Suddenly, Ominous Wind spoke up, “The cave master has gone into seclusion to cultivate. The one on duty today is one of the three main banner masters, Banner Master Wild Wind. Knowing him, he would most probably show up in person.”
Lin Jin glanced at Ominous Wind and he received a wink in response.
When it came to adapting to circumstances, Ominous Wind was a professional. Since she was captured by Lin Jin, she had been most compliant and suffered the least among her comrades.
Lin Jin wasn’t so naive to believe she had a change of heart so soon. Things would be different if the monster-locking pill wasn’t involved. Still, this was nice too. Even if it was done by force, Lin Jin gladly accepted her obedience.
In the future, he would teach them monster cultivation. This would be the classic carrot and the stick method to keep them in line. He believed that they would then stay even if he tried to chase them away.
He was merely trying out this new method on the monsters, and for now, the results were satisfactory.
“Is Banner Master Wild Wind very strong?” asked Lin Jin. Huang Qi answered at once, “He’s one of Dark Wind Cave’s top three banner masters and the right-hand man of our cave master. It’s a given that his cultivation level and strength are profound.
Lin Jin nodded. “Alright, then the next time, the four of you should help me so I can gauge your loyalty.”
All four banner masters suddenly grew anxious.
His request caught them off guard. If they did join in the attack, they could never go back to their tribe.
Though, did they have a choice?
After that, they waited in the village until midnight.
Arid Continent may be scorching during the day, but it was shockingly cold at night.
If it weren’t for the houses and burning fire, the average person might freeze to death in the wilderness.
This was how harsh conditions were in Arid Continent.
The boss and his men hadn’t gone away so they came to light a fire and cook dinner. There wasn’t much to eat of course. They were lucky that they managed to catch a deer two days ago, and there were some leftovers for Lin Jin. For now, they simply roasted its meat over a fire so they wouldn’t die of hunger.
Lin Jin decided to check out the villagers’ hiding place. It was at this moment that he made a surprising discovery.
Staring at the solid stone entrance and the complex carvings inside, Lin Jin’s brows twitched. If his guesses were correct, this must be a ruin.
Maybe it was a tomb. Or maybe it was a cave left behind by an immortal.
In Lin Jin’s opinion, the possibility of it being an immortal’s cave was higher. The moment he peered inside, his suspicion was confirmed. This was indeed an ancient immortal’s cave, and it was incredibly ancient.
Who would have thought that the inhabitants of Bull Village were hiding in a place like this?
However, Lin Jin was curious. There were usually restriction spells or even death formations placed over immortals’ caves, but this place had none of that.
Out of curiosity, he stepped inside and found the reason why.
“The cultivator who built this cave was a good man.” Lin Jin could tell. The villagers were hiding in a spacious stone room that could house up to hundreds of people. No restrictions were placed here and the room seemed to be specifically built for humans to take refuge in.
Meanwhile, there were Camouflage spells placed here and there. To the average person, these might just be walls, but in Lin Jin’s eyes, they were entrances to the cave’s core.
It was evident that the person behind this cave system had intended it to serve as a human shelter for the people of Arid Continent. That person must also have been confident in his spell-casting.
Lin Jin approached what seemed like a wall, and he examined it closely.
Niu Pi and his men were confused but they dared not disturb Lin Jin.
Lin Jin reached out towards the wall. He wanted to try breaking the seal to see if he could enter the cave’s interior.
Before he could do anything, his hand was pushed back.
Stunned, Lin Jin summoned a fireball in his hand to try again but was he was pushed back once more.
“Amazing!” Lin Jin’s expression faltered. Just now, he had borrowed Xiao Huo’s strength. The fact that it could push back even a Rank 5 fire wolf’s flames proved just how tough the spell was.
“I refuse to believe it!” Lin Jin summoned the energy of his second pet beast. The next instant, there was a blood-red tint in the flames on his hand.
Open!
Brandishing his hand like claws, Lin Jin scratched at it. To his surprise, he was pushed back again.
Lin Jin was stunned for a good while before turning to leave.
The fact that he couldn’t break the restrictions at full force proved how highly cultivated the former owner of this cave was.
Lin Jin had no choice but to leave this for another time. Lin Jin then thought of something else.
Since he couldn’t break the restrictions with the combined strength of two Rank 5 beasts, it became clear that the cultivator who erected the barrier was an extraordinary individual.
If he couldn’t open it, other people shouldn’t have been able to either. Doesn’t that mean that the contents of the cave hadn’t been touched yet?
This was good news.
This underground immortal’s cave might just be the reason that an oasis formed around Bull Village, allowing them to thrive in Arid Continent’s harsh environment.
This surprising discovery delighted Lin Jin. Since he couldn’t get in, he would leave it aside for now. It was better to think of a plan to capture all of the monsters in Dark Wind Cave first.
Just then, Huang Qi came over respectfully and saluted Lin Jin. “Ominous Wind sends word that Banner Master Wild Wind is leading fifteen banner masters over. They will be here in fifteen minutes.”
Lin Jin’s eyes lit up and he nodded.
Ominous Wind, the snake monster, was the second to prove her loyalty to Lin Jin.
She even offered to pass the message to Dark Wind Cave so as to lure the other banner masters into this trap.
Truth be told, the average person wouldn’t have dared to accept her offer. Who knows what Ominous Wind might be plotting? She might have used it as an excuse to go back and warn the other banner masters so they would gather their entire force to come over and eliminate the enemy.
But Lin Jin wasn’t afraid.
After two encounters, he was able to gauge the strength of the monsters in Dark Wind Cave.
Honestly, although they weren’t bad, they were still too far from his level. The strongest among the seventy-two banner masters was only Rank 4. Based on this information, their cave master was only Rank 5 at most.
Lin Jin didn’t want to brag but even if the entire cave of monsters attacked him all at once, he wouldn’t be scared. It might just get a little troublesome and bloody.
Lin Jin didn’t find that necessary. Wasn’t it better to slowly pick them off bit by bit?
Thus, he agreed to Ominous Wind’s suggestion. In other words, it didn’t matter if Ominous Wind was trying to win his favor or deceive him. Lin Jin was unfazed by either outcome.
He only had to pick between two options, depending on how the situation plays out. One was to reward, and the other was to punish.
That depended on Ominous Wind’s choice.
Although the strength of Dark Wind Cave’s monsters was subpar and their cultivation level was lacking, Lin Jin wasn’t worried. He would teach them the Beast Energy Formation and Demonic Transformation. Even if they couldn’t be as accomplished as Shang’er, so long as they did not lag too far behind her, they would prove formidable due to their large number.
