Chapter 222: Taking a Pet

Wang Lin glanced at Qiu Siping and said with a half-smile, "Those two juniors should be people from the Poison Devil Palace, right? The Poison Devil Palace is always protective of its own. Brother Qiu, you should be careful in the future."

Qiu Siping gave a bitter smile, thinking that the woman was fine, but that Sickly Hunchback was one of the Core Disciples of the Poison Devil Palace. If those two truly escaped, his future wouldn't just be constantly troublesome; he probably wouldn't be able to step foot into many Main Cities occupied by the Poison Devil Palace.

But now was clearly not the time to worry about those two. The Wang Lin before him exerted great pressure. He summoned twelve parts of caution internally, as the strength the opponent displayed made his heart pound with fear.

"However, given their Core Formation Late Stage speed, if Brother Qiu hurries to chase them now, you might still catch up," Wang Lin said slowly and deliberately.

Qiu Siping sighed, cupped his fists, and said, "Brother Wang, if you have any commands, please speak freely. Although our acquaintance is not deep, we have shared adversity, haven't we?"

Wang Lin's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, "Do you have a map of this Cultivation Devil Sea?"

Qiu Siping was startled, pondered for a moment, and shook his head, saying, "I, Qiu, do not have a map of the Cultivation Devil Sea. However, if Brother Wang wants one, you can go to a Main City Marketplace to exchange for or purchase one; you might find something."

Cold light flickered in Wang Lin's eyes. The reason he didn't kill Qiu Siping was that, based on his understanding, this person was extremely shrewd. Killing him was easy, but getting him to speak the truth was difficult.

If he were to threaten him with life and death, that would clearly be a Low Grade method, and the possibility of getting the truth would be slim.

Therefore, after Wang Lin saw Qiu Siping, he prevented him from chasing those two Core Formation juniors, using this to create a sense of urgency for the other party.

"Oh? Then Brother Qiu, why don't you travel with me? After we reach the nearest Main City and acquire a map, it won't be too late for Brother Qiu to go search for those two juniors," Wang Lin said calmly, his expression unchanged.

Qiu Siping was silent for a moment, sighed, and thought to himself that this Wang Lin was extremely cunning. From the moment he appeared, his seemingly casual but actually malicious remark pointing out his cultivation level caused those two Core Formation juniors to suddenly realize the danger and flee immediately.

All of this was within his calculations. He had unknowingly fallen for his Dao. Presumably, the opponent's goal was to force him to attack and kill those two, and then intervene, all leading up to this moment: forcing him to tell the truth. At the same time, the cultivation emanating from the opponent's body was also hinting that if he remained stubborn, he wouldn't mind killing him.

This method made it easier for people to submit psychologically rather than resist, compared to immediately threatening them with life and death. Qiu Siping gave Wang Lin a complicated look, then without a word, slapped his Storage Pouch, took out a Jade Slip, placed it against his brow, and carefully began transcribing his memories.

Not long after, he handed the Jade Slip to Wang Lin and said, "All the map memories from my travels in the Cultivation Devil Sea over the years are contained within this Jade Slip. There might be some minor errors, but nothing significant. Brother Wang, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave!"

Wang Lin accepted the Jade Slip but did not inspect it. Instead, he cupped his fists and smiled, "Thank you!"

Qiu Siping was stunned, glanced at Wang Lin, hesitated, and asked, "Aren't you going to look?"

Wang Lin smiled slightly and said, "Is there a need?"

Qiu Siping was silent for a moment, then laughed heartily and said, "Brother Wang, I take my leave!" After speaking, he cupped his fists and retreated. After retreating a considerable distance, his eyes flashed, and he loudly said, "Brother Wang, I, Qiu, would never stoop to tampering with the Jade Slip. You can rest assured!" With that, his body flashed, and he disappeared via Instant Movement.

Holding the Jade Slip, Wang Lin scanned it with concentrated Divine Sense. It contained relatively detailed records of the Cultivation Devil Inner Sea but little description of the Outer Sea. The Inner Sea description also included records of some Ancient Teleportation Formations.

Wang Lin did not believe this map was entirely free of falsehoods. However, he wasn't planning on navigating the Cultivation Devil Sea with just one map. Wang Lin's plan was to find a complete map if possible, but if not, to collect several such maps and piece them together himself. By overlapping and comparing them, the truth and falsehoods would naturally be apparent at a glance.

Based on Wang Lin's knowledge of the Cultivation Devil Sea, he remembered that about ten days' journey north was Lianmo City. Lianmo City was one of the ninety-nine Great Cities of the Cultivation Devil Inner Sea, far surpassing the small cities of the Outer Sea.

Another reason Wang Lin decided to choose this city was that Qiu Siping's Jade Slip recorded a ruined Ancient Teleportation Formation located three hundred thousand miles outside Lianmo City.

Under his rapid flight, large and small Yao Spirit Beasts along the way all died as Wang Lin flashed past, extracting their Inner Cores. Throughout his journey, if he encountered a Spirit Rank High Grade Yao Beast, Wang Lin would quickly flee and avoid contact.

Seven days later, Wang Lin grew increasingly alarmed as he traveled. He hadn't expected the Yao Beasts of the Cultivation Devil Sea to become so rampant after only a few years away. He had already spotted two Spirit Rank High Grade Spirit Beasts comparable to the Soul Transformation Stage.

Fortunately, both Spirit Beasts resided in their respective territories and would not chase unless actively provoked.

Along this journey, Wang Lin's gains were immense. He had acquired over a hundred Inner Cores alone. Occasionally swallowing one, it was immediately absorbed by his Nascent Soul under the circulation of the Ancient God Art.

On this day, Wang Lin arrived at the location of the Ancient Teleportation Formation. His eyes flashed, and he floated mid-air, staring down at a Canyon Basin below.

The area was unusually quiet; there wasn't even the slightest trace of a Yao Beast's aura. Wang Lin's expression was solemn. His Divine Sense swept across the area, finding nothing abnormal, yet he felt a strange sensation.

After a moment of silence, Wang Lin pointed at his glabella with his right hand. Immediately, an ape-shaped Devil Head flew out from his forehead. This was the Third Devil Head, which Wang Lin refined from a Spirit Ape's soul.

During the final months at the Cloud Heaven Sect, this Devil Head had been completely controlled by him, without any rebellious intent.

This Devil itself possessed the cultivation of a Low Grade Spirit Beast. After being refined into a Devil Head, its cultivation advanced further. Although it still couldn't devour Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, it could easily devour Core Formation Stage Cultivators.

As soon as the Devil appeared, it immediately roared a few times, its body transforming into a phantom shadow that quickly flew into the canyon. After sweeping around inside and finding nothing unusual, just as it was about to fly out, the Cliff Face next to the canyon suddenly split open, forming a large mouth. Simultaneously, a massive suction force instantly appeared. However, since the Devil Head was inherently a phantom entity, it flashed and flew out.

The crack on the Cliff Face slowly closed up.

Wang Lin's eyes flashed, and he pointed with his right hand. Immediately, the Poison Sword, refined from the Poison King Cauldron of Meng Tuozi, flashed out of his Storage Pouch. Using Instant Movement, it instantly rushed into the closing fissure and rapidly began cutting.

Only the sounds of rock friction emanated from within. Wang Lin frowned. Just as the crack was about to close, his Divine Thought moved, and the Poison Sword immediately flew out, circling around Wang Lin and emitting a buzzing sword cry.

Wang Lin stared at the closed Cliff Face, pondered for a moment, performed Hand Seals with his right hand, and softly uttered, "Ice Flame, appear!"

Suddenly, a mass of blue flame appeared from within his Nascent Soul. This flame was precisely the Ice Flame condensed after Wang Lin achieved Major Achievement in the Yellow Springs Ascending Aperture Art. During Nascent Soul formation, this Ice Flame was further strengthened by the erosion of Nascent Soul Qi.

As soon as the Ice Flame appeared, the surrounding temperature instantly dropped. At the same time, the Ice Flame moved rapidly, floating forward. In the blink of an eye, it touched the Cliff Face. At that moment, the Cliff Face immediately began to strangely squirm, forming a human face that lunged to bite the Ice Flame.

But the instant it touched the Ice Flame, a thin layer of blue ice immediately spread from the face's mouth. Within a few breaths, the entire wall was encased in blue ice, and the human face's expression froze, completely motionless.

Wang Lin watched for a few moments, feeling quite surprised. This thing was clearly a type of Yao Beast, but it grew within the rocks and could even transform into a human shape.

After a brief contemplation, Wang Lin's body suddenly moved, phasing past the Cliff Face. Upon entering the canyon, there was indeed an Ancient Teleportation Formation, but it was heavily damaged and unusable. After observing it for a few moments, Wang Lin took out a Jade Slip and transcribed the formation.

Having finished this, his body flashed and disappeared from the spot, reappearing above the canyon. With a summons from his right hand, the blue ice on the Cliff Face immediately converged to a single point, reforming into the Ice Flame before flying back into his hand.

Immediately after, the human face on the cliff wall began to move again. Its stony eyes looked at Wang Lin, and bursts of hostile growls emanated from its mouth.

Wang Lin found it increasingly interesting the more he looked. This Yao Beast's grade was not high, barely reaching Spirit Rank Low Grade, comparable to a Core Formation Late Stage Cultivator. However, its instinct to conceal itself within rocks was extremely useful. Wang Lin knew he often entered Secluded Cultivation, and having such a Yao Beast guard his cultivation spot would certainly save a lot of trouble. The only pity was its limited cultivation.

However, Wang Lin had many Inner Cores in his Storage Pouch. Under the impetus of Inner Cores, this Yao Beast's cultivation would surely increase significantly. After pondering for a moment, Wang Lin's eyes flashed. He formed a seal with his right hand, slightly exhaled spiritual power, and instantly formed a Spell Formula.

He shouted, "Break!"

The Spell Formula shot out of his hand and landed on the Cliff Face. Instantly, the cliff emitted rumbling sounds, and countless spiderweb-like cracks appeared. As the cracks grew wider, the entire Cliff Face finally collapsed. Just then, a black light rapidly flew out from within and sped toward the north.

Wang Lin locked onto the creature with a sweep of his Divine Sense. Within the black light was a bizarre creature, palm-sized, with an extremely long proboscis and wings.

At first glance, this beast gave off a chilling feeling, especially its long proboscis, which was nearly half the size of its body and faintly shimmered with cold light, clearly indicating extreme sharpness.

Wang Lin rubbed his chin and leisurely chased after it. At the same time, he pointed at his glabella, releasing Xu Ligou, who, along with the Third Devil Head Spirit Ape, lunged at the creature from both sides.

Although Xu Ligou roared a few times excitedly upon appearing, his voice abruptly stopped when he clearly saw the bizarre Yao Beast. He muttered internally, "Are you kidding me? What the hell is that thing? Why is it uglier than the Second Brother! I'd better let the Idiot Third Brother go try first. If that guy is weak, I'll go up and steal the credit."

(I was only a few steps away from being *censored* by a graduate student, truly ferocious!)