Chapter 2322 - Mysterious Bamboo Slip
Turning around, Lin Yun noticed that Ji Zixi was staring at him in a daze with shock on her face. He asked with a smile, “Did I scare you?”
Ji Zixi blinked, then said, “I wasn't scared, but I was a bit shocked."
Lin Yun smiled and said, "I understand what you mean. You think I killed them too quickly?"
"Yeah," Ji Zixi nodded. After all, it was a sixth-stage Saint Lord that Lin Yun just killed. More accurately speaking, Lin Yun practically resolved his battles with one exchange after arriving in the Heavenly Barren Realm. Even if he couldn’t resolve his opponent with one exchange, it wouldn’t exceed three.
Looking at the Flower Burial Sword that was still devouring the Dragon Amber, Lin Yun said, "This is how a swordsman should be. To you, it seems like I resolved him with one exchange. But in reality, I would have to resort to other means if I can’t resolve it in one exchange, and I would have to use at least a thousand moves to deal with a Saint Lord of that level.”
Lin Yun was speaking the truth because it wasn’t easy to kill a sixth-stage Saint Lord without using the Othershore Flower or Nirvana Dao. He continued, “There’s a suppression in the difference of cultivation. If I’m alone, I can naturally have fun with them and temper myself through battles.”
“I got it. Big Brother Lin still has to protect me,” Ji Zixi nodded.
Lin Yun smiled, “I’m not protecting you, but teaching you. Your strength is extraordinary, and your potential might not be lower than mine. You only need to see how I kill, since you don’t need any protection. You’re the Heavenly Phoenix Maiden, the strongest genius in the history of the Divine Phoenix Mountain.”
Ji Zixi was briefly stunned upon hearing that. She had grown up protected by others, and even when she occasionally went out to gain experience, she rarely engaged in real combat. No one had ever told her that she didn't need to be protected, that she was the strongest.
“Alright.” Lin Yun retrieved the Flower Burial Sword, which had just finished absorbing the Dragon Amber. After devouring the Dragon Amber, the Flower Burial Sword had been successfully upgraded to a Fivespirit Glory Saint Artifact. He smiled, “I wonder if it can be upgraded to a Sevenspirit Glory Saint Artifact in the Heavenly Barren Realm.”
A Sevenspirit Glory Saint Artifact was only one step away from becoming a Sovereign Saint Artifact. It was Lin Yun’s dream to have a Sovereign Saint Artifact that solely belonged to him.
“I believe you can,” Ji Zixi smiled sweetly after she came to her senses with splendor in her eyes as she looked at Lin Yun.
“Hahaha! I hope so as well. Let’s go!” Lin Yun chuckled as they continued to explore around.
Meanwhile, the entire Blood Mist Swamp had descended into a fierce battle with countless casualties. Some perished amongst the inexhaustible demonic beasts, becoming their food. More met their end at the hands of their fellow human cultivators. The battles in different areas were bloody and fierce.
In a valley veiled by blood mist, the blood on the ground had gathered into a lake with Saint Origin scattered around. The ground was littered with corpses of cultivators from righteous and demonic paths, with the air filled with the stench of blood. Ten Saint Lords were trembling as they kneeled on the ground with shock and fear in their eyes.
In the blood lake, there was a youth hovering in the air, exuding a cold and frightening aura. This person was the chief disciple of the Golden Jade Pavilion, Mu Xiuhan, a monstrous genius of the Azure Cloud Realm’s younger generation. His sword was famed for being fast, and people rarely saw him unleashing another attack.
Everyone in the valley was initially fighting for a saint fruit, but they didn’t expect that Mu Xiuhan would start a massacre the moment he arrived, which resulted in this after ten-odd swords.
“Young Master Mu, please spare us!”
“We didn’t know that the Ice Lotus Saint Fruit caught your attention.”
“Spare us!” Everyone wailed and didn’t dare to resist as they begged for mercy.
“There is karma to everything in the world, and I am your retribution. Consider yourselves unlucky,” Mu Xiuhan smiled with a vicious light flashing in his eyes.
“Since we’re going to die anyway, we might as well die fighting!” Everyone knew Mu Xiuhan’s personality, and they quickly unleashed their attacks.
“That’s more like it. It’s more interesting this way, or it would be too boring,” Mu Xiuhan smiled. When he finished, an indigo jade pavilion appeared behind him, releasing an indigo radiance. The ten Saint Lords charging at him fell back onto the ground, kneeling before they could even respond.
“Thunderflame Domain!” Everyone was shocked that Mu Xiuhan managed to fuse thunderflame and baleful aura to form the Thunderflame Domain. When terrifying lightning flickered on Mu Xiuhan’s body, a baleful aura soared to the sky. With a shake of his hand, golden light intertwined and suppressed everyone around him.
“How boring…” Mu Xiuhan sighed. He continued, “Three thousand daos, but only the sword is king. In the entire Azure Cloud Realm, I’m afraid that only Lin Jiangxian can give me some pressure. I hope that the Sovereign Monument won’t disappoint me.”
In another part of the Blood Mist Swamp, there was a dried-up river. At the riverbed, the faces of a group of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion’s disciples were ugly since they were all blocked by a single person. Chang Jun, Wu Yuhua, and Xi Ruo had joined hands together while facing a black-clothed youth.
The other Heavenly Sword Pavilion’s disciples were either seriously injured or dead. Chang Jun, Wu Yuhua, and Xi Ruo were familiar with this black-clothed youth, the chief disciple of the Suspension Palace, Ao Jue.
Ao Jue carried a sword on his back, completely suppressing Chang Jun, Wu Yuhua, and Xi Ruo.
Chang Jun furiously roared, “Ao Jue, you’re a chief disciple, so do you have to take it so far?”
“What’s wrong with killing you people? I’m the chief disciple of a demonic sect, and I don’t need to talk about righteousness with you guys. You guys can also get your chief disciple to hunt the disciples of my Suspension Palace,” Ao Jue said with a hint of mockery in his tone.
“We don’t go down so easily!” Wu Yuhua couldn’t hold it back and left the formation to charge at Ao Jue, performing the Heavenly King Sword. A purple aura began to rise from him. He wanted to use heaven’s might, but he suddenly thought of what Lin Yun had said and went all out in this attack.
When he held onto the sword, a dragon’s roar echoed as a dragon aura began to appear. As his sword moved, the dragon aura also became realistic, manifesting a true dragon. When the dragon aura and sword aura combined, this made Wu Yuhua look like an actual king.
“The first sword—Ninth Heavenly Dragon Roar!” Wu Yuhua roared, accompanied by flickering lightning and a dragon’s roar that caused heaven and earth to tremble. He unleashed six swords in a row, catching Ao Jue by surprise. When his last sword descended, it actually managed to leave behind a terrifying wound on Ao Jue.
Chang Jun and Xi Ruo were shocked, not knowing when Wu Yuhua’s sword technique improved so much. Chang Jun was briefly stunned before he dashed forth, executing the Heavenly King Sword as well, “He’s injured!”
“Lin Yun was right…” Wu Yuhua was still in excitement, but his face changed when he saw Chang Jun charging over. He knew that his earlier attack failed to inflict a heavy injury on Ao Jue.
“You’re courting death!” A cold light flashed within Ao Jue’s eyes. His face changed, and he flicked his finger on Chang Jun's sword. Once Chang Jun’s sword shattered, Ao Jue held onto a fragment and left behind a sinister wound on Chang Jun’s chest that revealed the bones.
“Die!” Ao Jue did not show pity on his face as he flicked his finger with a fragment directed at Chang Jun’s throat.
In the critical moment, a figure stood before Chang Jun, knocking the fragment away. It was Lin Jiangxian who arrived.
“Chief!” Everyone’s eyes lit up when they saw Lin Jiangxian.
“I have been waiting for you!” Ao Jue rejoiced as he charged over. He pushed his palm forth with an immense power pouring out.
Lin Jiangxian maintained her composure with her sword sheathed and reached out with her palm.
Ao Jue threw out another palm and they exchanged over ten-odd moves in the blink of an eye. Taking ten-odd steps back, Ao Jue smiled, “Lin Jiangxian, it seems like you've made progress over the years. I wonder how sharp your sword is?”
He had intercepted those from the Heavenly Sword Pavilion just to meet Lin Jiangxian. Otherwise, he could have killed them all before she arrived.
“You’ll know when the Sovereign Monument appears,” Lin Jiangxian said calmly.
“I hope that you’ve improved over the years, or this won't be enough to deal with me!” Ao Jue laughed as he left.
“Chief, thanks for saving us,” Chang Jun said with lingering fear and a pale complexion.
“The Blood Mist Swamp is really terrifying. If I had known this, we wouldn’t have split up…” Xi Ruo muttered with a hint of complaint in her tone.
But Lin Jiangxian merely turned to look at her, forcing her to shut her mouth. Since everyone was safe, the amount of resources they obtained would decrease. The Heavenly Barren Realm was a place where opportunities and dangers coexist. If they traveled in a group, the risk was smaller but that also meant that the harvest was also fewer.
“I wonder how Lin Yun is doing right now. This Blood Mist Swamp is even more brutal than before, and they are in even greater danger together.” Wu Yuhua spoke.
“He will be fine.” Lin Jiangxian said confidently, causing both Chang Jun and Xia Ruo to feel uncomfortable.
“Chief, you seem to think highly of that guy. He may have died at the hands of those demonic beasts long ago.” Xia Ruo said somewhat discontentedly.
“Why do you think I let them go by themselves? For them to die?”
As Lin Jiangxian had said, Lin Yun was indeed fine. Not only was he alive, but his harvests far exceeded the imaginations of the others. They were in a ruin, sorting their harvests. They obtained over twenty ten-thousand-year-old saint fruits, each possessing an unimaginable value that was rare in the Kunlun Realm, especially the Exquisite Saint Fruit.
“With so many resources, it should be enough for Big Brother Lin to become a fifth-stage Saint Lord,” Ji Zixi said.
“The Heavenly Barren Realm is really a place with treasures everywhere,” Lin Yun smiled. His harvest was unimaginable even before seeing the Sovereign Monument.
Four days later, Lin Yun and Ji Zixi found the entrance to an underground palace. The palace was grand, and they were not the first to enter. They entered a chamber but all the treasures here had already been plundered with many damaged bottles and furniture lying on the ground.
In the distance, there was a surge of saint energy, indicating a sign of battle. Lin Yun searched around but couldn’t find any treasures so he began examining the walls. He failed to find any hidden paintings, which was a little disappointing.
Generally speaking, ancient underground palaces should have some paintings, and there might be some Sovereign Dao’s saint daos around since this was the Heavenly Barren Realm.
“Big Brother Lin, what's this?” Ji Zixi found a golden bamboo slip. It was heavy and smooth, almost as hard as metal.
Lin Yun took it and placed it on his forehead, which conjured some words and images in his mind. This was an ancient martial technique, but it was a pity that it was heavily incomplete and there wasn’t much meaning to it.
“The grade of this martial technique itself is high, but it’s heavily incomplete. Even so, the material of this bamboo is pretty decent,” Lin Yun caressed the bamboo slip in his hand. It felt like metallic wood and seemed to be made from the same material as the Flower Burial Sword.
“I can keep it as a souvenir,” Lin Yun smiled and put the bamboo slip away. But he didn’t notice that the jade slip flashed when he put it in his chest.
The two continued to explore, intentionally avoiding some conflicts. Lin Yun wasn't particularly eager for saint fruits and elixirs at the moment. He was more interested in paintings or ancient treasures. This was a complicated labyrinth, which Lin Yun and Ji Zixi explored for a few hours before they heard an intense battle taking place.
Lin Yun closed his eyes to sense it before exclaiming in surprise, “So many people!”
There were at least a hundred people fighting where the commotion came from.
Ji Zixi’s eyes lit up, and smiled, “With so many people, they must’ve found a treasure or something.”
Lin Yun smiled, “Probably. But we have to be careful since we’re definitely not the only ones lurking in the shadows.”
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