8: Chapter 8 The Half-Saint Near the Xiao Family

"Hahaha, kill her, obtain my Legacy, and become a Peak expert!" The old man was still there instigating.

Ling Yun, Saint Undying, and even Zi Yan herself believed that Ling Yuan would kill Zi Yan for the sake of the Cultivation Technique.

Unexpectedly, Ling Yuan directly sent a sound transmission to Ling Yun: "Elder Yun, Zi Yan is the future Young Clan Leader's wife. She must not be killed. Our Ling Clan cannot covet the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode either, and he might have just made it up."

Fearing that Ling Yun might have reservations because of the Ancient Emperor Cave, Ling Yuan took the responsibility upon himself.

"After we return, I will personally explain everything to my father. Now, I order you to kill him immediately. Do not give him the chance to destroy the Cultivation Technique!"

Zi Yan was the hope for saving the Ling Clan and for his own future rise.

How could Ling Yuan possibly lay a hand on Zi Yan?

Even for this Cultivation Technique, it was out of the question!

Without this Cultivation Technique, he would at most grow a bit slower.

But without Zi Yan, both the Ling Clan and himself would be wiped out by the Hun Clan.

How to choose? How could Ling Yuan not know?

Since Ling Yuan had said so with such a firm attitude, even using the word 'order,' Ling Yun did not dare to disobey.

Ling Yun transmitted back: "Yes, Young Clan Leader!"

Since Ling Yuan was taking the responsibility, he no longer had any concerns.

He acted swiftly, a single strike descending.

Ling Yuan followed closely behind, striking out at the old man.

"Soul-Shattering Hand!"

A concentrated burst of Soul power transformed into a large hand, grabbing directly at Saint Undying's remnant Soul.

Saint Undying looked terrified and hastily mobilized his remaining Soul power to resist.

"Don't you want to obtain my Legacy? And the location of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode!"

He tried to threaten Ling Yuan with words.

Ling Yuan thought to himself: If I kill you, the Cultivation Technique will still be mine!

The two attacks arrived swiftly. How could Saint Undying's remnant Soul withstand them? In an instant, it collapsed and completely suffered Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, leaving no trace behind.

Even at the moment of death, he couldn't understand how someone could be uninterested in his Cultivation Technique and the Ancient Emperor Cave.

The action to kill Saint Undying was simply too fast and sudden.

Even Zi Yan hadn't reacted yet.

...

At this moment, Ling Yuan naturally didn't forget to build up his favorability.

He looked down and smiled at Zi Yan, patting her small head to comfort her.

"Don't worry, I would never hurt you, no matter who else I might hurt. Our bond isn't something a Cultivation Technique can break!"

Zi Yan's heart jolted. She suddenly looked up, meeting Ling Yuan's sincere gaze.

In that moment, she was filled with immense emotion.

She had always believed she was abandoned by her clansmen, subconsciously thinking of herself as a pathetic wretch that nobody wanted.

But now, someone had appeared who firmly chose her!

Just moments ago, even she lacked the confidence that Ling Yuan would choose her.

This sense of redemption from being firmly protected was something others likely couldn't comprehend.

If her body weren't still so young, this single sentence would have been enough for her to pledge herself to him.

Zi Yan was practically moved to tears.

In Ling Yuan's heart, she was more important than that peerless Cultivation Technique.

She swore in her heart that she would do everything in her power to repay Ling Yuan in the future.

...

"The Cultivation Technique should be nearby. Let's search carefully," Ling Yuan said.

Ling Yun's strike had been very decisive; Saint Undying likely hadn't had time to destroy the Cultivation Technique.

Sure enough, after the three of them searched the cave thoroughly, it didn't take long for Ling Yuan to find an ancient scroll tucked within a rock crevice ten zhang underground.

Ling Yuan impatiently spread it open to inspect it.

Myriad Body Origin-Returning Art, a high-level Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique, created by the Indestructible Being in ancient times...

The contents of the scroll were almost identical to what Saint Undying's remnant Soul had said.

That Saint Undying hadn't been bragging; it was real.

By condensing Clones to help the main body Cultivate, as long as the main body and any Clone are not killed simultaneously, one can achieve the effect of being undying and indestructible.

The more Ling Yuan read, the more pleasantly surprised he became. This time, he had truly stumbled upon a Heaven-Defying treasure.

Accelerating cultivation was already beyond expectation, but the undying and indestructible effect was truly powerful.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it surpassed Heaven Rank Cultivation Techniques.

Aside from Ling Yuan, the happiest person was undoubtedly Zi Yan.

She thought: Fortunately, the Cultivation Technique wasn't destroyed.

Otherwise, she might have felt guilty for a long time.

Ling Yuan put away the Cultivation Technique and searched the cave inside and out once more. Confirming there were no other treasures or clues, he turned to look at Ling Yun and Zi Yan.

"Not a single word about today's events is to be revealed to anyone."

Ling Yuan had already decided to switch his cultivation to this Myriad Body Origin-Returning Art.

Once he reached the initial level of cultivation, he would send his Clones to remote and hidden places to Cultivate alone, leaving himself several life-saving trump cards.

The secret of this Cultivation Technique was too shocking; the fewer people who knew, the safer he would be.

"Rest assured, Young Clan Leader, your subordinate will keep his lips sealed."

"Don't worry, Ling Yuan. Even if I were beaten to death, I wouldn't say a word," Zi Yan promised, patting her flat chest.

...

Switching Cultivation Techniques is no easy feat; it could take as little as half a month or as long as several months.

Ling Yuan was in no hurry and continued with his original plan to find Xiao Yan first.

However, he no longer took Zi Yan around to search for low-level treasures.

The reason he had been treasure-hunting along the way was just to take the opportunity to spend time with Zi Yan and slowly build their relationship.

But his hesitant choice just now had almost maxed out Zi Yan's favorability.

That being the case, there was no need for Ling Yuan to waste time on ordinary medicinal herbs and Spirit Treasures.

"I've heard that the Xiao Clan of the Ancient Eight Clans is located in the Jia Ma Empire on this Northwest Continent."

"Elder Yun, take us to the Jia Ma Empire to have a look!"

With this Myriad Body Origin-Returning Art, Ling Yuan became even more determined to cripple Xiao Yan.

According to the description of this Cultivation Technique, an Emperor Realm Soul can condense ten Clones.

Ling Yuan thought: Then I could completely have those Clones each refine a Heavenly Flame...

Ordinary people who don't Cultivate the Flame Mantra cannot accommodate multiple Heavenly Flames in a single body; forced Fusion would only result in their bodies exploding.

But his Clones would all have independent physical bodies, unrelated to each other, completely avoiding the issue of Heavenly Flame rejection and perfectly bypassing the greatest risk.

In fact, if Clones weren't forbidden from cultivating other techniques, Ling Yuan would have even wanted one of his Clones to Cultivate the Flame Mantra.

Regardless, Clones have no independent consciousness and completely obey the main body's orders, so Ling Yuan wouldn't have to worry about being backstabbed by a Clone.

This was a bit of a pity.

...

As a high-level Semi-Saint, Ling Yun was extremely fast. Carrying Ling Yuan and Zi Yan, it took only a few hours to cross the regions and arrive in the skies above Wutan City in the Jia Ma Empire.

The city below was precisely Xiao Yan's birthplace, the starting village.

I just don't know if Xiao Yan has left the starting village yet...

The three of them stood amidst the clouds, looking down over the entire Wutan City.

Ling Yun: "Who could have thought that the Xiao Clan, once one of the Ancient Eight Clans that shook the world, would now be reduced to struggling for survival in such a remote border city."

Hearing this, Ling Yuan thought to himself: If I hadn't transmigrated here, the Ling Clan's fate would be even more miserable than the Xiao Clan's. They would be directly exterminated by the Hun Clan, with not a single clansman left...

To confirm the Xiao Family's current situation, Ling Yuan casually stopped two passersby and, after a few simple questions, gathered the information.

The Xiao Family was one of the three major families in Wutan City. Their power wasn't top-tier, but they held considerable prestige locally. Xiao Zhan's son, Xiao Yan, was a person frequently discussed in the city.

To Ling Yuan's relief, at this moment, Xiao Yan was still at the third stage of Dou Zhi Qi, a waste ridiculed behind his back by countless people throughout Wutan City.

Ling Yuan stroked his chin and thought: It seems Xiao Yan hasn't discovered Yao Chen's presence in the ring yet.

This is great!

This was the best opportunity for him.

Since Xiao Yan hadn't taken a master yet, he could approach him under the guise of helping him Cultivate and logically take that ring.

This would both destroy Xiao Yan's future and prevent Gu Xun'er from harboring hatred; instead, she would remember his kindness.

Just as Ling Yuan approached the Xiao Family, Ling Yun suddenly stopped. His aura tightened, a look of vigilance appeared on his face, and his gaze fixed intently on the direction of the Xiao Family.

"Young Clan Leader, there's a powerful aura ahead. If I'm not mistaken, it should also be a Semi-Saint expert!"