Chapter 354 (Second update, requesting monthly votes!)

“Situ…” Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed, and he pointed his right hand at his glabella. Immediately, his entire body transformed into a seven-colored hue and vanished from his original spot.

Inside the Heaven Defying space, the peculiar glowing objects all around remained as they were. Wang Lin didn't even glance at them; after reappearing, he stepped forward.

Not long after, he arrived at the location of Situ Nan’s Nascent Soul.

Beside Situ Nan’s enormous Nascent Soul, his parents’ souls emitted a gentle light, causing Wang Lin’s state of mind to gradually calm. He first bowed to his parents’ souls, watched them silently for a long time, and then turned his gaze towards Situ Nan’s Nascent Soul.

Situ Nan sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly closed. His body was no longer as dim as before, but it wasn't much better, only slightly recovered.

Wang Lin looked at Situ Nan and muttered to himself, “Situ’s Nascent Soul is here, so why did that person just now claim to be Situ Nan? Could it be someone with the same name? But if so, why would the other party also use the Yellow Springs Ascension Art?”

Wang Lin fell silent, a pensive look in his eyes. A moment later, his gaze sharpened.

“Situ once said that he and a few Cultivators not from Vermilion Bird Star competed for the Heaven Defying Bead back then. Later, his Physical Body was shattered, and he had no choice but to abandon it. His Nascent Soul entered the Heaven Defying Bead, thus escaping that calamity!”

Wang Lin’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. He thought of the severed arm he had just seen; the black Qi emanated from the severed arm, and the figure who claimed to be Situ Nan also materialized from that severed arm.

“Could it be that Situ’s Physical Body was taken and refined by someone back then, thus giving rise to a trace of Divine Sense?” Wang Lin made a bold guess in his heart, but he wasn’t certain. After a long time, he sighed, looking at Situ Nan’s Nascent Soul, and said with a bitter smile, “Senior Situ, if that truly was your severed arm, then I might actually believe what you told me before, that you were the number one expert on Vermilion Bird Star.”

Wang Lin shook his head. From beginning to end, he had not been entirely convinced by Situ Nan’s words, and the more he Cultivated, the stronger this feeling became. The number one expert on Vermilion Bird Star was the owner of the title Vermilion Bird.

Situ Nan, unless he was the Vermilion Bird back then, could not have been the number one expert.

Moreover, Situ Nan had been in the Heaven Defying space for countless years. Even if he truly was the number one expert back then, after all these years, he might be somewhat lacking now.

After a brief silence, Wang Lin sighed again and walked out of the Heaven Defying space.

Snow Domain Kingdom.

Inside the Ice and Snow Divine Hall, in a palace entirely made of ice crystals, an extremely ordinary-looking middle-aged man sat on a chair. In front of him was a set of dark red tea ware.

Below him stood two people, a man and a woman, both with white hair, standing motionless.

The middle-aged man picked up a bamboo tube nearby, gently poured out a tiny bit of tea leaves, and with his right hand picked up a piece of ice, placed it in the teapot, and with a touch, the ice immediately melted and then boiled.

A bitter taste immediately rose from the teapot, instantly filling the entire hall.

The middle-aged man picked up the teapot, poured out all the water, then took out another piece of ice and put it in. After it was catalyzed to boil, this time, a peculiar fragrance immediately rose, instantly washing away all the bitterness in the great hall.

The entire great hall was enveloped in this rich fragrance, and even outside the hall, the scent did not dissipate.

“The scent of Heavenly阙Feather Silk, even if one smells it every day, there will never be a day of厌烦. Unfortunately, this tea is too scarce; I only occasionally received some as gifts in Vermilion Bird Country. You two are lucky; come and taste it.” The middle-aged man said, picking up the teapot and pouring three cups.

One pot of tea yielded only three cups, leaving very little.

The two people below quickly stepped forward, each picking up a cup and savoring it carefully. However, the old woman was distracted; she didn't mind the heat, drank it in one gulp, and stared at the middle-aged man, saying, “Sect Master, the tea is finished. Please make a move and capture and kill that Ceng Niu.”

The middle-aged man looked at the old woman wasting the tea with some heartache, and sighed, “That Ceng Niu is merely a small figure. If not for the message from Vermilion Bird Mountain forbidding anyone from touching him, someone would have already taken his life.”

“But he actually dared to sever Hong Die’s arm! Hong Die is the hope of our Snow Domain Kingdom, Sect Master, do not forget that the reason you were able to reach the Nascent Soul Transformation Stage is precisely because of Hong Die!” The old woman raised her head and said.

As for the old man beside her, he lowered his head and drank his tea, not saying a word.

The middle-aged man’s gaze gradually turned cold as he stared at the old woman and slowly said, “I will not forget, but I do not need you to remind me!”

The old woman remained silent. After a long while, she said, “Please, Sect Master, make a move!”

The middle-aged man picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, “This Ceng Niu has a Thunder Frog, a pair of Bells as Magic Treasure, a small banner that can conjure countless Restrictions, and an indestructible Flying Sword. Furthermore, according to Liao Fan’s latest news, this Ceng Niu has also mastered the Cultivation Technique of the former Yellow Springs Dao. These are secondary; most importantly, this Ceng Niu possesses an item. Although it is a small banner, it contains an aura that can destroy everything.”

The old woman was startled, her eyes flickering as she said, “So the Sect Master has been investigating this person all along.”

The middle-aged man nodded and said, “How could I not pay attention to someone chosen by Vermilion Bird Mountain, who is proposed to fight Hong Die? The title of Vermilion Bird will surely belong to Hong Die in the future; how can I allow anyone to destroy that? I sent Liao Fan with my Magic Treasure to probe him, and indeed, some things were uncovered.”

The old woman respectfully lowered her head and remained silent.

“However, now is not the time to kill him. We must wait until after his battle with Hong Die. At that time, regardless of whether he wins or loses, I will personally make a move and kill him. Moreover, this person is skilled in escape techniques. My friend from the Giant Demon Race sent word that he suspects the Giant Demon Race’s Star Compass is also in this person’s hands. With this Compass, once Ceng Niu tears space and enters the void, no one can catch him except for Old Monsters in the Late Stage of Nascent Soul Transformation.” The middle-aged man took another sip of tea and slowly said.

The old woman frowned, raised her head, and said, “The Sect Master’s meaning is?”

“To kill him, we must succeed in one go. If I make a move, he will surely escape. Therefore, once I act, I will first set up a large formation to prevent him from tearing space, and I will ask the Giant Demon Race to intervene. This way, with two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, even if this person possesses heaven-shaking power, killing a mere Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator will be a sure thing! This Sect Master will either not act, or if I do, I must succeed!” The middle-aged man said calmly.

The respectful expression on the old woman’s face grew even more intense.

At this moment, the old man beside her put down his teacup and smiled, “Is it not making a mountain out of a molehill for a mere Middle Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator?”

The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said, “Do you know what his Concept is?”

“Oh?” The old man looked up.

“According to the information from Hong Die, this person’s Concept is the comprehension of life and death under Reincarnation. A person who can comprehend such a Concept, even if they are in the Soul Transformation Stage, cannot be underestimated.” A hint of emotion appeared in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

The old woman was silent, sighing inwardly. In reality, the reason she strongly advocated for killing Ceng Niu was a divination she had performed for Hong Die years ago: Hong Die would face a calamity!

She worried that this calamity would befall Ceng Niu!

Spring came and autumn went, and in the blink of an eye, five years passed.

Zhou Ru was ten years old. The little girl grew increasingly graceful and slender, but her personality became wilder. She had long lost interest in feeding porridge to the white-clothed female corpse in the Pagoda. Although she still thought of it occasionally, she no longer went to feed it.

Her footprints covered almost everywhere in and around the deep mountains. Although she was still young, her courage was immense, and the tigers and wild beasts in the mountains were often disturbed by her.

Of course, with her abilities, she couldn't threaten tigers or wild beasts. Tie Yan arrived in the valley four years ago. He had reached the final stage before entering Soul Transformation, but unfortunately, he remained stagnant in the Cloud Heaven Sect. So, he simply gave up everything again and followed Wang Lin.

With him accompanying her, little Zhou Ru became even more boisterous, having endless fun every day.

In these five years, Wang Lin consolidated the spiritual power within his body, finally reaching the Middle Stage of Soul Transformation. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he remained stuck.

Wang Lin knew that he had encountered a Bottleneck in his cultivation; if he couldn't Break through, his cultivation in this life would stop there.

In these five years, challengers gradually decreased, but Ceng Niu’s reputation grew larger and larger, becoming a topic of eager discussion among many Cultivators.

This day was the ten-year deadline agreed upon with Vermilion Bird Country. This day was the date for the great battle with Hong Die.

Outside the valley, as early as half a year ago, Cultivators from Vermilion Bird Country were ordered to come and erect a Teleportation Formation. This formation could only be used once, and in an instant, it could cross Vermilion Bird Star and enter Vermilion Bird Country.

Feng Yushan respectfully stood outside the valley. Ten days ago, he brought a challenge letter here, ready to deliver it to Wang Lin, in accordance with the agreement from ten years ago.

For these ten days, Wang Lin had been constantly thinking about whether he should go to this battle or not.

For the past few decades, Vermilion Bird Country had not pursued the matter from back then. Wang Lin found this very suspicious. He analyzed that it was highly likely Vermilion Bird Country wanted to recruit him as a Core Disciple.

Just like Hong Die back then.

Therefore, there would be this battle. This battle would not only be witnessed by some Old Monsters of Vermilion Bird Country who ignored worldly affairs, but also known throughout Vermilion Bird Star.

After all, Hong Die’s reputation was too great. For one Hong Die, the Four Sects Alliance was annihilated, and Snow Domain Kingdom was forcibly elevated to a fifth-level kingdom. Such a thing had almost never happened in the history of Vermilion Bird Country.

Thus, Hong Die’s name was already known by most Cultivators.

And Ceng Niu’s reputation, stepping on Hong Die’s, suddenly appeared. As a result, his reputation was even greater.

Now, the battle between the two had become the focal point of attention for Cultivators on Vermilion Bird Star. Between the two, the winner would surely have a great Opportunity.

This matter was almost common knowledge. How could Wang Lin not understand?

He knew that those Old Monsters of Vermilion Bird Country who ignored worldly affairs wanted to see who, between the two, would be the victor!

If he had reached the Nascent Soul Transformation Stage, or even the Late Stage of Soul Transformation, then even if he had severed Hong Die’s arm, he would likely not have escaped death. It was precisely because he was in the Early Stage of Soul Transformation and severed Hong Die’s arm that he must have attracted the attention of some important figures. Hence, there was this buffer of several decades.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed, and he had an idea in his mind.

——

The second update has been delivered, the third will follow shortly. Requesting monthly votes! Er Gen's goal is 1300 votes. In these last 5 days of 2009, let everyone make Er Gen go wild!