After just one day, Lin Yuan had gained many strands of white hair. He Jiaye was completely unaware of this. Or rather, even if he had noticed, he would have simply assumed it was a side effect of the Life-Burning Pill, never imagining it had anything to do with Lin Yuan.
“By the way, how come I haven’t seen the Patriarch of the He family?” Lin Yuan suddenly asked as they walked along the path.
“The Patriarch was injured some time ago and has been in seclusion for healing, so he’s unavailable for visitors.”
“I see.” Lin Yuan didn’t press further and followed He Jiaye to the place where Azurefall Flower grew.
Just as expected, the cliffside was a mess. There wasn’t a single Azurefall Flower left, not even many weeds.
He stepped forward to examine it and suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. “These broken stems… they’re all freshly snapped!”
He Jiaye’s pupils contracted sharply, then forced a smile. “Ah? How could that be?”
Sensing a faint killing intent in the air, Lin Yuan chuckled and offered him an excuse, “Maybe there were strong winds yesterday that broke them?”
“That’s certainly possible. It’s been very windy lately.”
“The stronger the wind and waves, the higher the price of fish.”
“Wind… waves… fish being expensive—sir, that makes no sense at first, but the more I ponder, the more profound it sounds.”
He Jiaye immediately offered a flattery.
“It was just something I said casually. By the way, that pill yesterday wasn’t bad. I wonder…” Lin Yuan trailed off.
The Life-Burning Pill was effective. It would be a loss not to take advantage of it while he could. As for the He family’s business, he had no intention of interfering. Even if their Patriarch had broken through, he was merely at the Golden Core Realm. The Immortal Gate Sect could easily suppress him—there was no way he could stir up trouble.
He Jiaye immediately understood and smiled, “If sir likes them, I can prepare more. The effects might be slightly weaker, though. I hope sir won’t mind.”
“Mm. I’ll report the Azurefall Flower disaster to Elder Sangmu. Don’t worry.” With Lin Yuan’s promise, the killing intent in He Jiaye’s heart faded, and he beamed with joy.
Damn you. You think that pill is a treasure? Just wait until your lifespan runs dry. You’ll regret it.
After Lin Yuan left, He Jiaye’s smile disappeared as he walked behind an artificial mountain. He formed a series of intricate hand seals with his fingers.
Rumble!
The artificial mountain parted, revealing a hidden tunnel. Once He Jiaye stepped inside, the entrance closed again perfectly.
The passage was narrow at first, but it widened the deeper he went. Soon, he arrived at a vast underground space. No, it was more like an underground palace. Unlike the surrounding darkness, the stone walls here were lit with bright oil lamps. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
In the glow of the lights, figures crowded the space. Upon closer look, there were over a hundred of them, each with a powerful aura, even stronger than He Jiaye’s.
If anyone familiar with the He family were here, they would be shocked—these were all He family members who were believed to be “dead.” But not only were they alive, their cultivation levels were quite formidable.
Above the many family members stood a green stone platform. Sitting atop it was an elderly man. Judging by appearance alone, no one would believe this white-haired, white-browed man was the He family’s Patriarch—He Qingfeng.
After all, He Qingfeng was only in his forties, at the peak of his prime.
“That man is gone?” came a hoarse, low voice as He Qingfeng slowly opened his eyes.
“He’s gone. Before he left, I gave him ten improved Life-Burning Pills. They’re more effective, but also consume more lifespan.”
“Ten… he’s a greedy one. Did he notice anything unusual?”
“He probably did, but didn’t plan to report it.” He Jiaye answered honestly.
“He’s still a problem. Only the dead can keep secrets. Find a chance and lure him out.” He Qingfeng’s voice rang out again.
“Understood. I’ll make sure it’s clean.”
After a brief exchange, He Jiaye turned and left.
Once he was gone, He Qingfeng looked down at the gathered family members and muttered, “In one more year, I’ll condense my Golden Core. Then, I’ll lead all of you to join the Blood Demon Sect. The Immortal Gate Sect has been exploiting us for decades. It’s time they let go.”
…
Although he had rushed on his way earlier, Lin Yuan now slowed his pace on the return. His cultivation and techniques had improved greatly, but what he still lacked was real combat experience.
The trip back was 350 kilometers—perfect for fighting his way back to the Immortal Gate Sect.
Not far away, a ferocious tiger with enormous fangs suddenly appeared.
A Saber-Toothed Tiger!
Lin Yuan recognized it instantly and was delighted. Even the strongest of this species didn’t surpass the Foundation Establishment Realm, making it perfect for training.
Roar! The beast hadn’t yet realized Lin Yuan’s strength and charged forward with a roar.
“Soul Sever!” Lin Yuan drew his Netherlight Blade and charged as well.
Lin Yuan’s eyes lit up. The Netherlight Blade truly lived up to its reputation as a mid-grade magical weapon. If it had been a normal iron blade, it wouldn’t have left even a scratch.
Awooo! Losing a fang, the Saber-Toothed Tiger turned and fled in fear. Though it was large, its speed was no joke.
Lin Yuan chased it relentlessly, nearly losing it. Finally, in a small valley, he caught up and decapitated the beast with one clean strike.
“Huff… Huff… Movement… I need to train in movement techniques too!” Lin Yuan, panting heavily, leaned against a stone wall to rest.
As luck would have it, just as he looked up, he spotted a cluster of trumpet-shaped yellow flowers growing on a large rock across from him.
“That’s… Azurefall Flower?”
Worried he might be mistaken, he ran over to examine it closely. After careful observation, he confirmed—it was indeed the Azurefall Flower Sang Xiaoya had asked him to find.
“When the cart reaches the mountain, there’s always a road through. Who’d have thought I’d find it here?”
He tore it off, wrapped the roots in soil, and placed it in his spatial ring.
Still recovering from exhaustion, he simply sat on the boulder and took out the Blink Step manual.
Blink Step—simple name, simple effect. It was a short-distance burst movement technique.
Since it was only a partial manual, it recorded just the first three layers: Cicada Shedding, Thunder Fold Flash, and Thousand-Leaf Veil.
Cicada Shedding consumed a large amount of spiritual power to instantly retreat several meters. Once mastered, it could even leave behind a residual clone to confuse enemies.
Thunder Fold Flash offered more variation than the straightforward Cicada Shedding, allowing irregular movements in unexpected directions to catch enemies off guard.
Thousand-Leaf Veil, as the name suggested, could form three residual clones at first. The more proficient one became, the more clones could be produced. Not only that, one could switch positions between them, making it extremely powerful.
“Just these first three levels are already so incredible… I wonder how strong the full version of Blink Step must be.”
“A top-tier third-rank technique might only be its starting point.”
Lin Yuan muttered, then lowered his head to study it further.
After a while, he sighed. No wonder no one cultivated Blink Step—it was indeed powerful, but it placed extremely high demands on the body. Without a body-tempering technique, even mastering the first Cicada Shedding would be impossible.
“Good thing I’ve got a body-tempering technique.” Lin Yuan smiled faintly and began his practice.