Chapter 1157: This Is One Of Those Times! (II)

Leaving the valley behind, Luo Chen and Fu Qinglan continued toward the heart of the pocket world. His divine consciousness still covered the area behind them, so he could hear every word being spoken back in the valley. Naturally, he had recognized Longwind and the other two the moment he saw them. Back then, the three had been rather inexperienced. Now, after making a trip to the Northern Sea and returning, their cultivation had not improved by much, but their combat experience had grown enough to make him view them in a new light.

It seemed his earlier judgement had been right on the money. The disciples of the Dao Sect had all possessed solid foundations, and all they really lacked was experience. With only a little tempering, they could mature quickly. Compared to them, the Qi Refinement disciples of the Luo Tian Sect had been thrown onto the battlefield far too early. Looking back now, he could not help feeling that he had pushed them a little too hard.

Midway through that thought, however, he suddenly chuckled.

What was he even comparing? The Dao Sect was a colossal power with resources the Luo Tian Sect could never have dreamed of possessing. The two sects had operated under completely different circumstances. Expecting the Luo Tian Sect to nurture its disciples with the same abundance of resources would have been ridiculous.

Fu Qinglan had no idea why he had suddenly laughed and instead continued explaining the general situation within the pocket world. "There are plenty of low-tier illusory beasts roaming around the outer region, but those aren't what we're here for. What we really want are fourth-tier ones. The problem is, illusory beasts aren't like the demonic beasts outside. They're formed from the Mirage Dragon's energy, so they can also gather and disperse at will. There's no telling where they'll show up. And the stronger they are, the more likely they are to stay on their own, so finding one is difficult enough. Even if we do find one, killing it and getting the core won't be easy. When the time comes, I'll be counting on you, Senior Brother."

Luo Chen calmly swept his gaze over the mountains and ravines ahead. "If a late-stage third-tier illusory beast is only that strong, then an ordinary fourth-tier one shouldn't be much trouble."

Fu Qinglan's eyes brightened. "Good. Then I'll be counting on you."

The more time she spent with Luo Chen, the more convinced she became that her grandfather had made the right choice in appointing him as her Dao Protector. Whatever doubts she had once harbored about that decision had long since disappeared.

***

"Little Fan, are you sure there is a fourth-tier illusory beast inside this forest?"

"I'm sure. There's no mistake."

Two figures stood side by side at the edge of a forest. One had sharp brows and bright eyes, with a long sword strapped to his back. The other had youthful features that made him look little more than a boy.

Lin Bufan looked at the forest ahead with confidence. "Back when the Saint Alchemist was cultivating on Heaven-Earth Peak and preparing for Ascension, she drew in a huge amount of spiritual vitality. I wasn't able to capture any of it myself, but I remembered its aura. And when she was attempting her Ascension, Sect Master Mo intercepted part of that spiritual vitality and sent it into this pocket world. That's what woke the fourth-tier illusory beasts from their dormancy. Jingtang, I am very sure there's one inside! Do it!"

Lin Jingtang had complete faith in the man he regarded as a younger brother. Putting combat strength and cultivation level aside, Lin Bufan's wits and talent in cultivation were things he himself could never hope to match. If Lin Bufan said there was a fourth-tier illusory beast inside, then there had to be a basis for it.

Thus, he slowly drew the long sword from his back. "Alright. I'll drag it out and take its core for you."

With that, he stepped into the forest. The moment he crossed the bounds, the beast hidden within sensed his killing intent and sent out vines writhing like tentacles toward him.

Yet Lin Jingtang did not even flinch. He swung his sword without pause and sent out streak after streak of sword light that shredded every vine that came near him. With Lin Bufan following close behind, he steadily cut a path into the forest.

It was not long before Lin Bufan suddenly focused on something ahead. "There! I found it. No wonder it was so hard to sense. It hid itself really well."

Lin Jingtang turned at once and swept his sword diagonally through the air. A massive arc of sword light tore through the trees and raced toward what appeared to be a withered tree.

Just before the attack struck, the "dead" tree came alive! A thick branch lashed sideways and smashed the sword light apart, and the entire forest seemed to erupt. Countless branches surged upward and spread overhead, blotting out the sky.

Lin Jingtang took a deep breath. "Little Fan, stay back. This thing's not easy to deal with, and my Domain doesn't seem to affect it. I'll have to get serious."

Lin Bufan nodded and quickly moved farther away.

With no need to worry about protecting him, Lin Jingtang no longer held anything back and unleashed his full strength.

***

Clang!

The sound of a bell rang out, and the ancient forest spanning hundreds of li began collapsing into dust. Amid the billowing debris, a streak of white light shot from the ruins and fled into the distance.

Lin Jingtang shot into the sky after it, holding a golden bell in one hand. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?"

Golden light radiated from the great bell and shone upon the distant white light, so it had nowhere to hide. Lin Jingtang raced after it with the bell in hand, keeping the fleeing target firmly within his divine consciousness as the pursuit carried them farther across the sky.

Before he could catch up, however, another divine consciousness suddenly entered his range. Lin Jingtang's expression darkened. "YOU DARE?!"

A soft chuckle drifted over from afar. "Why wouldn't I? Treasures belong to whoever gets their hands on first."

Lin Jingtang's face turned dark. Through his divine consciousness, he made out a gray-haired man in white robes reach toward the white light from nearly a thousand li away. High among the boundless clouds, an enormous claw made of mana took shape and closed in on its target.

Lin Jingtang's eyes widened. Is that a spell? What the...

A moment later, however, a mocking smile tugged at his lips. If he thinks that's enough to take down a fourth-tier illusory beast, he's far too ignorant.

Sure enough, the massive claw closed around the white light, only for wisps of white cloud energy to slip between his fingers. The moment they escaped, the scattered energy converged once more and reformed into the same streak of light.

Luo Chen let out a soft sound of surprise. Even Cloud-Seizing Divine Claw can't take down a heavily injured fourth-tier illusory beast?

Fortunately, that was hardly his only option. With that, he activated his Domain across the surrounding area. Yet the white light passed through it without slowing in the slightest, as though the Domain were not there at all.

He frowned. Even my Domain is useless against it? Just what kind of illusory beast is this? It seems I'll have to use something more powerful.

He raised his right hand before his chest and formed a seal. The next moment, multicolored light spread from his body and instantly transformed into thick crimson chains.

"BIND!"

The chains plunged into the void and closed around the fleeing light from every direction. The illusory beast struggled violently, but no matter how it twisted or dispersed, it could not escape. At last, the white radiance faded away and revealed its true form: a withered white tree.

Luo Chen's eyes narrowed. So this is what a fourth-tier illusory beast looks like?

Before he could examine it more closely, a handsome man arrived before him. Luo Chen's gaze immediately fell on the golden bell in his hand, and recognition flashed through his eyes. "The Bell of Terror. You're Lin Bufan's Dao Protector, Lin Jingtang?"

Lin Jingtang did not answer him. His attention remained fixed on the withered tree trapped within the nine crimson chains.

Ever since his life-bound enchanted treasure, the Bell of Terror, advanced into a True Artifact, its binding power had increased by a good margin. That was precisely why the family head had chosen him as Lin Bufan's Dao Protector. He was supposed to use the bell to restrain those powerful illusory beasts so Lin Bufan could claim their cores. Yet despite expending considerable effort, he had failed to hold even one, while the gray-haired man before him had captured it with what seemed like a casual spell.

Only then did Lin Jingtang take a proper look at him. "Wilderness Hermit. Since you know I'm protecting Lin Bufan, you should also know that he and Fu Qinglan are close friends. Are you really going to fight him for this despite that?"

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Fu Qinglan suddenly stepped out from behind him. According to their agreement, Luo Chen had the final say whenever fighting was involved. But when it involved her friends...

She hesitated before nodding. "Little Lin and I are really quite close. Since they found this beast first, maybe we should let them have—"

Luo Chen laughed, but there was no warmth in it.

Lin Jingtang had only just begun to relax when a bad feeling rose in his heart.

Sure enough, Luo Chen turned to Fu Qinglan. "Because he's your friend, you're willing to give it up?! Fine! But what if it was one of your fellow disciples instead? Would you still give it up? What if it was one of the three young masters of the Great Houses? What if it was Shi Ju? Would you still step aside then? This concerns your chance of reaching Divine Transformation! Can you really afford to hand it over every time someone you know gets there first? Fu Qinglan, you're carrying the future of your family on your shoulders. There will be times when you simply can't afford to yield. And this is one of those times!"

Since arriving in the Central Continent, Luo Chen had always treated her with detachment. Fu Qinglan had never expected such a brutal lecture from him, and for a moment, she only stared at him in silence.

Clatter...

The nine crimson chains tightened around the withered tree and dragged it toward Luo Chen.

He turned to look at Lin Jingtang and said coldly, "Since I'm her Dao Protector, as long as we're in this pocket world, I won't give way to anyone when it comes to her path to the Great Dao!"