206: Resurrected from the dead? Are you a monster?

In the basin, there was a deathly silence.

The roiling sea of lava had lost its energy source and was slowly cooling, solidifying into strangely shaped black scorched rocks.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and scorched rock; the scorching air distorted the view, making everything seem unreal.

On the door-sized Flying Sword, the auras of the three Cuiyun Sect Cultivators were somewhat withered.

Liu Qingqing's eyes turned red, and tears slid down her fair cheeks, splashing onto the scorching surface of the sword and instantly evaporating into a wisp of white smoke.

In her mind, she replayed the image of that young man in white turning around and facing the destructive orb of light with his own body.

He had saved her.

A complete stranger had saved her with his life.

Why?

The immense grief and guilt almost made her unable to breathe.

Beside her, Chen Hu's expression was dark and uncertain.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his emotions complex to the extreme.

There was the relief of surviving a disaster, the lingering fear of the Lava Earth Dragon's violent power, and a shock he was unwilling to admit toward the young man he had called an "idiot."

That guy had actually gone to his death.

And, he had actually... saved them.

Only the leader, Elder Liu, maintained the calmest expression.

His sharp gaze swept across the messy battlefield below and finally fixed on the deep pit in the ground where the Lava Earth Dragon had disappeared, his eyes filled with gravity and contemplation.

The death throes of a Refining Void Realm Spirit Beast were terrifyingly powerful.

If not for the young man's inexplicable actions, the three of them would have already turned into dust by now.

But why did he do that?

A Loose Cultivator, willing to die for a few strangers they had just met by chance?

Elder Liu had lived for over a hundred years and had never heard of such an absurd thing.

Where there is an anomaly, there must be a demon.

Just then, a figure stumbled out from the shadows of a mountain pass in the distance.

It was a young man in white.

His clothes were tattered and covered in scorched, black holes, and his face was so pale that it lacked a trace of color.

His walking posture was strange, unsteady, as if he would collapse at any moment.

His left hand was tightly gripping a small cyan shield that was scorched black all over and covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

That small shield looked like it would completely shatter at any moment.

It was this shield that he used as a crutch, supporting him as he walked out of the shadows step by step.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Lin Fan coughed violently; with every cough, his body felt like it was about to fall apart.

He raised his head to look at the door-sized Flying Sword in the air, squeezing out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Fellow Daoists... are you all okay?"

On the Flying Sword, there was dead silence.

The tears on Liu Qingqing's face froze.

She widened her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, her mouth slightly agape, completely stunned.

Chen Hu's expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

He reached out and pointed at Lin Fan below, his finger trembling slightly from excessive force.

"You... you..."

He "you-ed" for a long time but couldn't say a single word.

Elder Liu's pupils suddenly contracted into the most dangerous pinpoints.

A chill surged from the base of his spine straight to his crown.

Not dead?

How could he not be dead!

That was a strike from the Origin Dragon Pearl of a Refining Void Realm Earth Dragon; even a Cultivator at the Late Stage of the Refining Void Realm would have no chance of survival if they took it head-on.

This guy at the Transformation Initial Stage was hit head-on and was actually still alive?

"You... you didn't die?"

Liu Qingqing finally found her voice, her exclamation, laced with tears, filled with incredulous joy.

Without a second thought, she leaped off the Flying Sword and stumbled over to Lin Fan.

"That's great! You're still alive! That's really great!"

The girl's heartfelt concern made Lin Fan chuckle inwardly, but his face appropriately displayed a touch of emotion and weakness.

"I... I have a tough life."

Lin Fan leaned against the broken cyan wooden shield, barely managing to stand steady.

"It's thanks to... this protective Magic Treasure bestowed upon me by my Master that blocked... blocked the fatal blow for me."

He shook the cyan wooden shield in his hand; the cracks on it appeared particularly glaring in everyone's eyes.

"Unfortunately, this 'Substitute-Death Cyan Wooden Shield' is a one-time consumable, and now... it's ruined."

His tone was filled with just the right amount of regret and heartache.

Flawless.

Returning from the dead was too shocking; there had to be a reasonable explanation.

And this "Cyan Wooden Shield," an S-rank reward, was the best prop.

It could explain why he didn't die, show that he had "deep foundations," and indirectly highlight that he had paid a huge price to save people, polishing the "life-saving grace" signboard until it shone.

Chen Hu also landed, staring fixedly at Lin Fan, then looked at the broken shield, his suspicion not diminishing in the slightest.

"Substitute-Death Magic Treasure?"

He sneered.

"I've only heard of Substitute-Death Jade Pendants and Substitute-Death Talismans; when have I ever heard of a Substitute-Death Shield? Your excuse is simply too absurd!"

"My Cuiyun Sect has ten thousand volumes of classics, and none have ever recorded such a miraculous Magic Treasure!"

His voice was full of scrutiny and hostility.

In his view, Lin Fan must be hiding a huge secret.

A Loose Cultivator, what kind of powerful Master could he have? Could he bestow such a Heaven-Defying Magic Treasure?

Most likely, this kid just got lucky and obtained some ancient relic.

Liu Qingqing was unhappy hearing Chen Hu's aggressive words.

She spread her arms, subconsciously blocking in front of Lin Fan.

"Senior Brother Chen!"

"Regardless of what Fellow Daoist Lin's Magic Treasure is, he saved us; that is a fact!"

"How can you speak to a benefactor in this tone? Where is our Cuiyun Sect's morality?"

"You!"

Chen Hu was rendered speechless by Liu Qingqing's retort.

He pointed at Liu Qingqing, then pointed at Lin Fan, and said angrily.

"Qingqing, you are too naive! Don't be fooled by his appearance!"

"If it weren't for his reckless provocation, why would the Lava Earth Dragon have gone mad? In the end, this disaster was caused by him!"

"Junior Brother Zhang in our team is still unconscious, suffering from Qi backlash and damaged Meridians! Whose head should this debt be tallied on?"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, pushing all the responsibility onto Lin Fan.

Elder Liu also slowly descended; he ignored the argument between the two Juniors, his falcon-like eyes merely scanning back and forth between Lin Fan and the broken shield.

The flames of greed flashed deep in his eyes.

Substitute-Death Magic Treasure.

Even if it was one-time use, it was a supreme treasure that would make the entire Spirit Realm go crazy.

This kid definitely has more good stuff on him.

He cleared his throat, and an aura of the Late Stage of the Soul Transformation spread faintly.

"Alright, stop arguing."

Elder Liu spoke in a low voice.

"Chen Hu, step back."

Although Chen Hu was unwilling, he dared not disobey the Elder's order; he glared fiercely at Lin Fan and stepped aside.

Elder Liu then looked at Lin Fan, squeezing out a gentle smile, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"This little friend, I am Elder Liu Kun of the Cuiyun Sect."

"Thank you, little friend, for saving us at the risk of your life; this kindness, our entire Cuiyun Sect will keep in mind."

He was polite at first, then changed the subject.

"However, Chen Hu's words are not entirely without reason."

"This place is the Manyun Wilderness, which is extremely dangerous. For you to be alone and yet able to make a Refining Void Realm Earth Dragon fear you to this extent, you must have extraordinary means."

"I wonder where you studied, little friend, and what is your purpose for coming to this wilderness?"

Every one of his words was like a soft blade; seemingly gentle, but actually hiding murderous intent.

This was to probe Lin Fan's background.

Lin Fan sneered in his heart, but his face wore a look of flattered panic.

"Junior Lin Fan is just a Loose Cultivator and has no Master."

"As for that Earth Dragon..."

Lin Fan gave a bitter laugh and shook his head.

"Senior, you are joking; what means could I possibly have to make it fear me? Everything before was just me being young and arrogant, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth, and relying on my protective Magic Treasure to dare to provoke such a Vicious Beast."

"Now that the Magic Treasure is destroyed, I regret it deeply; I almost lost my life."

His explanation was watertight.

Attributing everything to "youthful ignorance" and "relying on treasures."

It explained the previous strange behavior and showed weakness, indicating that he no longer had any trump cards.

Liu Qingqing nodded in agreement, and her eyes looking at Lin Fan held a bit more sympathy.

So he wasn't crazy, just a bit reckless.

But Elder Liu and Chen Hu didn't believe a word of it.

Chen Hu even sneered directly.

"Nonsense!"

"Loose Cultivator? No Master? Then did this Substitute-Death Magic Treasure fall from the sky?"

He took a step forward, his eyes becoming fierce.

"I think you are a liar full of lies! Was the Red Dragon Fruit also stolen by you?"

"You must have other treasures hidden in your Storage Pouch!"

Before the words fell, he reached out and grabbed directly toward the Storage Pouch at Lin Fan's waist.

"Take his Storage Pouch and let Elder Liu check it; everything will naturally come to light!"

His movements were fast and urgent, giving Lin Fan no time to react.

In his view, a Transformation Initial Stage Cultivator who had exhausted his Qi and was seriously injured was just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"Chen Hu, how dare you!"

Liu Qingqing exclaimed, wanting to stop him, but was firmly locked in place by the aura emanating from Elder Liu, unable to move.

Elder Liu stood to the side, hands behind his back, expressionless.

He tacitly approved of Chen Hu's actions.

Searching a Storage Pouch is the most direct and humiliating way in the Cultivation World.

Once searched, it means exposing all one's secrets to others.

Liu Qingqing was so anxious that tears were about to fall; she looked at Lin Fan in despair, her eyes full of apology.

However, there was not a trace of panic on Lin Fan's face.

Even, under his lowered eyelids, a smile of a plan succeeding flashed and disappeared.

Porcelain bumping, you not only have to bump, but also make the other party voluntarily deliver the compensation.

Just at the moment when Chen Hu's hand, containing Qi, was about to touch the Storage Pouch.

Lin Fan moved.

He did not resist, nor did he dodge.

He just raised his head, looking at Chen Hu with an extremely innocent and slightly confused gaze.

Then, very "weakly," he gently pushed the cracked cyan wooden shield forward.

It happened to block the space between Chen Hu's palm and himself.

"Fellow Daoist, what are you..."

His words were not yet finished.

Chen Hu's hand landed firmly on the broken cyan wooden shield.

Crack!

A crisp, shattering sound resounded throughout the scene.

The cyan wooden shield, already on the verge of breaking, shattered at the sound of Chen Hu's palm strike.

It turned into sky-filling cyan light spots.

Chen Hu was stunned.

Liu Qingqing was stunned.

Even the cunning Elder Liu was stunned.

Immediately after.

"Pfft—!"

Lin Fan spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body like a kite with a broken string, falling straight backward.

His eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at Chen Hu, his eyes filled with disbelief and indignation.

As if saying: I treated you as a benefactor, and you actually... shattered my last hope!

"Fellow Daoist Lin!"

Liu Qingqing screamed heartbrokenly and lunged over.

Before falling to the ground, Lin Fan used his last bit of strength to shout a sentence tragically.

"My... my Master's relic..."

After saying this, he tilted his head and completely "passed out."

The whole scene instantly froze.

Chen Hu froze in place, his hand still in a forward-reaching posture; he looked at the cyan light spots all over the ground, then looked at Lin Fan who was "unconscious" in a pool of blood, his mind blank.

I... what did I do?

I just wanted to search his Storage Pouch, how could I... have shattered his Master's relic? And also... made him so angry that he vomited blood and passed out?

Elder Liu's mouth also twitched uncontrollably.

Things, it seems... have blown up.