“Craftsman Lin.” Someone suddenly confronted Lin Xuanzhi, “Do you know how to get out of here? What exactly is the mystery in all this?”
Lin Xuanzhi cast a glance at him, calm and composed as he replied, “I’m not sure.”
The young man who wore an Ice Field Weasel Brush hairpin sneered, “If I remember correctly, the one who said not to go onto the bridges should have been Craftsman Lin. You dare say you’re not familiar with this place? Besides, you’re the one who led us here!”
After he said this, everyone’s eyes immediately focused on Lin Xuanzhi.
Lin Xuanzhi did indeed know this place inside out, but he didn’t plan on exposing himself in the slightest, because the time has not yet come.
Lin Xuanzhi glanced at that person and took note of his identity in his heart. He said lightly, “Anyone should fear and be on guard against this sort of strangeness and not easily try to test waters. Has no one ever taught you such common sense?”
After getting rebutted in such a mild way by Lin Xuanzhi, that young man still felt unresigned and grit his teeth. “You clearly had a defensive magic tool on you just now, why didn’t you take it out to protect a few more people? If everyone was as selfish as you, we won’t be able to get out of here alive!”
At this point, Yan Tianhen couldn’t bear it any longer. He stood in front of Lin Xuanzhi and scolded that pupil, “Don’t push it. My Dage has always done his part by being kind enough to give you guys a reminder. He protected me because I’m his younger brother, but who are you to him? Why should he protect you in times of danger?”
Yan Tianhen has never bothered leaving anyone face when he speaks. What he can’t stand the most is people trying to cause trouble for Lin Xuanzhi or speaking badly of him.
As soon as his protectiveness was aroused, Yan Tianhen instantly turned into a cat that blew up. He bared his teeth and brandished his claws at the guy who dared to provoke Lin Xuanzhi.
“And who do you think you are?” That young man showed contempt for Yan Tianhen.
“What nonsense is this?!” Shen Rubing seemed to have been annoyed by this noisy and persistent fellow. She got up and drew her magic treasure, the Wu hook whip, that she carried around with her and without saying a word, killed the fellow who jabbered on and on with one strike.
Before anyone else could respond, that young man had died.
The gaze of the young man who was sent flying was filled with disbelief, as if he didn’t know why he was killed before his death. Within the blink of an eye, he landed in the silver river that was flowing quietly.
The river churned, and his remains disappeared completely without a trace.
After Shen Rubing killed him, she sat back down calmly as if nothing had happened.
With this one move, the entire mountain chamber was deadly quiet at first, then someone howled “Third Brother” in anguish before a cold blade was unsheathed with a clang.
“You wicked woman! You dared to kill my Third Brother?! I’ll kill you!”
This man was part of the South Continent’s Qi family, and they are an elite family in the South Continent. There was a swordsman in the family who was well-known throughout the five continents.
However, a few years ago, after that swordsman died, the Qi family began to decline. In the Hundred Families’ Gathering this time, the Qi family had evidently fallen out of the elite family category and was overtaken by another family.
The one who died just now was the third son of direct descent in the Qi family. He had been used to being arrogant and willful since he was a child, and he had just said a few wrong words that offended people before losing his life over it.
There was very little conflict within the Qi family. Those of direct descent called each other brothers, and they were so close that they could wear the same pair of pants.
Now that his Third Brother had died from an unnatural cause, the second son of the Qi family was naturally provoked greatly and wanted to fight it out with Shen Rubing.
Shen Rubing raised an eyebrow in contempt and softly uttered “Courting death”. Her Wu hook whip whooshed loudly, like a dancing silver snake, and a fierce gale that could rend the air whirred, murderous intent spilling everywhere.
The Wu hook was a top-grade magic treasure and was considered to be extremely rare throughout the five continents’ mainlands. It can rank within the top hundred on the weapons list.
Qi Er was not to be outdone either. He wielded a silver moon hook sabre in his hand that flashed with a cold glint, a chilly Qi encircling the blade as it collided with the Wu hook in mid-air. It circled around the Wu hook several times and hit it back at once.
Shen Rubing had suppressed her cultivation level to enter, but Qi Er was the same. Qi Er’s explosive power was clearly stronger compared to Shen Rubing’s. The Wu hook’s maneuver was broken through; the silver moon hook sabre drew a circle as it slashed towards Shen Rubing’s neck.
Although Shen Rubing was well-known, most of her reputation came from the praises other people sung for her. Her cultivation path had only been so smooth sailing because, with her background, she was completely able to obtain many elixirs to promote her cultivation level.
This sort of elixir, coupled with how she had been sought after since childhood such that there would always be someone who would help her with anything she needed, naturally led to Shen Rubing’s pitifully little experience in actual combat.
If they really were to fight, Shen Rubing’s actual combat level would definitely not match up to Yuan Tianwen, whose cultivation level was below hers.
Shen Rubing’s pupils suddenly contracted; the cold moon hook sabre was only inches away.
At this moment, Lin Xuanzhi moved. With a flick of his wrist, he gently flung the Jade Bone umbrella that he had opened up for Shen Rubing before. The Jade Bone umbrella suddenly revolved rapidly and whooshed open in mid-air.
The canopy surface of the Jade Bone umbrella collided with the silver moon hook sabre, emitting an ear-piercing noise. With a bang, the silver waters spattered out quite a bit from the tremor before retracting immediately; not a single trace of dampness could be seen on the ground.
Shen Rubing, with a ghastly pale face, had clearly received quite a shock.
Lin Xuanzhi kept the Jade Bone umbrella with three broken ribs and stood in front of Shen Rubing with an imposing attitude, as if holding out against ten thousand men alone.
Qi Er gritted his teeth. With the silver moon hook sabre in hand, he stared fixedly at Lin Xuanzhi. “Lin Xuanzhi, I respect you for your outstanding talent and how impartial you are in handling affairs, so I won’t blame you for my Third Brother’s death. But I didn’t expect you to stand up for that bitch!”
Lin Xuanzhi raised his umbrella. “The situation here is strange. It is still unknown whether we will be able to walk out alive or not. Why don’t you guys settle your enmities and debts after we get out?”
“I can’t swallow this down!” When Qi Er thought of his younger brother who had died an unnatural death, he felt heartbroken and his eyes turned bloodshot.
“Do you want to spill the blood of all Qi pupils on the spot?”
QI Er was instantly shaken and speechless.
Not only Qi Er from the Qi family had come, but there were also a lot of people from the side branches present as well.
Although the side branch pupils were full of indignation and sorrow, they were much calmer than Qi Er.
“Second Brother, Craftsman Lin is right. It’s hard to tell if we can even get out of here, so it’s not a good idea to fall out with those women from Cloud Jade Sect.”
“If the two factions were to start fighting, we don’t know what will happen. It’s not too late for a gentleman to get revenge, even ten years later. Once we get out, we’ll definitely get that bitch to account for her actions.”
Jade Cloud Sect.
Qi family.
Once a fight broke out, it wouldn’t be a matter of a person or two, as it would turn into a melee. By then, the situation would probably spin out of control.
The veins on Qi Er’s forehead popped out and his white joints could be seen. He endured for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying hatefully to Shen Rubing, “I’ll spare you for now.”
The pupils of Cloud Jade Sect had already crowded around Shen Rubing to enquire about her well-being. After losing face, Shen Rubing flung her sleeves coldly and went elsewhere.
Those from the QI family didn’t want to sit with the Cloud Jade Sect disciples. The two parties were at two ends of the cave, while the others scattered about everywhere looking for a place to sit.
When Lin Xuanzhi went back to sit down, he only heard Duan Yuyang saying sarcastically, “The hero saves a beauty, not bad ma.”
Lin Xuanzhi looked at Yan Tianhen, whose head was drooping as he didn’t utter a word.
Lin Xuanzhi said, “I had to save her.”
Duan Yuyang was outraged at the injustice for Yan Tianhen. “I didn’t see you being that nervous when the third son of the Qi family was killed just now.”
Lin Xuanzhi said lightly, “Someone has to die.”
“What does that mean?” Yuan Tianwen could tell that there was an underlying meaning behind his words.
“If we want to break the array, there must be a blood sacrifice.”
Yan Tianhen looked up at Lin Xuanzhi. “What does that mean?”
Lin Xuanzhi’s gaze softened a little. “There is a huge array here. It shouldn’t have triggered until midnight, but we entered in advance and destroyed the intactness of the array. The demonic beast guarding this place lies fast asleep in this array, and it will awaken in advance as well. The only way to break through it is to throw one man and one woman inside as sacrifices before they come out.”
Duan Yuyang opened his mouth, apparently shocked by this explanation.
“That’s too fucking…” Duan Yuyang pondered for a bit first, then used a more appropriate term, “Incredible ba?”
Yet Yuan Tianwen was more concerned about the guarding demonic beast. “After throwing two people down, if the demonic beast was awake, there should have been some movement when swallowing them. Moreover, the water had already melted the bones, what can the demonic beast eat?”
“You’ve already seen the demonic beast.” Lin Xuanzhi replied.
Following Lin Xuanzhi’s line of sight, Yuan Tianwen saw a silver river encircling the coffin.
The river didn’t move at all as if it was still.
Yuan Tianwen was about to ask where the demonic beast was when a strange idea suddenly surfaced in his mind, which made a chill run down his spine.
Yan Tianhen’s expression immediately changed as well. “It…it can’t be, right?!”
Then Yan Tianhen couldn’t bother about falling out with Lin Xuanzhi anymore. He moved his butt over to lean against Lin Xuanzhi.
Lin Xuanzhi opened up his right arm to pull Yan Tianhen into his embrace. “Ah Hen, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
Yan Tianhen’s ears silently turned red and he softly uttered an “un“.
Only Duan Yuyang, with a baffled face, asked, “What is it? What kind of puzzle are you guys whipping up?”
Yuan Tianwen pulled Duan Yuyang over as well. He suppressed his voice, “That silver river is the body of the guarding demonic beast. It’s now fed full with the two sacrifices, so it has not yet awakened for the time being.”
Duan Yuyang was utterly baffled.
Yan Tianhen said excitedly, “I’ve heard of that kind of demonic beast before, it’s called Small Transforming Bone Dragon. It can transform into a liquid silver river, and it can also transform into a solid snake! This kind of Small Transforming Bone Dragon is really powerful; as long as just a bit of liquid spatters out from its body, it can erode a demonic beast. It’s a legendary demonic beast that guards corpses!”
Ah Bai howled and shivered as he hid behind Yan Tianhen.
Duan Yuyang suspiciously smacked Yan Tianhen, whose eyes were glistening brightly. “What are you excited about?”
Yan Tianhen realised that his attitude didn’t seem quite right, so he couldn’t help rubbing his nose and sticking his tongue out. “It wasn’t easy to come across something I knew about, so I got excited for a moment.”
Duan Yuyang was somewhat speechless.
When he looked at the quiet silver river again, he couldn’t help but feel like his hairs were standing on end.
If this Small Transforming Bone Dragon is really that powerful, then once it awakens, just spewing its saliva at them would be enough to kill off everyone who was present.
Duan Yuyang said, “If it wakes up, would we still be able to live?”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “As long as it doesn’t wake up before the “zi” period, we’ll be safe.”
“What do you mean by that?” It was a matter of life and death, so he had to ask for clarification.
“Once the zi period arrives, that Small Transforming Bone Dragon’s master will wake up.” Lin Xuanzhi looked at the jade coffin that appeared more and more terrifying in the cold light. “And today’s zi period is when the master wakes up.”
“What?” Duan Yuyang and the others all looked at Lin Xuanzhi.
Yuan Tianwen frowned. “Why do you know about such a thing so clearly?”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “I also know that only the blood of someone from the direct line of the Shen family can truly unlock the core of the array.”
In his previous life, Lin Xuanzhi had entered this Mysterious Land with a direct Shen family descendant, Shen Changgeng, at the same time. It’s just that after a thousand years, he had already forgotten about it, but when he saw the rain, his memories of the past came thick and fast to him.
Moreover, when they entered this Mysterious Land, this place was no longer called the Pill Limit Mysterious Land anymore and instead had another name.
At that time, Lin Xuanzhi was caught in a strange rain. After struggling painfully for three days and nights, he realised that his festering skin radiated with a lustre and became as tender and fair as that of a newborn baby’s. His bones and meridians had a qualitative leap in strength as well.
