When Ling Xiao first encountered Shen Tianlin, this man was considered the top disciple just below the ten core disciples.
He was stronger than Zhan Liu, Tie Shan, Wu Yang, and Qin Wu.
But why was he blocking Ling Xiao’s path today?
“Ling Xiao!”
Shen Tianlin looked at Ling Xiao with an arrogant expression. “I’ve become a disciple of Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable, and this time, I’ll be participating in the Tower Ascension Ceremony. Naturally, I’ll compete with you!”
“Is that so? Now that you’ve said your piece, can you step aside?” Ling Xiao replied, unfazed.
The current Ling Xiao wasn’t afraid of Shen Tianlin. Though he had relied on cunning and the Evil Beast Demon King’s Ten Thousand Evil Beast Soul Spear to kill Wang She, he now possessed four treasured swords that matched his internal cultivation method. His combat strength had increased significantly, giving him confidence against Shen Tianlin.
Of course, there was always the chance that Shen Tianlin had recently broken through and received benefits from Elder Jin or Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable—unpredictable factors.
But even so, Ling Xiao wasn’t afraid. Compete with him in trump cards?
That was just asking for trouble!
“What kind of attitude is that? Is this how you speak to a senior brother?” Shen Tianlin snapped.
He had never felt inferior to anyone. After becoming a disciple of Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable and receiving Elder Jin’s guidance, he had broken through to the eighth level of the Mortal Realm and successfully claimed the tenth spot among the core disciples.
Meanwhile, Meng Yuan, previously ranked tenth, had been fully supported by Elder Jin after Hei Suo’s death, forcibly boosting his cultivation to the peak of the eighth Mortal Realm.
Meng Yuan had consecutively defeated the ninth and eighth core disciples, taking the eighth position.
Naturally, one of the original ten core disciples had been eliminated.
Such was the sect’s competition.
If your strength wasn’t enough, you couldn’t hold your position forever.
Even if you were stronger than others now, there was no guarantee you’d stay that way, so you could never slack off. Constant cultivation and improvement were essential.
Shen Tianlin had received a task from Elder Jin: to ambush and kill Ling Xiao in the Moonlight Treasure Tower.
Initially, he had been reluctant to take on this task.
But to solidify his position, he chose to assist in this nefarious plan.
And so, he became a disciple of Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable.
“Senior brother? A lackey who aids evil, and you call yourself that?” Ling Xiao shot him a glance and stepped forward to leave. Now wasn’t the time for arguments—the Tower Ascension Ceremony was approaching, and he still had tasks to complete, including refining a rain-attributed sword and creating the “Purple Lightning Shocks the World” secret scroll.
These things took time.
*Clang!*
Shen Tianlin drew his long saber, carving a line in the ground. “If you dare cross this line today, I’ll kill you!” he said coldly.
In truth, he didn’t dare kill Ling Xiao so openly.
He just wanted to intimidate him. After all, he was the senior brother, and with so many disciples watching, he needed to save face.
“Hmph.”
To his surprise, Ling Xiao merely snorted and stepped over the line without hesitation.
Shen Tianlin’s mind went hot with rage, his face flushing red. Without thinking, he swung his saber at Ling Xiao.
But in that instant, the saber froze mid-air.
“You bastard! How dare you defy Lady Moon’s orders?”
The one who stopped Shen Tianlin was Lan Yuer.
Unaware of Ling Xiao’s current strength and worried he’d be injured, she had intervened.
“Ling Xiao, if you’re a man, don’t hide behind a woman!” Shen Tianlin roared in fury.
“Some stray dog wants to challenge me—do I have to entertain every one? You’re a seeded contender for the ceremony, right? We’ll settle this in the Moonlight Treasure Tower. I don’t mind crushing a dog!”
Ling Xiao glanced at Lan Yuer with a smile. “Senior Sister, I was just looking for you. I got some good stuff this time, and this is for you.”
He had gifts for Dai Yuling, Zhao Zhi, and Shangguan Lei, so naturally, Lan Yuer couldn’t be left out.
“This is an Earth Spirit Origin Stone!”
Lan Yuer’s eyes lit up as if she were a lecher seeing a beautiful woman.
“Exactly. I was lucky to get a few, and this one’s for you, Senior Sister. I hope it helps you break through to the Celestial Realm soon, so Demon Flame Heavenly Venerable can’t keep acting so smug,” Ling Xiao said with a smile.
“But this is too valuable. I can’t just take it,” Lan Yuer said, wanting it but feeling uneasy.
“By —
the way, Ling Xiao, I went out for training recently and found a few ‘Phoenix Feathers.’ I heard they can be used to set up formations, though I’m not sure if that’s true. They’re for you.”
Ling Xiao’s eyes widened when he saw the Phoenix Feathers in Lan Yuer’s hands, swallowing hard.
These were incredibly valuable—especially to him.
Phoenix Feathers had many uses:
Beyond setting up formations, they could be used to refine fire-attributed treasures, create flight or attack secret scrolls, enhance fire-attributed or avian martial souls, speed up fire-attributed cultivation techniques, and boost fire-attributed true essence.
Most importantly, they contained the powerful “Phoenix Flame,” ideal for refining pills or arrays, surpassed only by the Twelve Holy Flames.
“Senior Sister, *your* gift is the real treasure. I’ll take one, but you keep the rest,” Ling Xiao said, not wanting to take advantage of Lan Yuer, who had already helped him plenty. He couldn’t be that shameless.
“No, take them all. There are only three, and they’re useless to me. They’re better off with you,” Lan Yuer said firmly, shaking her head.
Seeing her resolve, Ling Xiao took out two more Earth Spirit Origin Stones and handed them to her. “Senior Sister, I can’t let you lose out. Here are two more stones. Don’t refuse, or I won’t take the feathers.”
“Alright, alright, deal!”
Lan Yuer happily accepted.
She didn’t care how valuable the Phoenix Feathers were. If they didn’t help her cultivation, they were meaningless to her.
“Senior Sister, I’ve got some things to take care of, so I won’t stay,” Ling Xiao said.
“Go ahead,” Lan Yuer replied.
Shen Tianlin watched Ling Xiao leave, fuming but helpless. Hearing the whispers of the surrounding disciples, he wished he could crawl into a hole.
Ling Xiao didn’t care about Shen Tianlin’s loss of face. Back at his cave dwelling, he began refining a new sword.
Using the rain phenomenon, he created a storm in his Mountain and River World, placing his martial soul clone in the downpour to modify the attributes of the Snowfall Sword.
Through array refinement, he inscribed a “attribute conversion” formation on the Snowfall Sword.
