The bounty was personally issued by Cao Youwei, backed by his own reputation and the Cao family’s solemn promise.
Beyond the hundreds of green spirit stones on Lin Xiao, the Cao family offered an additional three hundred green spirit stones, a ground-tier martial technique just below their core family techniques, and an alliance with the Cao family, granting permanent protection to the captor’s family.
This was an astronomical bounty, enough to catapult any force outside the three great families into a dominant position in the region.
This bounty was richer than those of the other two great families!
However, the conditions were stricter: Lin Xiao had to be captured alive, regardless of injury.
Given Cao Xueqing’s death, no one doubted Cao Youwei and the Cao family’s intentions, assuming their rage drove the demand to capture Lin Xiao alive for torture, to restore their honour.
Only Cao Youwei knew the true purpose.
Besides Lin Xiao, Ziling and Linghu were also implicated.
Though no bounties or statements from the three great families targeted Ziling and Linghu, everyone saw them as leverage to draw out Lin Xiao. While frantically searching for him, they also hunted for the two.
Yet, after a few appearances, both vanished like Lin Xiao, leaving no trace.
For nearly a month, countless Martial Venerable experts scoured the Yuan Spirit Pool secret realm, but found no sign of the three, infuriating Cao Youwei and others.
Eventually, the search halted, and all eyes turned to the Yuan Spirit Pool.
The secret realm’s closure was approaching, and everyone knew the Yuan Spirit Pool would soon appear.
Sure enough, with five days left, a phenomenon appeared in a mountain range.
Atop two peaks, dazzling light radiated, illuminating the heavens and earth, visible across the entire secret realm.
This was the sign of the Yuan Spirit Pool’s emergence, prompting all youths in the secret realm to rush toward the phenomenon.
“Lin Xiao, the Yuan Spirit Pool is here. Let’s see if you can resist showing up!”
Atop a peak, a refined, elegant youth gazed into the void, sighing coldly before darting toward the light. “Cao Youwei, Xu Changkong, it’s time for us to clash. And Lin Xiao, I hope you won’t forsake the Yuan Spirit Pool!” Elsewhere, Lu Chao’s red robes fluttered, his fighting spirit high. Thin elemental wings formed beneath him, and he sped toward the phenomenon.
In another forest, a youth gazed at the radiant phenomenon, sighing, “Refining the Yuan Pool will let me break through a realm. Lu Chao, Cao Youwei, if you lack this ability, you’ll never be my match again.”
His eyes gleamed sharply, “The only one who could truly be my rival is Lin Xiao, but only if he leaves the Yuan Spirit Pool alive.”
With that, the youth vanished into the void.
…
In a mountain range, two towering peaks emitted dense spiritual energy, spreading in all directions. A dozens-of-li radius was enveloped in thick spiritual energy, shrouded in mist, resembling an earthly paradise.
Within dozens of li around the peaks, beast roars echoed. Countless spirit beasts gathered in the surrounding forests.
Whenever the Yuan Spirit Pool appeared, hundreds or thousands of spirit beasts blocked the path of human experts.
To enter the Yuan Spirit Pool, one had to pass this beast trial, and not everyone could succeed.
Many had gained opportunities in the past month.
Yet, no one would forsake the chance to build a Monarch foundation in the Yuan Spirit Pool, even those lacking strength coming to try their luck.
At the forest’s edge, where beast roars resounded, hundreds of Martial Venerable youths had gathered, with more arriving.
Over two days, six to seven hundred Martial Venerable youths assembled, nearly all who entered the secret realm.
Yet, Lin Xiao, Ziling, and Linghu remained absent.
“Judging by the phenomenon, the Yuan Spirit Pool will open soon. Lin Xiao and the others still haven’t shown?”
“I reckon they’ve given up on the Yuan Spirit Pool. With Cao Youwei and Lu Chao here, showing up would be suicide!”
“Xu Changkong must be here too, though we don’t know who he is. The three top geniuses will surely target Lin Xiao. If he comes, he’s dead. Unless he’s a fool, he won’t covet the Yuan Spirit Pool.”
“As the saying goes, men die for wealth, birds for food. Lin Xiao and the others might appear after the top experts of the three families enter the Yuan Spirit Pool.”
“Even if the three families’ experts enter, their bounties still stand. If Lin Xiao shows, hundreds of Martial Venerables will swarm him. The outcome’s the same.”
“Exactly. Even if Lin Xiao somehow enters the Yuan Spirit Pool, there’s a two-hour gap after it ends before the secret realm expels everyone. That’s enough time for the top experts to kill him.”
Discussions buzzed everywhere, Lin Xiao remaining the hottest topic in the secret realm.
The faces of the three families’ youths were grim, their hatred for Lin Xiao so intense that they hadn’t smiled in nearly a month.
“Swoosh!”
Amid the heated discussions, a skeletal figure shot from the sky, landing in the void beside the crowd, facing the forest as if gazing at the phenomenon.
Lin Xiao hadn’t appeared, but his skeleton had, nearly causing an uproar.
When parting with the skeleton, Lin Xiao had ordered it to attack Lu Qi and to head to the phenomenon’s location when it appeared, ensuring he could find it.
After losing Lu Qi, the skeleton had gone dormant in the undergrowth, indistinguishable from a dead skeleton, reactivating only when the phenomenon appeared.
Its goal was to reach the phenomenon’s location.
“Destroy that skeleton!” Seeing it, Lu Qi’s rage exploded, shouting at the nearby Lu family youths.
He’d been outmaneuvered by Lin Xiao and hounded by the skeleton, losing face by retreating. Seeing it here, without Lin Xiao, was infuriating.
The Lu family youths hesitated, then nodded, preparing to charge the skeleton.
“Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” But at that moment, two figures appeared on the horizon, speeding toward the crowd.
