Chapter 296: Differing Thoughts (Second update, continuing to ask for monthly votes!)

Both were decisive individuals. Once they reached a consensus, they proceeded without hesitation, heading straight for the cave. After passing through several tunnel entrances, they finally arrived thirty feet outside the cave.

From this position, they could see the pitch-black cave entrance in the distance.

Not far away lay a skeleton; this was the Senior Brother who had been killed by Sun Lei.

"Immortal Realm grain is originally food for Immortal Beasts. When consumed, it makes their Physical Body stronger, but it is useless to the likes of us. I didn't expect this Immortal Beast mansion to contain so much Immortal Beast grain. All of this must be because of that black Immortal grain! Fellow Daoist, do you know why this black Immortal grain exists?" Sun Lei whispered, looking at the cave entrance in the distance.

Wang Lin's gaze was calm as he said, "It must be related to that black skeleton!" He clearly remembered that when he swept his Divine Sense over it for the first time, he saw the black filaments weaving through the skeleton. Every time they moved, the skeleton would tremble, as if it were eerily ready to revive at any moment.

"Fellow Daoist has extraordinary insight. That black Immortal grain must have, during the Immortal Realm catastrophe countless years ago, used some unknown method to devour the Physical Body of the corpse, and even swallowed its Primordial Spirit. Afterward, it hid within the skeleton, and over a long period of time, it gained Dao cultivation! It is precisely because of its existence that there is so much Immortal Realm grain here; I fear they are all descendants it has propagated." Sun Lei took a few Jade Slips from his Storage Pouch, placed them gently around the ground, and spoke.

Wang Lin remained silent.

"Fellow Daoist, in a moment, I will use a Spell to lure out these Immortal Realm grains. We will destroy as many as we can. Once that black filament appears, we will immediately flee and rendezvous at the spot from earlier," Sun Lei said in a deep voice.

Wang Lin nodded and flicked his right hand. The Beast-Taming Ring immediately flew out, transformed into the Thunder Frog, and landed on the ground.

"Thunder Frog!" Sun Lei's pupils constricted. He took a deep look at Wang Lin, more convinced than ever that this person must be concealing his cultivation. Otherwise, how could he have captured such an extremely rare High Grade Spirit Beast?

"Begin," Wang Lin said calmly.

Sun Lei did not say another word. He performed Hand Seals with both hands and let out a low shout. Suddenly, the precious sword on his back flew up, transforming into a streak of sword light like a long rainbow. Amidst a rumbling sound, it sped away and pierced into the cave.

Immediately, a muffled sound came from within. Then, the precious sword turned back. Behind the sword, a massive ball of threads suddenly rushed out. After this ball appeared, countless wriggling threads flew out from it, connecting to each other, dense and numerous, as they charged over.

This sight made one's scalp tingle just looking at it.

Once pounced upon by these wriggling things, the fate of the skeleton on the ground would be a bloody one.

Sun Lei shouted loudly. The Jade Slips he had left on the ground earlier instantly shattered with popping sounds. Wisps of seven-colored smoke permeated from them, drilling toward those Immortal Realm filaments. Immediately, patches of filaments twisted, fell to the ground, and twitched continuously.

However, there were simply too many of these filaments. Within just a few breaths, the seven-colored smoke dissipated completely. Sun Lei didn't hesitate, retreating while pointing at his Flying Sword. Thick streaks of Sword Qi shot out, landing on the filaments. With every blast of Sword Qi, large swathes of filaments were forcibly destroyed.

Despite this, what lay before them was the cave passage, still wrapped in dense, endless filaments. They charged over regardless of everything, wanting to devour every living thing.

Sun Lei retreated continuously. Wang Lin's eyes flashed. The Thunder Frog beside him immediately puffed up its abdomen, from which sounds of thunder rolled out. Following that, it opened its large mouth, and amidst the rumbling sound of rushing thunder, a Lightning Orb was suddenly spat out. This Lightning Orb flashed with electricity, and amidst the thunderous roar, it struck forward with majestic power.

Immediately, patches of filaments, like crops harvested by a sickle, twisted their bodies and dissipated into nothingness.

Sun Lei was stunned. He never expected this Lightning Orb to possess such power, and his wariness of Wang Lin grew deeper.

This Lightning Orb possessed the might of heaven and earth. As it rumbled forward, it forced them back more than ten feet before dissipating completely. However, the filaments were still endless and pounced again.

Wang Lin retreated, his right hand pointing at the Thunder Frog. The Thunder Frog roared, its abdomen puffed up again, and it spat out another Lightning Orb. Surrounded by rings of lightning, it immediately charged toward the filaments.

The Lightning Orb's momentum was fierce, bringing with it bursts of electric light as it struck. Those dense, endless filaments seemed to feel fear for the first time; they were unwilling to pounce and instead wanted to retreat.

But just then, a sharp roar erupted from within the filaments. Following that, a black spot appeared in the group of filaments. A thick black filament was seen wriggling out from within, charging at the Lightning Orb without any fear.

The Thunder Frog had spat out two orbs in succession, and its eyes revealed exhaustion; its body was slightly wilted. The moment Wang Lin saw the black filament appear, he summoned with his right hand, and the Thunder Frog transformed into the Beast-Taming Ring, landing on his wrist. Afterward, he did not hesitate at all, turned around, and fled. While fleeing, he pointed his finger at his glabella, summoning many Wandering Souls that scattered and fled.

As for Sun Lei, his eyes showed hesitation. He then sighed softly, abandoning his plan to risk staying there and waiting for the filaments to chase Wang Lin before entering the cave. After all, this matter was too dangerous; a moment of carelessness would result in his death.

Therefore, the moment Wang Lin retreated, he also immediately withdrew, choosing another direction and fleeing rapidly.

As for the Lightning Orb, it was pierced into by the black filament. Its entire body shuddered, and the Lightning Orb immediately shrank. Finally, amidst a series of crackling sounds, the Lightning Orb completely vanished.

The black filament let out a sharp roar. One could see that the color on its body was no longer pure black but slightly purple, with even faint traces of electric light flowing through it.

It curled its body and suddenly sprang forward. Its speed was extremely fast; even with Divine Sense probing, it was often impossible to lock onto it.

The position it chose was not the one Wang Lin had taken, but Sun Lei's.

While walking, Wang Lin's expression suddenly changed. He immediately shook the Restriction Banner, sat cross-legged on the ground, and swallowed a Medicinal Pill. A wave of suction came from the Beast-Taming Ring. After a long while, this suction slowly decreased. Wang Lin stood up, his expression somewhat ugly.

"The Beast-Taming Ring absorbed spiritual energy half a day early this time; clearly, the Thunder Frog's consumption was too great. Although this ring is useful, its drawbacks are also too great." Wang Lin was silent for a moment, then moved his body and flew forward.

Along the way, Wandering Souls penetrated from the surrounding walls and returned to his glabella. Wang Lin did a quick count and found the number had not decreased. He couldn't help but smile; it seemed the black filament had chosen Sun Lei's location this time.

Not long after, Wang Lin arrived at the cave where he had agreed to meet Sun Lei. He sat cross-legged on the ground and spread his Divine Sense to search. Finally, in a cave a thousand feet away, he spotted Sun Lei.

Sun Lei was extremely disheveled at this moment. His body was damaged in many places, and one could see he was wearing silver armor inside. It must have been because of this armor that he escaped the pursuit twice.

His right hand was covered in blood, and he was missing a finger!

He was currently sitting cross-legged in meditation, his face extremely gloomy. The moment Wang Lin's Divine Sense swept over, Sun Lei's expression changed. He immediately noticed it and revealed a look of wariness.

Wang Lin's eyes flashed. His body suddenly moved, passing into the cave wall. He deployed his Earth Escape Technique and sped away.

Sun Lei clearly discovered this scene. He immediately took out several Medicinal Pills and swallowed them, feeling quite pained. His face was uncertain, and he focused all his efforts on sitting cross-legged in meditation.

A distance of a thousand feet did not take long for a Soul Transformation Cultivator, but this Immortal Cave had a strange power obstructing him. After half an incense stick of time, Wang Lin's body rushed out and appeared in the cave where Sun Lei was.

Sun Lei's expression immediately became extremely ugly. He flicked his right hand, his eyes revealing a gloomy look as he stared at Wang Lin.

"Brother Sun, please continue your breathing exercises; I will act as your Protector!" Wang Lin said calmly.

He sighed inwardly. He did not know what Medicinal Pill Sun Lei had taken, but his cultivation had actually recovered to eighty percent from his previous state of extreme weakness. Because of this, Wang Lin decisively abandoned his previous thoughts.

Sun Lei was stunned; he clearly had not expected Wang Lin to say these words. Naturally, he did not believe it in his heart, but he said slowly, "I will have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist."

Wang Lin did not say another word and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Sun Lei remained cautious, slowly refining the Medicinal Pill within his body while staying on guard. Three incense sticks of time later, his cultivation had completely recovered. The look he gave Wang Lin was no longer gloomy but slightly softened.

"Fellow Daoist, my cultivation has recovered. How about you and I explore again?" Sun Lei stood up and said.

Wang Lin nodded, stood up, and flew rapidly toward the cave to the side, with Sun Lei following closely behind.

The two did not speak a word along the way. Very soon, they arrived at that cave again. As soon as they stepped out, they saw a large quantity of filaments rushing out from within the cave.

Sun Lei's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist, you should step back. This time, I will definitely avenge my severed finger!" As he spoke, he slapped his Storage Pouch, and a black fan immediately flew out from within.

This fan was made of unknown material. As soon as it appeared, a trace of yin cold qi immediately permeated the surroundings, and even the walls instantly formed a layer of black ice.

This black ice spread continuously, arriving beside Wang Lin in the blink of an eye. Wang Lin's gaze was calm; he shook the Restriction Banner, and his body was immediately enveloped in black mist. The cold qi circled around Wang Lin slightly before passing by, merely forming a defensive barrier between him and Sun Lei. Wang Lin's eyes flashed, and he quietly took out the Years Wood Carving from his Storage Pouch.

At this time, those filaments had already rushed out of the cave again, as if there was no reduction in quantity compared to just before, charging over. This time, that black filament was actually flying in the lead, clearly harboring the intention to kill.

Sun Lei took a deep breath, his hands rapidly changing Hand Seals. He pressed his hand against his glabella, and suddenly his Primordial Spirit rose from the top of his head and grabbed the fan. The instant it grasped it, the Primordial Spirit revealed a look of pain, as if the fan were like a hot branding iron.

The Primordial Spirit held the black fan and swung it fiercely forward. Immediately, a black wind blew from the fan, blowing toward the surging filaments rushing over.

Immediately, those filaments all stopped their bodies. Patches of black ice permeated instantly. In the blink of an eye, including the place where Wang Lin was, everything turned into a world of black ice.

Sun Lei did not say another word. His Primordial Spirit returned to his body, and he charged toward the cave entrance in front, laughing as he said, "Fellow Daoist, my magical power is limited; I can only seal it for ten breaths. I will go ahead first and come back to save you!"

Wang Lin's gaze was calm, a faint trace of mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth.

— — There is another update in a while. Fellow Daoists, please let those monthly votes come in more fiercely. Also, although yesterday was said to be one update, it actually contained two chapters. Er Gen did not save a chapter from yesterday to put into today to perform such shameless acts; heaven is the witness.