“Seeing how you didn’t even flinch when my blade came down, you’re a real man, not someone who’d lie. If you can truly get me out of this wretched place, name any condition you want!” The white-haired old man’s eyes glinted with hope.
“But I was just bluffing earlier. I’ve been exiled here myself, so how could I possibly take you out, right?” Lin Yun shrugged.
The old man froze, his face twisting in anger.
“Kid, you’d even deceive an old man? Have you no martial virtue?”
“Do you have any idea how I’ve survived being trapped here for nearly a thousand years? And now, when you finally give me a sliver of hope to escape, you… you snuff it out!”
The old man’s emotions surged, his voice trembling with agitation.
“Senior, don’t get worked up! I was only joking when I said there was no chance, just teasing you a bit. Didn’t you say you’ve been bored all these years? I was just adding some fun,” Lin Yun said with a dry laugh.
“What?! A joke? Teasing me?”
The old man nearly spat blood in frustration.
He had scared Lin Yun earlier, but he hadn’t expected Lin Yun to ‘retaliate’ so quickly.
Grabbing Lin Yun’s collar, the old man shouted, “Kid, can you actually get me out or not? No more jokes, I want the truth!”
“Senior, to be honest, if I get rescued, there’s a slight chance I could take you with me. But it’s just a possibility—don’t get your hopes too high, or you might end up disappointed,” Lin Yun said.
The old man leaned closer, his voice fervent. “Kid, if you can really get me out of here, I’ll share a secret about this Land of Exile—a secret no one outside knows!”
It was clear he desperately craved freedom, perhaps more than anything else!
“Senior, are you bluffing me now?” Lin Yun said skeptically.
“No bluffing, I swear! I need to give you something valuable so you’ll take me with you, right?” The old man was visibly excited.
“Alright, tell me, what’s the secret?” Lin Yun looked at him.
“You agree first,” the old man insisted.
“Senior, I don’t even know what your secret is or how valuable it might be. How can I agree?” Lin Yun reasoned.
“If you can’t get out, this opportunity is useless to you—you’d just die trapped here. But if you do escape someday, I guarantee this will be a massive opportunity!” The old man said confidently.
“Is it really that incredible?” Lin Yun was half-convinced.
“Forget it, talking’s no use. Follow me, I’ll take you there, and you’ll see.”
With that, the old man turned and walked back.
After two seconds of thought, Lin Yun decided to follow.
He wasn’t sure if this was a trap, but if the old man had wanted to harm him, he could’ve easily killed Lin Yun earlier when he was still bound by the Spirit-Binding Rope.
Besides, Lin Yun could tell the old man’s desire for freedom was genuine.
If, as he claimed, he’d been here for over a thousand years, Lin Yun could understand his desperation to leave.
Though Lin Yun hadn’t been in the Land of Exile long, he already knew how intense its torment was!
Now that he could circulate his inner strength, things were somewhat better.
But if Lin Yun had to endure a thousand years here, he doubted even his physical and mental resilience could hold up!
So, Lin Yun followed the old man deeper into the Land of Exile.
“Kid, why were you thrown in here?” the old man asked as they walked.
“For offending the Xingwu Emperor. You?” Lin Yun replied, walking behind him.
“Some unsavory matters. I won’t bore you with them, but I wasn’t sent here from some Xingwu Empire,” the old man said.
Lin Yun was surprised. He’d assumed the old man had been exiled from the Xingwu Empire as well.
So, there were other places with passages to this place?
“Senior, I must say, surviving a thousand years in this hellhole without dying or going mad—I’m genuinely impressed!” Lin Yun said sincerely.
“Those who threw me in here probably thought I was long dead. Normally, I wouldn’t have lasted even a hundred years,” the old man said.
“Oh? Then how are you still alive?” Lin Yun asked, astonished.
“I survived this long because I discovered a secret of the Land of Exile—the same secret I’m about to share with you. You’ll see soon enough,” the old man said with a mysterious smile.
Lin Yun’s curiosity about this so-called secret grew stronger.
As they continued, the old man proved quite talkative, likely because he’d been alone for so long without seeing another living soul.
Through their conversation, Lin Yun learned that the last time the old man had met a living person in the Land of Exile was two or three hundred years ago, but that person was too weak and died soon after.
The old man also praised Lin Yun for being impressive, able to endure and keep up with him.
Lin Yun also learned the old man’s real name: Yan Hequn.
Along the way, Lin Yun occasionally spotted skeletal remains on the ground.
As they pressed deeper, the sandstorms grew fiercer, and the oppressive force became more terrifying.
The wailing howls never ceased, echoing relentlessly.
Now that Lin Yun could circulate his inner strength, he could endure, but as they ventured deeper, the pain throughout his body steadily increased.
Lin Yun was amazed that the old man ahead of him seemed largely unaffected by the pain.
He also moved quickly, forcing Lin Yun to grit his teeth through the agony to keep pace.
After two days of rapid travel, the old man finally stopped.
By now, Lin Yun’s face was pale—the oppressive force here was no small matter.
“See that boulder?” Yan Hequn pointed to a massive rock in front of them.
“I see it,” Lin Yun nodded, looking at the boulder.
“Climb onto the boulder, sit down, and send your divine sense into it,” the old man instructed.
Lin Yun followed his instructions, climbing onto the boulder and sitting cross-legged.
Then, he extended his divine sense into the rock.
Boom!
Lin Yun felt his consciousness enter an ethereal space.
Within this space, something was recorded.
“It’s a manual!”
“A body-refining technique manual!”
Lin Yun quickly realized that the boulder contained a sealed body-refining technique manual.
The manual was called *Withered Silence* and had no specified rank.
After briefly skimming it, Lin Yun was stunned to find that this body-refining technique was worlds apart from any he had studied before!
“What a unique body-refining technique! What a powerful one!”
After a quick review, Lin Yun’s heart surged with awe.
This *Withered Silence* body-refining technique, with its cultivation method and effects, completely overturned everything Lin Yun had ever known about body-refining techniques!
