiders probably also couldn’t probe within, which was why the people here could live in peace for so long.
Otherwise, if they were discovered, this place would be reduced to a scene of massacre and ruin all over again.
"Everyone, please follow !"
Zhao Shuang’Er spoke, then led the group downstream along the small creek.
"Wow, how old do you think this tree is? Must be thousands of years, right? It’s gigantic!"
As Lin Chang’sheng was pondering why this place blocked Divine Sense, the disciples’ gazes were drawn to a towering ancient tree ahead, easily a hundred feet tall.
The girth of this ancient tree was even broader than a building—standing beneath its roots, a person seed like an insignificant ant.
And all the water from the river flowed to the roots of the giant tree, gathering into a bottomless pool.
At the edge of this deep pool was a sacrificial altar made of several dozen stone steps.
Since there was a sacrificial altar and a shaman, Lin Chang’sheng imdiately understood.
"I’ve never seen such a massive tree before. This thing must have turned into a spirit by now, right?"
"No kidding—out there, even regular trees can beco spirits. This one must be several thousand, maybe tens of thousands of years old!"
"Keep your voices down. We’re in soone else’s tribe, not our own ho—watch what you say!"
...
The nearby disciples all seed to be seeing such a massive tree for the first ti, gasping and marveling one after another.
anwhile, not a single person from the surrounding tribes who saw Lin Chang’sheng and his group so much as cracked a smile.
All of them regarded the newcors with numb expressions, obviously unconcerned about their arrival.
Or perhaps, in their eyes, Lin Chang’sheng and the others were already dead n walking.
This made Lin Chang’sheng feel uneasy, though he couldn’t put his finger on exactly why.
Soon after, Zhao Shuang’Er led Lin Chang’sheng’s party into a wooden cabin.
"This is the house where a few uncles and elders who just died used to live. They won’t be coming back, so you can make yourselves at ho here. If you need anything, just let folks know."
Zhao Shuang’Er spoke flatly, her face expressionless, showing zero warmth, even though Lin Chang’sheng had just saved her life.
"Thank you for your trouble, miss."
Lin Chang’sheng replied politely, but Zhao Shuang’Er simply nodded and left the room.
"Chang’sheng, I get a weird feeling about these people. Maybe they’re up to sothing, bringing us here!"
Yan Zhen said, trusting her intuition.
Often, a woman’s intuition can be scarily accurate.
"Whatever their intentions, we’ll only stay here three days before we leave. During these three days, no one is to step foot outside! Let’s just hope they don’t get any funny ideas."
Lin Chang’sheng issued the order.
Everyone nodded right away.
They didn’t have anywhere else to go. If they didn’t stay here, the outside was far more dangerous—they could run into a Demon Beast at any mont, and after three days, it was anyone’s guess if even ten of them would still be alive.
They’d followed Gao Lin here because there were simply no other options.
...
Just as Lin Chang’sheng’s group was getting settled in—
The chieftain of the Demon God Tribe had already gathered all the tribal leaders for an ergency eting.
Chieftain Gu Ji sat at the head, with two rows of six tribal leaders lined up below him, as well as a shaman priest whose face was hidden by a bizarre crown and whose body was painted with strange runes.
"Leader Gao, you took all our best warriors out to hunt Demon Beasts, but you returned empty-handed. How are we supposed to answer to the families of those who died?"
One leader barked in anger. They couldn’t even handle sothing this simple, yet still dared to call himself a leader.
"Lu Fang, cut the crap. You know how dangerous it is out there? If you’re so capable, why don’t you try taking people out yourself? The ones who died were my n—don’t you think I’m hurting more than you? Easy for you to talk shit from your seat!"
Gao Lin snapped back, clearly annoyed.
The outside was deadly. If Lin Chang’sheng hadn’t helped them, not a single one of them would’ve made it back alive.
"Save your excuses! You accepted the mission in front of the chieftain and swore you’d succeed. The sacrificial day is tomorrow, and you show up empty-handed. Should we just kill you and offer you up to the Demon God instead?"
Lu Fang retorted, hardly hiding his disdain.
He’d had enough of Gao Lin screwing around—bringing outsiders back in chaotic tis was reckless and endangered all of them.
Who knew what those people really were?
"You—"
"Enough!"
Just as Gao Lin was about to argue, the chieftain slamd his seat, unleashing a powerful aura that imdiately silenced them both.
This was not the pressure of a re Divinity Transformation; clearly, the chieftain was a Void Refining powerhouse.
"You were called here to solve problems, not to squabble!"
The chieftain barked sternly.
He may have appeared hunched and frail, but his presence was undeniable.
Both leaders instantly fell quiet.
"Chieftain, it’s too late to go out and hunt Demon Beasts now. The sacrificial ritual is tomorrow. If we have nothing to offer, our entire Demon God Tribe will be cursed with disaster!"
The shaman, his body inked with strange designs, spoke slowly.
A heavy silence settled over the group again.
"Since there are no better options, I have a proposal!"
In the stillness, Lu Fang spoke once more.
Everyone turned their attention to him.
"Since we have no Demon Beasts for the offering, didn’t Gao Lin bring back a group of outsiders? We can use them as the sacrifice to the Demon God. I’m sure the Demon God will be pleased—after all, there are even Divinity Transformation cultivators among them."
Lu Fang suggested.
"That’s a great idea! This way, the Demon God won’t turn on us."
"Exactly! Who knows what kind of trouble they’re going to cause anyway? Offering them up to the Demon God is for the best."
"Yeah, let them make one final contribution before they die!"
...
In an instant, everyone except Gao Lin seed to agree with Lu Fang’s proposal.
Even the chieftain kept his silence, showing no intention to object.
"Absolutely not! I don’t care if they have only two Divinity Transformation cultivators—those two are powerful. If a fight breaks out here and offends the Demon God, we’re all screwed!"
Gao Lin rejected the idea.
But how could a single voice stand against the will of the majority?
"Don’t worry about that. Leave it to . I’ll make sure it’s done seamlessly—they won’t even know what hit them."
Lu Fang let out a cold smirk.
"This is too risky! Why not let take the tribe out for one more try?"
Gao Lin tried to argue.
"Enough. The matter is settled, Leader Gao. You should rest. Leave the rest to Leader Lu."
The chieftain offered Gao Lin not the slightest opportunity to object.
He agreed to Lu Fang’s suggestion without hesitation.
Better to sacrifice the outsiders than risk tribe mbers on another hunt.
"This..."
Gao Lin was left utterly helpless.
But he knew very well just how strong Lin Chang’sheng really was.
Soone who could take on a Thundering Eagle head-on was no ordinary cultivator, regardless of appearances.
But whatever he said could no longer change the decision everyone had made. All he could do was give up the fight.
After leaving, Lu Fang imdiately dispatched trusted subordinates to handle the task.
The subordinate nodded and left at once.
...
By the ancient tree, inside the wooden cabin—
Lin Chang’sheng currently had no intention of cultivating, while the other disciples were all engrossed in their practice.
Perhaps they’d just absorbed a powerful energy and hadn’t completely processed it yet.
"Hmm? So soon, there’s already news?"
Suddenly, Lin Chang’sheng sensed the Bloodthirsty Taotie had sent back a ssage.
They had located the treasure of the World-Ending Buddha, deep within the Treasure Gourd’s ten-thousand-mile pocket dinsion.
The World-Ending Buddha had incredible cultivation—his treasure wouldn’t be ordinary by any ans.
Even though Lin Chang’sheng couldn’t send out his Divine Sense, he could still enter the Treasure Gourd Space.
Following the clues left by the Bloodthirsty Taotie, Lin Chang’sheng began his search.
He discovered a mountain cave, its entrance shielded by an array barrier, preventing the Bloodthirsty Taotie from entering.
"With an array guarding the entrance, there must be a treasure inside!"
Lin Chang’sheng thought to himself.
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