195: Temptation

Lin Hu: I can't handle it, I absolutely can't handle it!

Lin Hu felt himself sinking into endless darkness, the wound on his front leg burning with pain.

In his ears, the Blood Moon Devil Head's hysterical roar still seemed to echo, along with Little Green Snake's anxious hissing.

He struggled to open his eyes, but his eyelids were heavy as a thousand pounds.

After an unknown amount of time, a cool, gentle force slowly flowed into his body, like a dry riverbed welcoming sweet rain,

soothing the burning pain in his Meridians and dispelling the Chaos in his consciousness.

This force carried an ancient and majestic aura, subtly resonating with the tiger stripes on his chest.

"Ugh..."

A low groan finally escaped his throat.

"Holy Lord! You're awake!"

A voice filled with surprise and reverence sounded in his ear; it was Bai Shengdao.

Lin Hu laboriously lifted his eyelids, the dazzling light making him instinctively squint.

What greeted his eyes was a magnificent stone chamber.

The walls were built from huge white jade, carved with lifelike White Tiger totems, some galloping and roaring, others howling at the sky, exuding Divine Might.

The high dome was inlaid with glowing moon-white stones, their soft light illuminating the entire space.

The air was filled with crisp Spiritual Qi; even a single breath invigorated one's spirit.

He was lying on a huge stone bed, beneath him unknown soft beast hides, warm and comfortable.

The "King" character tiger stripe on his chest was no longer scalding, but emitted a warm, steady golden light, flickering like a breath.

"This is... White Tiger Cliff?"

Lin Hu's voice was hoarse as he struggled to sit up.

"Precisely, the Holy Lord's residence, Howling Heaven Hall."

Bai Shengdao hurried forward to help him, his movements cautious and filled with immense respect.

Behind him stood several Elders with profound auras, all dressed in white robes, their gazes complex as they scrutinized Lin Hu, with inquiry, reverence, and a hint of indescribable worry.

"How do you feel, Holy Lord?"

The leading Elder, with white hair and beard and a gaunt face, spoke, his voice calm but with an undeniable authority.

He was the White Tiger Clan's Grand Elder, Bai Xuan.

Lin Hu stretched his limbs; apart from some soreness in his front leg, the demonic power in his body was even more abundant and surging than before his injury, even showing faint signs of a Breakthrough.

The tiger stripe on his chest continuously transmitted a gentle yet powerful force, nourishing his demonic soul.

"I'm not dead."

Lin Hu bared his teeth, habitually wanting to shake his fur, realizing he was still in tiger form.

"It's just that Devil Head's blood chains, they're quite strong."

He looked down at his injured front leg, which was covered with a verdant salve emitting a fresh herbal scent; the wound had already scabbed over, healing at an astonishing speed.

"The Holy Lord is blessed with boundless fortune, and protected by the Old Ancestor's sacredlines, mere Blood Moon Devilish Qi naturally cannot harm your Foundation."

Grand Elder Bai Xuan stroked his long beard, his gaze fixed on the golden stripe on Lin Hu's chest, a glint flashing deep in his eyes.

"However, the Holy Lord forcefully activated the Origin power of the sacredlines to repel the Blood Moon Clone this time, suffering no small loss; you still need some time to recuperate."

"Loss?"

Lin Hu felt the surging power within him, somewhat bewildered.

"I feel great! I could scratch another Clone to shreds!"

He waved a paw, stirring up a gust of wind.

Upon hearing this, several Elders behind Elder Bai Xuan subtly frowned.

Bai Shengdao quickly smoothed things over: "The Holy Lord's Divine Might is naturally unharmed. The Grand Elder means that the power of the sacredlines is profound and needs to be cultivated slowly, not over-stimulated, to avoid an unstable Foundation."

Lin Hu glanced at Bai Xuan; this old man's words had a hidden meaning.

He decided not to dwell on the issue, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "Where are Little Green and Rat Spirit? Are they alright?"

"Rest assured, Holy Lord."

Bai Shengdao immediately replied, "Brother Green Snake suffered excessive depletion and is recuperating in the spiritual spring. Rat Spirit also expended much mental energy guarding the soul stabilizing pearl and is resting in the side hall; both are fine."

Lin Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that his two subordinates were alright.

He stretched his neck, his golden eyes surveying the luxurious and solemn Holy Lord's bed-chamber, pondering: This "Holy Lord" identity seems to be confirmed.

The Blood Moon Devil Head, having suffered a great loss, certainly wouldn't let it go, so he had to use the White Tiger Clan's power to thoroughly resolve this trouble.

And that main body, Lin Chuping... Lin Hu curled his lip inwardly; he himself had been fighting to the death, almost giving up his life, while that guy was leisurely in the temple.

Just as he was calculating how to use the White Tiger Clan's power to deal with the Blood Moon's lair, and thinking about how to "report on his work" to his main body, an extremely faint yet incredibly familiar sense of connection suddenly flashed in his mind.

This feeling... Lin Hu's golden fur instantly bristled; he abruptly looked up, vigilantly scanning the empty corners of the stone chamber and the dome.

A hallucination? Impossible! He and Lin Chuping shared the same Divine Soul Origin; that feeling of being watched could absolutely not be wrong!

"Holy Lord?"

Bai Shengdao noticed his sudden tension and looked in the direction of his gaze, puzzled.

"Cough, it's nothing."

Lin Hu suppressed the surprise in his heart, pretending to casually lick his paw, but inwardly he was furiously complaining: "Lin Chuping! You disloyal bastard! You only thought to take a look after I almost became a tiger-skin rug?! And you're sneaking around! If you've got the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"

(Of course, he only dared to roar this in his heart.)

Just as Lin Hu was internally raging at his main body, Grand Elder Bai Xuan stepped forward, his expression solemn.

"Since the Holy Lord has awakened, this old man and others have something unclear and request the Holy Lord's enlightenment."

His old but sharp gaze was fixed on the golden stripe on Lin Hu's chest, "This sacredlines is the supreme Legacy of our Clan; only those with the purest Bloodline and most compatible Heart-Nature can activate it. The Holy Lord claims to be of Elder Bai Xiaotian's lineage... May I ask the Holy Lord, do you know of our Clan's 'Soul Splitting Ritual'?"

"Soul Splitting Ritual?"

Lin Hu's heart skipped a beat; that name didn't sound like a good path, and there was no such thing in his Legacy memories!

He remained outwardly calm, his golden eyes slightly narrowed, imitating Lin Chuping's profound and inscrutable demeanor, his tone indifferent with a perfectly measured hint of detachment: "Grand Elder, what do you mean by this? Do you perhaps doubt this Lord's identity?"

An invisible pressure permeated with his words, and the golden light of the tiger stripe on his chest seemed to intensify slightly.

Elder Bai Xuan's expression remained unchanged, only his gaze deepened.

"This old man would not dare. It's just that the Holy Lord's method of activating the sacredlines... bears a striking resemblance to the after-effects recorded in ancient texts for the 'Soul Splitting Ritual.' The Soul Splitting Ritual is an ancient forbidden art that forcefully stimulates potential at the cost of splitting the Divine Soul. Although it can temporarily grant great power, it damages the Origin and severs the Dao path. The Holy Lord's coma this time, though your demonic power is abundant, there seem to be subtle cracks deep within your soul light... This old man dares to implore the Holy Lord to reveal the truth; perhaps the Clan's secret arts can partially mend it."

At these words, the atmosphere in the hall instantly grew heavy.

The gazes of several Elders were fixed on Lin Hu, and Bai Shengdao's face showed even more worry.

Soul splitting?

Lin Hu's heart sank.

Wasn't this Incarnation of his a wisp of Divine Soul "split" from Lin Chuping?! This old man's eyes were too sharp, weren't they? Could he have really seen through him?

Lin Hu's mind raced, figuring out how to bluff his way through, whether to continue pretending to be profound or simply act shamelessly, when that familiar, teasing mental fluctuation clearly entered the depths of his mind again:

[Little tiger, did you mess up? Told you not to randomly claim a father. This mess, I still have to clean it up.]

Immediately after, an unseen, playful voice seemed to sound directly in Lin Hu's ear, audible only to him:

"Don't panic, hold on. Watch me put on a big show for you."