223: A good start, come and cheat! Come and attack!

The Ten Thousand Beasts Pit.

On the map of the entire Suspended Blood Hell Island, this place was marked with a blood-colored skull, signifying a land of certain death.

As Lin Fan pulled Liu Qingqing along, charging against the flow of people toward this direction, almost everyone who saw them had looks of pity and mockery in their eyes, as if they were looking at dead people.

"Elder Lin, why... why are we going there?"

Liu Qingqing's voice carried an uncontrollable tremble.

She was being pulled by Lin Fan, sprinting across the rugged, blood-colored earth. In her ears was the howling of a sinister wind, and in the distance were the rising and falling roars of Vicious Beasts and the booming of techniques.

Her heart beat rapidly, both from fear and from the steady warmth emanating from Lin Fan's palm.

"The most dangerous places are often the safest."

Lin Fan didn't look back, his voice steady as if everything was under his control.

"Everyone else is thinking about snatching resources. We'll do the opposite and find a place to hide first, avoiding the first wave of the most brutal slaughter."

This reason sounded perfectly logical.

The unease in Liu Qingqing's heart calmed slightly, and she could only choose to trust Lin Fan's judgment.

She didn't know that inside Lin Fan's mind, a completely different monologue was playing out.

Hide?

What a joke.

This place was covered in walking S-rank evaluations; hiding would be a waste of God's gifts.

The reason he chose the Ten Thousand Beasts Pit was that there were many 'mobs' here, they were strong, and the efficiency of dying was the highest.

Moreover... he had already locked onto his first target for a 'great start'.

An hour later.

The two of them had already ventured deep into the outer perimeter of the Ten Thousand Beasts Pit.

The scent of blood and sulfur in the air was so thick it had almost materialized, and the color of the ground had changed from dark red to deep brown—traces of being repeatedly soaked in endless beast blood.

Lin Fan's footsteps suddenly paused, and he pulled Liu Qingqing to hide behind a massive rock shaped like a fang.

He placed a finger to his lips, signaling her to remain silent.

Liu Qingqing immediately held her breath, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.

Lin Fan released a wisp of Divine Thought, carefully probing forward.

A moment later, a clear image appeared in his mind.

In a basin about three li ahead, seven or eight Cultivators were forming a profound Formation, trapping a strange Vicious Beast in the center.

The leader was none other than the youth from the Nine Luminaries Star Palace he had encountered earlier in the square, the one riding the flaming lion.

At this moment, he was hovering above the Formation with a cold smirk, looking down at the trapped prey from a height.

The Vicious Beast wasn't large, resembling a pangolin, but its entire body was covered in a layer of dark silver scales that seemed to flow with starlight. Its aura was extremely powerful—it was actually a powerful exotic beast at the Mid-stage Refining Void.

A Void Burrowing Beast.

Information about this exotic beast flashed through Lin Fan's mind.

This beast was extremely rare, born with the ability to manipulate the power of space and earth. It was especially skilled at tunneling and was incredibly difficult to capture. Its inner core was a primary material for refining high-level spatial Magic Treasures and was worth a fortune.

No wonder this youth from the Nine Luminaries Star Palace would set an ambush here.

Currently, the Formation in the basin was glowing brightly. Countless starlight chains appeared out of thin air, tightly binding the Void Burrowing Beast. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't escape into the void or the earth.

It let out roars of indignation as its dark silver scales began to crack inch by inch under the strangling force of the Formation, leaving it drenched in blood.

"Senior Brother Lu is truly brilliant; this beast actually fell into our trap!"

A Disciple of the Nine Luminaries Star Palace flattered him with a face full of servility.

The youth addressed as Senior Brother Lu curled his lips into an arrogant arc.

"Close the net."

"Once we take its inner core, we will be the first group in this trial to obtain a high amount of points."

He spoke indifferently, as if this exotic beast that countless people dreamed of was already in his pocket.

Following his command, the Formation operated to its limit.

The seven Disciples simultaneously channeled their spiritual power. A massive light sword, condensed from starlight, slowly took shape above the Formation, emitting a terrifying edge capable of cutting through everything.

The Void Burrowing Beast sensed a fatal threat, and a hint of despair and madness flickered in its crimson beastly pupils.

Hiding behind the rock, Lin Fan watched this scene with a heart as calm as still water.

He turned his head and gave the pale, nervous Liu Qingqing a reassuring "I've got this" smile.

"Qingqing, stay here. Whatever you do, don't come out."

"I'll be right back."

Liu Qingqing was stunned and instinctively pulled him back.

"Elder Lin, what are you going to do? It's too dangerous!"

"Don't worry."

Lin Fan patted her hand, a baffling confidence on his face.

"I'm going to give them a hand."

Before Liu Qingqing could react, his figure flickered, and he charged out from behind the rock.

In the basin.

The starlight sword had reached its Peak concentration and was about to strike down.

A victorious smile had already appeared on Lu Xinghe's face.

At this critical juncture.

"Senior Brother, I'm here to help you!"

A loud shout, filled with foolish goodwill and urgency, came from a distance.

Lu Xinghe and the others were momentarily stunned and looked toward the source of the sound.

They saw a figure charging toward the basin with extremely clumsy movements, flailing his arms and legs.

It was none other than the "country bumpkin" he had scolded earlier.

Lu Xinghe's brows furrowed instantly.

What does this idiot think he's doing?

Before he could figure it out, the Void Burrowing Beast launched its final counterattack in desperation.

It opened its mouth, but instead of spitting energy, it sucked in sharply.

The space in front of it suddenly collapsed, forming a distorted black vortex emitting an aura of destruction. It slammed toward the weakest point of the Formation, which was also the direction Lin Fan was charging from.

That was a strike of Spatial Annihilation, executed by exhausting its very Origin.

"Courting death!"

Seeing this, a flash of contempt crossed Lu Xinghe's eyes.

This Soul Transformation Stage ant happened to run right into the Void Burrowing Beast's death throes; not even a speck of dust would remain.

He didn't bother with this interlude and, with a thought, prepared to trigger the starlight sword to end the battle completely.

However, a scene that left him dumbfounded occurred.

That "country bumpkin" saw the terrifying spatial vortex and showed a look of extreme terror. He seemed to want to dodge, but because his speed was too high, his foot slipped.

Thud.

He fell to the ground in an extremely comical posture.

Then, he just slid straight forward and "unintentionally" slammed his body into one of the light pillars that served as a foundation for their starlight Formation.

At the same time, the vortex of Spatial Annihilation instantly swallowed his figure.

There was no scream.

Lin Fan's body, along with his clothes, silently dissolved into the most primitive particles within that pitch-black vortex.

He was wiped out completely.

Hum—

At the exact moment Lin Fan was swallowed, the foundation pillar he had crashed into trembled violently, its light flickering intensely.

The operation of the entire starlight Formation experienced a momentary, almost imperceptible stagnation.

When experts clash, the difference is decided in an instant.

For the Void Burrowing Beast, this momentary stagnation was the distance between life and death.

It seized this opportunity. The remaining starlight on its body erupted, forcefully squeezing a gap through the countless starlight chains.

Whoosh.

Its figure instantly became illusory and vanished into the hard rocky ground, disappearing without a trace.

The starlight sword, which had condensed to its Peak and was about to strike, lost its target and slammed into empty space.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out.

The entire basin vibrated violently, and a massive, bottomless trench was carved into the ground.

The dust settled.

Inside the basin, only a mess remained.

The Void Burrowing Beast had escaped.

A deathly silence followed.

All the Disciples of the Nine Luminaries Star Palace stared blankly at the empty center of the Formation. Their expressions turned from shock to disbelief, and finally into endless rage.

The prey they had already caught had flown away.

"Aaaaaah!"

Lu Xinghe looked up to the sky and let out a roar filled with fury and indignation.

His handsome face was distorted by extreme anger, his eyes were bloodshot, and starlight surged around him, cracking the ground beneath his feet.

"That idiot!"

"That damned ant!"

He turned his head sharply and stared fixedly at the place where Lin Fan had disappeared. His gaze looked as if he wanted to grind Lin Fan's bones into ashes.

But there, aside from a shallow human-shaped impact mark, nothing was left.

"Senior Brother, please calm down..."

A Disciple spoke up cautiously.

"It's all the fault of that suicidal idiot for ruining our great plan!"

"A Soul Transformation Stage trash dared to interfere in our battle? He deserved to die!"

"What a waste of that Void Burrowing Beast... We were just one step away, just one step!"

The crowd began to curse, blaming all the faults on Lin Fan, who was already "dead without a corpse."

They couldn't understand how anyone could be so stupid.

In their eyes, Lin Fan was a complete fool who wanted to suck up to them but ended up messing everything up and losing his own life in the process.

Lu Xinghe's chest heaved violently as he clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Let's go!"

"Don't let me see anyone related to the Cuiyun Sect again. Otherwise, I'll kill every single one I see!"

He threw down a harsh threat and, filled with rage and frustration, left with a flick of his sleeves... Meanwhile.

Beneath a hidden cliff ten li away from the basin.

Lin Fan's figure silently appeared.

【Ding!】

【Host was hit by the Void Burrowing Beast's 'Spatial Annihilation' and was accidentally killed while 'helping' fellow Daoists!】

【Death Evaluation: A-rank (Detected 'exquisite acting' and 'successful insurance fraud' behavior, evaluation slightly increased)!】

【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the reward: Top-tier concealment Cultivation Technique "All Things Turtle Breath Art", cultivation level increased to the Peak of Late Stage Soul Transformation!】

A surge of majestic energy exploded within his body.

His Late Stage Soul Transformation cultivation, which he had just recently broken through to, was pushed forward by this energy, advancing rapidly until it reached the very Peak of the Realm, only one step away from the Refining Void Realm.

At the same time, an incredibly profound technique mantra was deeply etched into his Divine Soul.

"All Things Turtle Breath Art".

Once this technique was activated, it could perfectly conceal all of one's aura, spiritual power fluctuations, and even heartbeat and Divine Soul fluctuations, as if turning into a real inanimate rock, merging into one with all things in heaven and earth.

Unless the difference in strength was large enough to be a complete suppression, no one could see through it.

"Perfect."

Lin Fan opened his eyes, feeling the surging power in his body and the miraculous technique in his mind. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

A great start.

This was a perfect beginning.

Not only did his strength increase greatly, but he also obtained a technique that could be called a divine skill for the "Path of Stealth".

Most importantly, that Lu Xinghe must now hate the "dead" version of him to death. The grudge was settled, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to fleece him.

With a thought, Lin Fan brought up the leaderboard for this trial.

It was a blood-colored light screen that only he could see.

On the screen, names and points were scrolling rapidly.

Suddenly, his gaze narrowed.

He saw a strange entry at the ninety-eighth position on the leaderboard.

【Trial Participant: ???】

【Points: 500】

Lin Fan was momentarily stunned.

Killing a Mid-stage Refining Void Void Burrowing Beast happened to be worth exactly five00 points.

The System actually credited this to his account?

Was it because his "scam" was the final link that led to the beast's death?

Before he could figure out the reason, that "???" entry on the blood-colored list had already caused a huge stir.

In every corner of the island, countless Prodigies who were fighting and searching for treasures almost simultaneously noticed this anonymous person who had suddenly entered the top one hundred.

"??? Who is this? Is the System malfunctioning?"

"No, they've actively hidden their name. To obtain five hundred points in such a short time, this person must have at least hunted a powerful exotic beast at the Mid-stage Refining Void!"

"Interesting. It seems this trial is hiding quite a few interesting fellows."

One powerful Divine Thought after another crossed in the void, all guessing the identity of this mysterious "ghost".

Lin Fan looked at the list, the smile on his face becoming even more brilliant.

With a thought, he activated the newly acquired "All Things Turtle Breath Art".

In the next second, the powerful aura of his Peak Late Stage Soul Transformation receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace instantly.

Standing there now, he looked like a plain, unremarkable stone, a Mortal without any cultivation.

He straightened his robes and walked unhurriedly toward the direction where Liu Qingqing was.

It was time to pick up his "female companion" and start the next performance.