152: The Divine Sect's Test, Lin Fan's "Immortal" Name

Inside the abandoned palace, a deathly silence was replaced by an invisible solemnity.

Lin Fan's fingertips gently caressed the ancient beast-skin letter.

The touch was rough, yet it carried the warmth of jade, as if it had endured eons of time.

A faint, yet incredibly pure Heavenly Dao Qi, silently seeped into his Divine Thought through his fingertips.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

It was like a hunter hidden in the dark, imprinting an undetectable mark on him in a way he couldn't comprehend.

"Protector of the Dao."

Lin Fan silently chewed on these four words.

Tianji Pavilion.

He had never heard this name before.

But the other party seemed to know him inside and out.

His origin, identity, purpose.

Everything was laid bare.

This feeling of being seen through made his nerve, named "Gou Dao," stretch taut.

He hated surprises.

And he hated such uncontrollable variables even more.

Su Meier stood beside him, sensing the fleeting, sharp aura emanating from him.

She didn't speak to disturb him.

She just quietly moved her body closer to him.

Her soft, fragrant shoulder gently pressed against his arm.

It was a silent comfort, and a wordless reliance.

Lin Fan's tense mind relaxed for a moment due to this brief softness.

He turned his head and glanced at Su Meier.

The daylight from outside the hall, filtering through the broken dome, spilled onto her exquisite profile, outlining a breathtaking curve.

In her eyes, there was no doubt, only pure trust and worry.

Lin Fan's heart suddenly settled quite a bit.

So what if he was seen through?

As long as his strength was sufficient, all schemes and tricks were nothing but mere chicken and dog.

He was about to put away the letter and first study the environment here.

Suddenly.

A powerful aura, from far to near, unreservedly pressed towards this ancient city.

That aura was majestic, domineering, carrying the majesty of one who had long held a high position.

Peak Nascent Soul Stage.

Moreover, it was a top-tier expert with an incredibly solid Foundation, who could touch the threshold of Soul Transformation at any time.

Lin Fan's eyebrows twitched slightly.

They're here.

The expected probing came a little faster than he imagined.

"Young Master?"

Su Meier's pretty face instantly grew solemn.

She could feel that the aura of the newcomer was far more powerful than any Nascent Soul Cultivator she had encountered before.

"It's nothing."

Lin Fan's tone was calm and unperturbed.

"Just a clown."

He led Su Meier out of the palace and stood on an open ruined square.

In the distant sky, a magnificent jade carriage pulled by nine Flood Dragons was breaking through the air.

Above the jade carriage, treasure light flowed and auspicious Qi streamed, creating a grand spectacle.

Finally, the jade carriage stopped a hundred zhang above the ancient city.

A middle-aged Daoist priest, wearing a Nine Heavens Cloud-patterned Daoist robe, with an arrogant face and eyes as sharp as an eagle, slowly walked out of the jade carriage.

He looked down at Lin Fan from above, his gaze filled with undisguised scrutiny and assessment.

When his gaze swept over Su Meier beside Lin Fan, a flicker of astonishment flashed in his eyes, which then turned into a subtle hint of disdain.

"This humble Daoist is Xuan Yangzi, the Enforcement Elder of Nine Heavens Immortal Palace."

"By order of our Sect's Transformation God Ancestor, I have specially come to pay respects to Fellow Daoist."

His voice was loud and authoritative, every word seemingly carrying an invisible pressure that echoed in the air.

Lin Fan raised his eyelids and glanced at him.

A harmless smile hung on his face.

"Something the matter?"

These two simple words caused the whole set of prepared rhetoric of Xuan Yangzi to be stuck in his throat.

He had anticipated various reactions from Lin Fan.

Either vigilance, or humility, or similar arrogance.

But he had never expected it to be this... almost dismissive indifference.

As if he, the Enforcement Elder of Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, was just an insignificant passerby.

Xuan Yangzi's expression darkened slightly.

But he still suppressed his displeasure and took out a magnificent jade box from his Magic Treasure.

"Fellow Daoist, upon your arrival in the Flowing Light Realm, you caused heavenly phenomena. You are truly an unparalleled master."

"My Old Ancestor has long admired Fellow Daoist and has specially prepared a small gift as a token of respect."

"This is ten-thousand-year-old Warm Jade Marrow, which has the miraculous effects of calming the mind, focusing the spirit, and stabilizing one's Dao Foundation."

As he spoke, he opened the jade box.

A refreshing Spiritual Qi instantly permeated the air.

However, Lin Fan didn't even glance at the jade box.

"I do not accept gifts without merit."

"Take your things back."

"You can also leave."

His tone remained calm.

But it was like a resounding slap, fiercely striking Xuan Yangzi's face.

The muscles on Xuan Yangzi's face twitched.

He took a deep breath, the courtesy in his tone completely gone.

"Fellow Daoist, the Flowing Light Realm has its rules."

"Any external Cultivator who wishes to establish themselves in this realm must gain the approval of my Nine Heavens Immortal Palace."

"My Old Ancestor, eager to recruit talent, wishes to invite Fellow Daoist to join my Nine Heavens Immortal Palace as an Elder."

"Upon your arrival, Fellow Daoist will enjoy the same status and resources as us. This is a great Opportunity."

These words were half persuasion, half pressure.

The implied meaning was clear.

Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish.

The smile on Lin Fan's face finally faded.

"You mean, if I don't agree, your Nine Heavens Immortal Palace will attack me?"

Xuan Yangzi snorted coldly and said proudly.

"Fellow Daoist is a smart person and should know how to choose."

"In this Flowing Light Realm, being an enemy of my Nine Heavens Immortal Palace is not a wise move."

The air, at this moment, seemed to solidify.

A murderous aura began to permeate between the two.

Su Meier's fingertips already had pink demonic energy quietly condensing.

The nascent Nascent Soul within her body was frantically circulating, ready to strike at any moment.

Just then.

Lin Fan suddenly laughed.

He shook his head, his tone carrying an indescribable pity.

"Rules?"

"Here, I am the rules."

Before he finished speaking.

He moved.

No one saw his movements clearly.

He simply raised his hand and gently waved it at Xuan Yangzi, who was a hundred zhang away.

It was like brushing dust off a sleeve.

"Boom —"

A terrifying power, indescribable in words, instantly crossed the distance of space.

There was no earth-shattering momentum.

No dazzling brilliance.

That power was pure, condensed, and utterly domineering.

The arrogance on Xuan Yangzi's face was instantly replaced by endless fear.

His pupils contracted to pinprick size.

He wanted to escape, wanted to resist.

But his body, his magic power, and even his Divine Soul were completely confined by that power at this moment.

He was like an insect solidified in amber, able only to watch death descend upon him.

"Pfft!"

Xuan Yangzi's protective Magic Treasure, the High Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Nine Heavens Cloud-patterned Daoist robe, shattered inch by inch and turned into dust without even a flicker of light.

Immediately after, his body was struck by lightning.

He flew backward, drawing a ghastly bloodline in the air, and heavily crashed into the ruins a thousand zhang away.

One strike.

Just one strike.

A Peak Nascent Soul Stage expert was casually swatted away like a fly, his life or death unknown.

Su Meier was stunned.

Her small mouth was agape, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

She knew Lin Fan was strong.

But she had never imagined that Lin Fan was already so strong.

This had completely surpassed the scope of the Nascent Soul Stage.

However, an even more astonishing scene occurred.

At the moment Xuan Yangzi was sent flying, a venomous Sword Qi, which he had unleashed with his last ounce of strength, also streaked across the sky and struck Lin Fan's arm.

With a "rip" sound.

Lin Fan's sleeve was torn.

A clear bloodstain appeared on his arm.

Blood had just seeped out.

The next second.

That wound rapidly wriggled and healed at a visible speed.

In less than a breath's time.

His arm returned to its original state, smooth as jade, without even a trace of a scar.

Lin Fan seemed to have done something insignificant.

He lowered his head, glanced at his intact arm, and then looked at Xuan Yangzi in the distant ruins, who was struggling to get up, but then spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura extremely weak.

He deliberately let that Sword Qi strike him.

For this very moment.

Killing is not as good as punishing the heart.

Sometimes, letting the enemy see incomprehensible despair is more deterrent than directly killing him.

Indeed.

Xuan Yangzi in the ruins also saw this scene.

His venomous eyes were instantly filled with boundless fear.

"No... impossible!"

"Immortal body..."

"Devil! You are a devil!"

He completely collapsed.

That insurmountable strength, coupled with this completely unscientific recovery ability, utterly shattered all his pride and dignity as a top-tier expert.

He dared not stay a moment longer.

Burning his vital blood, he transformed into a streak of blood-light and fled frantically towards the horizon at an unprecedented speed, in a state of utter disarray.

He didn't even care about the luxurious Nine Dragons Jade Carriage.

Lin Fan watched him disappear, his gaze calm.

He knew.

From today onwards, the title "Immortal Old Ancestor" would probably spread like wildfire in the Flowing Light Realm.

This was precisely the effect he wanted.

A proper display of strength could save a lot of unnecessary trouble... The news, like a hurricane, swept across the entire Flowing Light Realm.

Xuan Yangzi, the Enforcement Elder of Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, visited the extraterrestrial visitor with a heavy gift, but was severely wounded by one strike and fled back in disarray.

What was even more alarming was that the mysterious extraterrestrial visitor seemed to possess... an immortal body.

This news caused all the Spirit Transformation Old Monster who were secretly observing to fall into a prolonged silence.

Powerful, mysterious, and unkillable.

Who would dare to easily provoke such an existence?

For a time, the entire Flowing Light Realm was filled with apprehension, and all forces temporarily put aside their probing intentions and began to reassess the situation.

Meanwhile, the abandoned ancient city, the center of the storm, entered a rare period of calm.

Lin Fan used this time to help Su Meier complete her final Breakthrough.

Inside the palace.

Su Meier sat cross-legged, her pretty face solemn, her entire body enveloped in a rich layer of pink demonic energy.

Above her head, a nascent Nascent Soul, identical in appearance to her, was slowly solidifying.

But the last step seemed to encounter some obstruction, and the Nascent Soul's light flickered, appearing extremely unstable.

"Calm your mind, focus your spirit."

Lin Fan's voice sounded in her ear.

He walked behind Su Meier, extended his right hand, and gently placed it on her smooth, delicate back.

The touch was warm and exquisite, yet surprisingly hot.

Su Meier's delicate body trembled violently.

A tingling current instantly spread throughout her body from her spine.

Her cheeks flushed, turning so red they looked as if they were about to bleed.

"Young Master..."

Her voice carried an uncontrollable tremor.

"Don't get distracted."

Lin Fan's voice was steady and powerful.

"I will guide you."

An incredibly pure and vast immortal Dao Qi, flowing from his palm, gently entered Su Meier's body.

This power was like a clear spring, instantly extinguishing the violent demonic energy within her body.

The previously blocked Meridians were easily opened.

The flickering nascent Nascent Soul, nourished by the immortal Dao Qi, rapidly solidified and grew at an astonishing speed.

Su Meier bit her red lip, trying hard to maintain her last shred of clarity.

She could feel that her Divine Soul and her demonic core were undergoing a transformative change under Lin Fan's power.

This process made her feel incredibly safe and comfortable.

She even had an urge to forever immerse herself in this feeling.

After an unknown amount of time.

"Buzz —"

A clear chime emanated from Su Meier's body.

The Nascent Soul above her head had completely solidified.

A powerful aura belonging to a Nascent Soul Stage expert erupted from her.

It was a success.

Su Meier slowly opened her eyes, her enchanting fox-like eyes, which could captivate all beings, shimmered with water, filled with endless gratitude and adoration.

Feeling the unprecedented powerful energy within her body, her reliance and affection for Lin Fan reached their Peak.

"Thank you, Young Master."

She turned around, looking at Lin Fan who was so close, her voice so soft it could drip water.

Lin Fan withdrew his hand, his palm seemingly still retaining that astonishing sensation.

He looked at Su Meier's pretty face, flushed with an alluring blush, and smiled slightly.

"Between you and me, there's no need for thanks."

Just at this tender moment.

Lin Fan's mind suddenly stirred.

He felt that deep within his Divine Soul, two faint but incredibly familiar connections were becoming clearer.

One was gentle as water, with a hint of stubbornness.

The other was cold as ice, with a sharp edge.

Zhao Linger.

Li Hanyue.

They... are also almost at the Flowing Light Realm?

Lin Fan's forehead twitched almost imperceptibly.

A strange headache surged up.

He felt as if he was firmly bound by a large net called "fate."

And just then.

Another identical letter, made of ancient beast-skin, appeared out of thin air before him.

It was still from the Tianji Pavilion.

Lin Fan's eyes instantly sharpened.

He tore open the envelope.

The content on the letter paper made his pupils shrink abruptly.

"Fated entanglement, Dao competition, the path of a Protector is not one for a single person."

"The twin beauties have arrived, whether it is calamity or destiny, it is all in a single thought."

"The glazed key has appeared, but its guardian is not a creature of this realm."

The prophecy on the letter accurately stated the arrival of Zhao Linger and Li Hanyue.

It even mentioned the information about the "glazed key."

This raised Lin Fan's apprehension towards the Tianji Pavilion to the extreme.

However, this was not what made him most uneasy.

The moment he finished reading the letter.

At the end of the letter, a drop of crimson blood slowly seeped out from the fibers of the paper.

That was... his own blood.

Lin Fan was a hundred percent sure.

But that drop of fresh blood, on the letter, emitted a faint, yet incredibly pure... Devilish Qi.

Lin Fan's heart felt as if it was fiercely clutched by an invisible large hand.

A chill, from the soles of his feet, rushed straight to the top of his head.