97: Chapter 97 The Dust Has Settled!

Seeing the Black and White Ghosts reduced to flying ash, a hint of a smile finally surfaced on Xia Jin's face.

Although Daoist Xuanming and Immortal Master Ziyang of the Lieyang Dynasty had fortunately escaped, the monk may flee, but the temple remains.

Once he finished receiving the System rewards and his cultivation advanced further, he would definitely go to Lieyang in person to settle the score with those two old Daoists once and for all.

“The System rewards I obtained this time should be enough for this King to step into the fourth or even fifth level of the Land Immortal Realm!” Xia Jin scanned the System rewards. Then, just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly stopped.

“I almost forgot, there's still a Green Lotus Secret Realm here!!” Xia Jin's figure flickered, and he appeared at the location where Immortal Master Ziyang had just opened the entrance to the Secret Realm.

Feeling the subtle spatial fluctuations remaining in the air, he grabbed toward both sides and tore ruthlessly!

“Chila~!”

A vortex emerged at the sound, and the familiar Green Lotus Sword Intent faintly emanated from within. Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Jin stepped inside, his figure instantly swallowed by the vortex. Afterward, the rift quickly mended itself.

...

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after Xia Jin disappeared, at the edge of the battlefield that had just been shattered by heavenly thunder and was full of scorched earth and giant craters, the soil beneath a charred rock suddenly shifted slightly.

Following that, a blood-stained palm laboriously pushed aside the rubble, and the figure of the Wolf Lord crawled out extremely slowly, bit by bit.

However, even a simple movement like this took him nearly ten breaths of time until he had fully crawled out.

He lay paralyzed on the ground, his face pale, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath. His body was covered in scorched wounds from the lightning strikes.

“Cough, cough... ha... ha...” He turned his head to spit out several mouthfuls of stagnant blood, his eyes filled with terror. “That guy... just what kind of monster is he?!”

Recalling that world-destroying thunder, like a heavenly punishment, falling upon him, he still felt his entire body tremble.

If not for the token passed down by the previous generation's Wolf Lord of the Northern Border saving his life at the critical moment, he would likely have been like the Black and White Ghosts by now, with both his body and soul extinguished.

He touched the wolf fang on his chest; its surface was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks, appearing as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

A flash of heartache crossed the Wolf Lord's eyes.

“I cannot stay here for long! Once I recover some strength, I must rush back to the Northern Border!!” He struggled to sit up, rapidly regulating the injuries on his body.

After meditating for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, and feeling that the spiritual power in his body had recovered slightly, the Wolf Lord dared not delay at all. He transformed into a streak of light, fleeing frantically toward the Northern Border at his maximum speed.

As he left, he looked back from time to time, with only one thought in his mind. “Once I return to the Northern Border this time, even if the heavens collapse and the earth rends outside, I will never easily step out of the Northern Border again!”

...

Meanwhile, at the foot of a desolate mountain very far from the battlefield, at the border between the Lieyang Dynasty and the Western Regions.

Space suddenly distorted, and two rather wretched figures fell directly out of it. As they fell, the golden light wrapping their bodies also dissipated. It was Daoist Xuanming and Immortal Master Ziyang, who had just fled.

“Pfft!” As soon as they stood firm, both of them spat out a mouthful of blood simultaneously, their auras waning.

Clearly, forcibly using that life-saving technique had come at a great cost for them as well; not only did it consume blood essence, but it also seemed to have damaged their Origin.

They looked at each other with lingering fear, a trace of dread still present in both their eyes.

Immortal Master Ziyang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and only regained his composure after a few breaths: “Senior Brother, what... what should we do next?”

He leaned against the back of a giant rock, his face full of worry: “I'm afraid we cannot return to Qingfeng Temple for the time being. That person's methods are heaven-defying; if he intends to seek revenge, the first place he looks will likely be Qingfeng Temple.”

Hearing this, Daoist Xuanming was also silent for a long time.

In the end, he could only let out a long sigh.

“It seems the two of us can only go to ‘that place’ first to avoid the heat,” Daoist Xuanming said with some hesitation. “If after some time things have calmed down and that person hasn't come looking for us, we can return here.”

“Senior Brother! Surely you don't mean... that place!?” Immortal Master Ziyang was suddenly stunned, then frowned, appearing somewhat resistant: “Senior Brother! Before Revered Master passed away, he repeatedly warned us that unless we encounter a desperate situation where our lives are at an end, we must never approach ‘that place,’ much less easily disturb the existence ‘inside’! Let's find somewhere else.”

“Then tell me, where can we go now?” Daoist Xuanming turned to look at him and asked seriously, “With the methods of the Land Immortal Realm, if the opponent truly wants to find someone, unless we seal our cultivation and completely hide in the secular world, as long as we are still active in the Eastern Profound Continent and leave any clues, it's only a matter of time before he finds us.”

“But ‘that place’ is different. That place can easily isolate our auras and obscure the heavenly secrets. No matter how strong that person's Divine Sense is, he will definitely be unable to track our whereabouts.”

Daoist Xuanming looked at his Junior Brother's still hesitant expression and continued: “Besides, we are only using it to hide for a while. As long as we don't touch anything inside and come out once this heat passes, it should be fine.”

Immortal Master Ziyang opened his mouth but ultimately could no longer find a reason to object.

Especially when he thought of Xia Jin's thunderous power that could easily kill them with a wave of his hand, he couldn't help but be filled with apprehension.

Seeing Immortal Master Ziyang nod, Daoist Xuanming also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Then let's head over quickly!!”

Even with their speed, it took three-quarters of an hour before they arrived deep in a desolate mountain range where few people ever ventured.

“According to what Revered Master said before, it should be right here!” Daoist Xuanming held a scroll of parchment, his brow furrowed as he observed the surroundings.

Finally, when he saw a mountain hollow stone wall resembling a soaring eagle, a bit more of a smile appeared on his face.

“Come, let's go over there!!”

Led by Daoist Xuanming, the two of them soon arrived at a dilapidated temple only half a person tall, almost blending into the mountain rocks.

This temple was unremarkable and covered in moss and various thorny vines. If one didn't look closely, no one would notice it at all.

Immortal Master Ziyang stepped forward and waved his sleeve, sending out a gentle force. Those thorns and wild grass instantly turned into dust, revealing this small temple.

“Junior Brother, let's begin!” Daoist Xuanming nodded to Immortal Master Ziyang beside him.

He took out three sticks of incense and lit them.

The blue smoke rose, but it did not drift straight up into the sky as usual; instead, it was sucked into that dilapidated temple.

Inside the temple, it was dim. A divine statue, whose face had long been blurred by time, seemed to... move slightly the moment the blue smoke merged into the temple.

A suction force was suddenly generated, sweeping directly toward Daoist Xuanming and Immortal Master Ziyang outside the temple.

The two of them stiffened, but then gave up resistance, instantly transforming into two streaks of light and being drawn into that tiny, desolate temple.