“Die, you wretch!”
Elder Yin’s fury erupted, his hands trembling, wild energy surging into his spear, he lunged, the spear morphing into a dragon, roaring at Lin Yun!
This strike dwarfed his prior ones, every trick unleashed.
Lin Yun’s earlier counter had erased any underestimation—he was all in now!
*Rip!*
The attack tore space, reaching Lin Yun in a flash.
“Dodge!”
Lin Yun evaded with all he had.
The strike’s power chilled him.
“Think you can escape?”
“Die!”
Missing once, Elder Yin twisted his spear, its dread might hammering Lin Yun again.
After two dodges, Lin Yun had nowhere left, forced to block.
*Boom!*
The clash slammed into him.
*Splurt!*
Blood sprayed, Lin Yun flew back.
“Die!”
As he reeled, Elder Yin’s spear bore down, relentless, leaving no quarter.
“Go!”
Lin Yun hurled a Holy Spirit-grade shield artifact to parry.
Simultaneously, he summoned his airship.
*Boom!*
Elder Yin’s strike smashed the shield aside!
Lin Yun leapt aboard, flooring the airship to flee!
He knew further fighting was futile—escape was his only shot.
“Running? I swore I’d tear you apart!” Elder Yin bellowed.
He summoned his own airship, giving chase.
“Damn it, how’s his airship so fast!”
Elder Yin’s face darkened, Lin Yun’s vessel outpacing him swiftly.
In moments, it vanished from sight.
A Mahayana with a better airship than a Tribulation master’s? His own lagged far behind.
And Lin Yun’s gear—Holy Spirit-grade sword, artifacts—stoked his envy!
Elder Yin halted his craft.
His venomous gaze fixed on Lin Yun’s escape route.
“Little cur, I’ve memorized your face, next time I see you, you’re done!” he snarled.
He turned back to the battlefield.
“Elder Yin, catch that kid?” the green-robed man asked, rushing up.
“He got away,” Elder Yin growled, face like iron.
Failing to kill a second-rank Mahayana? A stinging disgrace.
“Oh, Elder, here’s the Holy Spirit-grade shield he dropped fleeing,” the green-robed man offered it.
Facing Elder Yin’s lightning strike, Lin Yun had sacrificed it for time, leaving it behind.
Elder Yin took it.
“It’s branded with his mark, while he lives, it’s locked, we’ll need to erase it back at base,” he said.
Removing the brand was a hassle, but doable.
No kill, but snagging a Holy Spirit-grade defensive artifact softened his mood.
“Priority’s the Fire-Repelling Spirit Grass, let’s move!”
He descended into the ravine.
…
Elsewhere.
Lin Yun’s airship fled the ravine, landing atop a peak opposite.
“Lost a Holy Spirit-grade artifact, still can’t beat a first-turn Tribulation,” he sighed.
The Mahayana-Tribulation gap was vast, even with all his tricks, he couldn’t bridge it.
Heaven-Shaking Hand plus bracer power hurt a Tribulation foe, but he couldn’t spam it—twice maxed his energy.
Results? Bailu and crew escaped, he survived.
He stowed the airship.
A cave gaped on the cliff.
Lin Yun flew in.
“If I’m right, they haven’t found the Fire-Repelling Spirit Grass yet, I need a boost,” he muttered, unwilling.
Elder Yin brought only a few disciples, meaning others still hunted in the ravine—simple deduction.
After such a loss, ditching a Holy Spirit-grade item, Lin Yun wouldn’t just leave.
Plus, he craved that grass.
He steeled himself, aiming for third-rank Mahayana!
He entered the One Thought Clarity Tower space.
Inside.
“First, refine the leftover Golden Immortal Fruit energy.”
Healing had used part of it, the rest lingered in him.
He sat, refining it to climb realms.
The fruit, though no match for the grass, was a solid treasure, potent.
Fully restored, he processed it fast!
His reborn meridians, wider and tougher, sped up refining crystals and herbs alike!
The energy cycled, pooling in his dantian sea, slowly expanding it.
Half a day, and the fruit’s remnants were fully refined.
“Still a ways off,” he chuckled wryly.
It helped, but third-rank Mahayana remained distant.
He rummaged through his storage space.
“Hm? More cracks on this egg, wonder when the critter inside hatches.”
Spotting the beast egg from the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, he noted changes.
No time for that now.
His eyes landed on the Ten-Thousand-Year Immortal Fate Grass.
The rarest treasure from the range.
“This grass, if consumed, its vast energy could push me to third-rank Mahayana, but using it for that’s a bloody waste,” he shook his head.
