Lin Dongming had just entered the Secret Realm when he felt something was off.
The very outer edge, Spring Breeze Valley, was an exceptionally beautiful paradise—if you ignored the presence of Yaoshou.
But as Lin Dongming walked a bit around his landing spot and extended his spiritual sense to its limit, he discovered that every Yaoshou he could see was at the mid-stage of Jindan.
“This isn’t quite what I expected. Isn’t this area supposed to be mainly early Jindan?”
Lin Dongming thought that the outer, middle, and inner layers should correspond to early, mid, and late stages of Jindan, with only occasional monsters of a higher small realm.
But now, something was clearly wrong.
At this rate, wouldn’t the inner layer be filled with a bunch of Nascent Soul Yaoshou waiting for him?
This was no joke.
“Forget it, it’s useless to imagine things myself.”
Lin Dongming rose on his sword, flying toward the place he and White Zhiqing had agreed upon.
Everyone who entered was randomly teleported, so even if you wanted to form a team, you had to find each other inside.
Before entering, the two had exchanged opinions and set their meeting place in a small grove near the northeastern corner, close to the middle layer, using the Cat Face Mark as an identifying symbol.
“Looks like I was teleported to the northeast corner, too. Not far from the destination—better fly over first.”
But he had barely flown a short distance when he encountered a fleeing Goblin—
Oh, no, a fleeing disciple of the Heavenly Extreme Sword Sect.
“It’s that ugly disciple from before.”
Lin Dongming took a glance.
Chasing him were two mid-stage Jindan Yaoshou, apparently a variant of Mutant Giant Ape, with bulging muscles and terrifying strength.
“Well, whatever. I’ll have to spar with Yuan Jianyi later anyway. Might as well warm up.”
Lin Dongming concealed his cultivation to early Jindan, turned into a streak of light, and flashed past the two mid-stage Mutant Giant Apes.
The two Mutant Giant Apes roared, their fists wreathed in flame as they attacked, but Lin Dongming dodged skillfully and slashed with his sword.
Tiandao Jingxin Jue: Wind Turmoil!
Where the sword light passed, blood sprayed from the Mutant Giant Ape’s body.
“…Hmm, I guess that’s that.”
Lin Dongming sheathed his sword, not particularly satisfied with the outcome.
He’d heard of this type of giant ape, but aside from brute strength, they had no formidable traits. No hard shell like tortoise Yaoshou, no speed like bird Yaoshou—the perfect live target.
If Yuan Jianyi had drawn his sword, he might have done better.
Lin Dongming wasn’t one hundred percent confident about the coming duel.
“Thank you, Senior Brother Lin, for saving my life,”
The Goblin bowed in gratitude.
“But Senior Brother Lin, you’re not satisfied with this result?”
The Goblin stared at the two fallen Mutant Giant Apes in shock.
These were mid-stage Jindan, right?
And two of them?
How did a Senior Brother with early Jindan kill them in a single blow!?
Aren’t we both early Jindan?
“This effect was achieved using some hidden techniques—it’s not as easy as you imagine. Remember not to spread it around.”
Lin Dongming shook his head, unwilling to dwell on the topic.
“So, have you become so ugly that even Yaoshou want to bully you?”
The Goblin covered his face in tears, retorting:
“Why is even Senior Brother starting to tease me about this!”
Lin Dongming shrugged indifferently.
“Lots of people will say the same. I’m just helping you get used to it.”
“And, as I said before, after reaching Divine Transformation, you can alter your appearance to some extent. With your talent, it’s not difficult.”
Lin Dongming took out a Sword Manual and Cultivation Method from his Storage Ring.
“I picked these up during previous training. They should suit you. Practice them for now—if you have questions, come find me at Heavenly Mirror Peak.”
“Wait!”
The Goblin called out to Lin Dongming.
“If Senior Brother Lin isn’t in a hurry, could you accompany me to the area near Lightningfall Valley at the boundary of the middle layer and outer perimeter?”
“Lightningfall Valley?”
Lin Dongming asked in confusion.
“What do you want there? It’s close to the middle layer. If luck’s bad, you might meet late-stage Jindan Yaoshou.”
“Body Tempering,”
The Goblin replied.
“I practice both sword and body. The lightning there isn’t as fearsome as Lightning Tribulation—perfect for Body Tempering, and it benefits the Cultivation Technique of Lei Ming Peak. As for late-stage Jindan Yaoshou… I’ve prepared some Monster Repelling Medicine and Stealth Magical Treasure. It should be fine for a short while.”
“…Are you sure?”
Lin Dongming said.
“Even without being Lightning Tribulation, the damage from Lightningfall Body Tempering is considerable, and the risks are real. Compared to that, many Body Tempering Elixirs are much safer.”
“I know.”
The Goblin gave a helpless, bitter smile.
“But I don’t have many Spirit Stones, nor a powerful backer in the sect. If I don’t take these strange and dangerous paths, it’s hard to surpass my peers.”
“All the broad avenues have been taken, and methods that require piles of Spirit Stones aren’t suitable for me. Besides, Heavenly Lightning Body Tempering has its merits.”
He shrugged.
“In short, if there were truly easy ways, they wouldn’t fall to me. Senior Brother Lin, don’t worry about me. Since I chose this path, I’ll bear the consequences myself.”
“Fine. Then be my assistant along the way.”
Lin Dongming pointed to the two Mutant Giant Ape corpses.
“I only want the Jindan Monster Core. The rest of the materials are yours—sell them if you want. Good luck.”
“Wow, making me your errand boy so fast, Senior Brother Lin, you’re too much!”
The Goblin complained, but his body moved honestly toward the corpses.
“Who told you to be a Goblin?”
Lin Dongming shrugged.
“I wouldn’t even care if it was a beautiful girl, let alone a Goblin.”
“…Wait.”
A strange feeling flickered in Lin Dongming’s heart.
He leaped onto the Mutant Giant Ape’s corpse, extending a wisp of spiritual energy from his palm to probe inside.
Moments later, Lin Dongming found a strange spiritual force within the corpse—scorching fire energy wrapped around a thread of yin.
“…As expected.”
Lin Dongming’s expression changed.
“When I heard Goblin mention Monster Repelling Medicine, I felt something was off.”
Normally, this medicine emits a smell that Yaoshou hate. Unless there’s deep hatred, they’ll just avoid you temporarily, like humans avoiding a cesspit. But those two Mutant Giant Apes showed no reaction.
And the Goblin didn’t seem the type to provoke Yaoshou recklessly.
——It’s the Celestial Evil Formula.
Modao have infiltrated.
Thinking carefully, the same symptom appeared in a few Duyuan Peak disciples earlier. Lin Dongming simply hadn’t had the chance to probe with his spiritual power.
If he expanded his spiritual sense to the maximum, he could even detect other Yaoshou moving more frequently.
——It seems Modao came here deliberately to cause chaos and cover their operations.
Lin Dongming felt a bad premonition.
He had to hurry to where White Zhiqing was.
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