“Commander, this could cost lives! How can this be? You can’t send him to the Land of Exile!” Jin Yao’er’s face paled in horror.
Seeing everyone’s drastic reactions to the mention of the ‘Land of Exile,’ Lin Yun was surprised. What kind of fearsome place was this?
Though Lin Yun didn’t know much about the Land of Exile, one thing was certain: it was a place that could make life worse than death.
“Princess, this is His Majesty’s decision. I have no authority to change it. Please don’t make things difficult for me,” the Imperial Guard commander said.
“I’ll go to my father!” Jin Yao’er stomped her foot, visibly furious.
“Jin Yao’er!”
Lin Yun quickly called out to her. “Jin Yao’er, don’t go. It’s pointless. You can’t change this, and if you confront your father, you might get implicated. I don’t want anyone else dragged into this.”
Jin Yao’er, about to rush into the hall, froze, her body trembling.
She turned to look at Lin Yun, saying dazedly, “Lin Yun, are you… concerned for me?”
“Listen to me, don’t go!” Lin Yun said earnestly, looking at her.
“Lin Yun, wait for me. I’ll save you!” Jin Yao’er’s beautiful eyes met his with determination, a smile breaking across her face.
With that, she charged toward the hall.
Lin Yun wanted to call out to stop her but opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing.
He knew it was futile to say more.
“Let’s go!”
The commander grabbed Lin Yun and continued onward.
Jin Yao’er rushed into the hall.
“Yao’er, if you’re here to plead for Lin Yun, go back,” Emperor Xingwu said, closing his eyes and waving her away.
“Father, he only returned for revenge and didn’t act against the empire. Even if you must punish him, at worst, banish him from the Xingwu Empire. How can you send him to the Land of Exile!” Jin Yao’er said stubbornly.
“Silence!” Emperor Xingwu’s brow furrowed, his voice a cold rebuke.
Jin Yao’er flinched, startled by the reprimand. As the apple of Emperor Xingwu’s eye, their relationship had grown distant after he refused to save Lin Yun years ago, but he had never scolded her like this.
“Father, you refused to recruit him back then, but now he’s proven his worth, deserving to be valued by the empire. Will you make the same mistake again?” Jin Yao’er challenged, looking up.
“Bang!”
Emperor Xingwu slammed the table and stood. “You dare lecture your father on how to act!”
“I’m stepping out, Jin Yao’er. Mind yourself!” His words carried a heavy warning.
With that, Emperor Xingwu strode out.
“Father! Father!” Jin Yao’er called after him, tears streaming down her face.
…
Meanwhile.
In an inn in Xingwu City.
“My Qingyuan Sect has been wiped out!” The Qingyuan Sect leader’s face was ashen.
“And my Shadowless Sect is no different!” The Shadowless Sect leader’s face was etched with pain.
Though they had survived and evacuated some elites in advance, their foundations were utterly destroyed!
This was a catastrophic blow!
At that moment, an ancient clan elder rushed in.
“Latest news: Lin Yun has been captured by His Majesty,” the elder reported.
“Great! That’s wonderful!”
The news brought them a surge of joy.
“He defied His Majesty’s decree. This time, we don’t even need to act—His Majesty will finish him!” The Shadowless Sect leader clenched his fist.
“As long as he’s done for, we can plan a counterattack, but we must strategize carefully,” the ancient clan leader said.
…
Meanwhile.
Lin Yun was escorted out of the city by the Imperial Guard commander. After a two-hour flight on a flying vessel, they landed at a Taoist academy.
The academy was perched halfway up a mountain, modest in scale.
“Aren’t you taking me to the Land of Exile? Why here?” Lin Yun asked, looking at the academy below.
“You’ll see soon enough. Move!”
The commander grabbed the bound Lin Yun and descended to a stone gate at the academy’s rear mountain.
“Commander!” The armored guards at the gate saluted.
“Open the gate,” the commander ordered with a wave.
The stone gate was soon opened, and the commander led Lin Yun inside, entering a vast cave.
At the cave’s end stood a massive, pitch-black arched gate.
The commander brought Lin Yun before the gate and activated a mechanism nearby.
Rumble!
With a loud grinding noise, the black arched gate slowly opened.
A burst of light shot out from within.
It was a boundary gate!
“Lin Yun, your nightmare begins now. Even if you don’t die, you’ll go mad,” the commander said.
“Nightmare? I’ve always turned nightmares into sweet dreams! As long as I don’t die, it’s no big deal,” Lin Yun said with a smile.
“Still talking tough? Let’s see if you’re smiling after you’re inside!”
“In!”
The commander shoved Lin Yun through the boundary gate.
Boom!
Lin Yun felt his vision engulfed by blinding white light.
Moments later, the light faded, and he felt himself crash heavily onto the ground.
At the same time, a terrifying oppressive force pressed down on him.
Lin Yun opened his eyes.
The surroundings were shrouded in a grey haze, visibility low, barely extending far.
The air was filled with countless tiny particles, whipped by fierce winds.
The winds howled with a ‘woo-woo’ sound, like ghostly wails, piercingly shrill!
The ground was covered in sand-like material, dull and lifeless.
Lin Yun’s gaze could just make out a few kilometers around him.
Within that range, the landscape was flat, utterly desolate, without a trace of life—not even a blade of grass!
“Hiss!”
Lin Yun couldn’t help but gasp.
The pressure here was horrific. Even with his exceptionally strong physique, after just a short time, he felt unbearably oppressed.
Wearing the Heart of Frost offered little help.
The Heart of Frost could deflect weapons, but this oppressive force bypassed it, acting directly on Lin Yun’s body. The Heart of Frost could only mitigate a fraction of the power.
Moreover, bound by the spirit-restraining ropes, Lin Yun couldn’t use his inner energy, relying solely on his physical strength and the Heart of Frost to endure!
“Is this hellish place the so-called Land of Exile?” Lin Yun said through gritted teeth.
Calling it a hell was no exaggeration—no one would want to stay here a moment longer!
Lin Yun was someone who could endure immense pain, and his body refinement techniques were advanced, yet even he found it agonizing.
If a cultivator of the same realm entered, they’d likely be wailing in pain by now.
Then, Lin Yun sat on the ground.
What now?
Just stay here?
Woo! Woo!
The fierce winds continued to rage, slashing at Lin Yun’s face and body like knives, while the terrifying oppressive force of this space relentlessly bore down on him.
