On top of the hill, the old Taoist glared viciously at Lin Jin and the fox.
“Who would have thought that apart from your pet beast possessing a Dharma body, you can also control monsters. I’m impressed! Looks like you were the recipient of the inheritance after all.”
Black insects continue swarming around the old Taoist and in just a few moments, the entire mountain peak, save for some areas, was covered in dark patches of bugs. What made it all the more potent was the addition of other poisonous bugs, and the number they faced was several times more than what Lin Jin had encountered in the valley.
The enemy chose to meet at Mount Gu Cong because this was his turf after all.
Inside these endless mountains, creatures like poisonous bugs were everywhere and inexhaustible.
Lin Jin found the old Taoist’s words baffling.
He was impressed by the older man’s capabilities as the latter seemed like an excellent beast appraiser, but the ‘inheritance’ that he mentioned puzzled Lin Jin.
“You call yourself a Taoist but everything you do is against the law of justice. Just what is your purpose for luring Curator here? Now, are you ready to spill the beans?” Since the atmosphere was already hostile, there was no longer the need for Lin Jin to take care of what he said. Still, some questions that required clarification had to be asked.
Upon hearing this, the old Taoist laughed out loud. “Curator? Is that the nickname you gave yourself? How ridiculous! I had truly intended to converse nicely with you but you chose to do things the hard way instead, so do not blame me for showing you no mercy. I’ll capture you and force you to tell me about the inheritance later.”
This was Lin Jin’s second time hearing the old Taoist mention ‘inheritance’.
There was clearly a deeper meaning behind this.
Moreover, this guy was targeting Lin Jin because of this so-called ‘inheritance’!
But what on earth did Lin Jin inherit?
As Lin Jin was still pondering that question, the enemy went on the offensive. A black halo had suddenly appeared below Lin Jin’s feet. It was a sign that countless black insects were digging their way up from the ground, ready for a sneak attack.
Lin Jin may not know how to control bugs and his deterrence ability was ineffective against these bugs, but that didn’t mean Lin Jin wouldn’t catch on.
Hence, he jumped up and landed on a cloud.
Even that was a part of the old Taoist’s calculations, as evidenced by the golden light that he sent forth.
It was the rope that he used to keep White Ape under restraint.
Lin Jin was wary of this rope because he could tell from White Ape’s reaction after being released from it that this was no ordinary rope.
Anyway, Lin Jin couldn’t let the rope restrain him.
And yet, the rope darted over so quickly that it was like a living snake. Lin Jin pointed a finger at it, and he tried to use Dragonfire to burn it away but to no avail. Since it was a rare artifact, the golden rope was unsurprisingly unaffected by the flames.
At the final moment, a huge tree shot up from the ground, blocking the trajectory of the rope.
Like a snake whipping its tail, the rope smashed the enormous tree into smithereens.
Lin Jin’s pupils abruptly dilated at this sight and he quickly backed away.
He couldn’t let the rope bind him nor whip him.
“Haha, from the looks of it, you haven’t received the inheritance for long. There’s no way you can compare to me who received teachings from Daojun himself as well as his magic treasure! You may have the inheritance but you don’t know how to use it! What a great treasure, but it’s wasted on someone with the likes of you! Here comes my immortal binding rope, bind!”
Following the old Taoist’s command, the rope shot forward. Before he even realized it, the rope appearing before Lin Jin and it started wrapping around his waist. Then, the rope continued to wrap itself around his arms and legs.
After being bound by the rope, Lin Jin could feel his spirit energy being suppressed. It was as if his body was being crushed by a huge mountain, and he found it near impossible to move.
“Magic treasure?” Lin Jin heard this word clearly.
That old Taoist had called this rope a magic treasure. Magic treasures have been around since ancient times and were highly prized, even to the immortals. Every such treasure was a magic tool that possessed unique powers.
Although he was restrained by the immortal binding rope, Lin Jin felt no fear.
It was because he wasn’t alone.
He was supposed to have fallen out of the sky but he was stopped halfway by Shang’er’s Object Manipulation. Shang’er whipped her tail and Lin Jin flew away from the peak.
“Again?!” The old Taoist was shocked. This method of stealing his treasure was happening before his eyes once again. After all, the more incredible a magic treasure was, the harder it was to craft it. It was even harder to control the item.
If the immortal binding rope was pulled too far away from him, the old Taoist wouldn’t be able to control it anymore. It was like trying to catch a dog with a meat bun. If he didn’t catch the dog in time, he would lose the meat bun instead.
“Get back here!” The old Taoist invoked another spell. But before he could cast it, Shang’er’s attack came crashing down on him.
More than ten trees were launched at him from every direction. The old Taoist could only perform another spell to block the attack. It was at this moment that he started feeling anxious. That immortal binding rope was more valuable than his life so he couldn’t afford to lose it.
Problem was, he had never met an opponent like this. Lin Jin was literally pitting the old Taoist’s strength against himself. After allowing himself to be tied up, Lin Jin retreated. Who was the old Taoist to reason with?
Unfortunately for him, the more anxious he got, the easier it was for him to make mistakes.
His biggest mistake was dealing with Lin Jin first instead of Shang’er.
After all, judging by combat ability, unless Lin Jin had the museum’s door open, the Nebula Barrier activated, and all his cards laid out on the table, he simply could not compare to Shang’er’s current strength.
After all, Shang’er was a Rank 5 monster who even learned the first four parts of Beast Energy Formation, Dark Wind, and Demonic Transformation.
When Shang’er was Rank 4, she could hold her ground against Daluo Temple’s strongest rector, who sustained considerable damage from her attacks. Now that she had evolved up to Rank 5, if she were to face that same rector again, it was a given that she would win the battle. This old Taoist here may be powerful, but he was merely on equal footing with that rector from before. Without his immortal binding rope, he couldn’t match up to Shang’er if he relied only on his own strength and insect manipulation skills.
In just a few attacks, he was pushed into a dangerous situation by Shang’er’s Object Manipulation and Dark Wind.
There may be swarms of insects down below, but Shang’er could float on air so she didn’t need to touch the ground at all. Her tails could perform spells and sometimes she could even do six at once. The old Taoist had dealt with opponents of her caliber before so he knew he couldn’t perform a spell in time to summon the immortal binding rope back.
When he stopped sensing the rope’s presence, the old Taoist panicked.
“Sh*t! Damn it! Damn all of you!” he cursed. Then, he bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Boom!
A burst of crimson fog exploded and it rolled toward Shang’er. The most horrifying fact was how the crimson fog contained countless blood insects and their buzzing noises easily made one’s skin crawl.
Shang’er knew that it would be a hard attack to parry, so she retreated at once. However, even as she backed away, Shang’er had backup plans. With a gentle whip of one tail, ten sharp stones from the ground shot at the old Taoist like sharpened blades.
The tiniest rock was only about the size of a human finger while the largest was as tall as a man. These rocks were all edged and if they hit, it was enough to tear a human to shreds.
The old Taoist was aware of how potent this attack was, so he stomped his foot. Swarms of insects gathered to form a wall, blocking off all the projectiles.
Up ahead, the crimson mist insects pursued Shang’er incessantly. On several occasions, she almost got caught by the insects.
“All insects pay heed, rise now and attack!”
A golden glow emerged from the old Taoist’s body. Subsequently, with him being the center, waves of mana poured out and wherever the energy passed, the poison bugs went berserk. Even the dormant ones who hid under the soil sprung to action at once.
In an instant, all poisonous insects within a ten-mile radius came crawling out and all beasts in the vicinity perished due to this. Tigers, jackals, and wolves scampered away in fright because if they were caught by these bugs, they would drown in a sea of insects and be gnawed at until only bones were left.
