That very effect made Fire-Repelling Spirit Grass a treasure!
To Lin Yun, it held immense allure.
His top priority now was mastering mysteries—how else could he reach Tribulation?
“Where’s the Fire-Repelling Spirit Grass? Have you found it?” Lin Yun pressed the captive.
“We split into teams to search, our group hasn’t found it yet, I… I don’t know about the others, but it’s early days, likely still unfound,” the man replied.
Lin Yun pushed, “Among your teams in the ravine, what’s the strongest realm?”
“The strongest is Elder Yin, our leader, first-turn Tribulation realm, don’t kill me, I’ve told you everything! And… if you do, Elder Yin won’t let it slide!” he pleaded, frantic.
Lin Yun sneered, “You lot were merciless, don’t cry when others are too.”
When they’d appeared, Bai Yongzhi offered the Golden Immortal Fruits, yet they attacked anyway—ruthless.
“Die!”
Lin Yun’s sword flashed, slicing the man’s throat.
He crumpled, lifeless.
After all he’d been through, Lin Yun killed decisively, no hesitation.
Silence fell as the man dropped.
For the group, a calamity had paused.
None had imagined their savior would be Lin Yun—the ‘cripple’ they’d scorned.
Bai Yongzhi couldn’t help saying to Bailu, “Bailu, if you hadn’t insisted on bringing him, we’d all be dead by now.”
“Uncle, I finally did something right for everyone, eh?” Bailu grinned.
“Yes! Yes!” Bai Yongzhi chuckled.
Lin Yun sheathed his weapon, facing the Bai group.
“Thank you, big brother Lin Yun,” Bailu said, shyly sweet.
“You saved me once, when you need help, I’m duty-bound,” Lin Yun smiled.
“Didn’t expect them to be Tiansha Sect disciples,” Bai Yongzhi mused.
“What’s this Tiansha Sect?” Lin Yun asked him.
He’d meant to inquire, but Bai Yongzhi beat him to it.
“In Dongyuan Prefecture, Tiansha Sect’s a notorious super sect, among the top in the whole region,” Bai Yongzhi explained.
“Top in Dongyuan? That’d make it a big name in Fire Cloud Empire too,” Lin Yun murmured.
One prefecture rivaled three Xingwu kingdoms in size, a sect topping that was formidable.
Fire Cloud’s fierce culture and rich resources meant stronger cultivators than Xingwu—such a sect outclassed any Xingwu giant!
The Bai clan, a Taifeng County elite, barely scraped Dongyuan’s top ten families, yet boasted Tribulation realm figures—proof of Fire Cloud’s might.
Bai Yongzhi added, “Tiansha Sect’s infamous, riddled with dark deeds, their base isn’t in Taifeng, it’s far off, several counties away, they rarely show here, so we’ve no ties with them.”
“Got it,” Lin Yun nodded.
“Hero Lin Yun, that guy mentioned a first-turn Tribulation Elder, what now? If he finds us, we’re in deep!” Bai Yongzhi paled.
The Bai youths quaked with fear.
Their victory joy faded fast, replaced by dread of the looming threat!
They’d seen Lin Yun’s power—his divine sense was fierce, but he couldn’t instant-kill a second-rank Mahayana, against a first-turn Tribulation Elder, he seemed outmatched.
“Bai Yongzhi, take everyone out of the ravine, I’ll stay,” Lin Yun said.
Bailu jumped in, “Big brother Lin Yun, I’m with you, if you stay, I stay!”
“Senior Lin Yun, me too,” Bai Tong stepped up.
“Yeah, we’re with Senior Lin Yun!” the others chimed in.
They feared splitting off—what if Tiansha Sect ambushed them en route?
This battered crew, with a wounded Bai Yongzhi, couldn’t cope.
Even if Lin Yun couldn’t beat a Tribulation foe, sticking with him felt safer.
Bai Yongzhi agreed, “Hero Lin Yun, stay or go, we’re together, we’re too weak to split, if we’re caught separate, it’s over.”
“Fine, heal up fast then, in our state, we’d have no chance against them!”
Lin Yun walked to the Golden Immortal Tree, plucking both fruits.
“This is a battlefield, they might double back, we’ll heal elsewhere!” he said.
“Right, we’ll follow Hero Lin Yun!” Bai Yongzhi nodded.
Lin Yun had become their backbone.
“Let’s move!”
He pocketed the fruits and the Tiansha disciples’ storage rings, leading the Bai group away.
On the road.
“Hero Lin Yun, your beast-slaying was masterful, every strike lethal, your experience there outshines mine,” Bai Yongzhi said.
Outsiders see the show, experts see the craft—he knew Lin Yun’s beast-fighting skill was terrifyingly honed!
“If I said I crossed the Demonic Beast Mountain Range solo, would you believe me?” Lin Yun grinned.
Bai Yongzhi froze, crossing that range? He couldn’t fathom it, seemed impossible.
Lin Yun didn’t elaborate, pressing on.
Using divine sense to scout, he soon found a cave.
“This cave’s well-hidden, we’ll heal here.”
He led them inside.
Exhausted, the Bai youths slumped down, today’s horrors dwarfing their prior decades.
“Bai Yongzhi, take this Golden Immortal Fruit, heal up!”
Lin Yun tossed him one.
