29: The source of calamity!

Lin Dao sat upright in the Quiet Room, but his Divine Thought was like an invisible heavenly net, covering ten thousand miles and closely monitoring the subtle changes in the three battlefields.

Although he wasn't there in person, through the System and those three protective marks, he had a thorough understanding of the battle situation.

The Sword Tomb.

The battle between Lin Hao and that black-clothed Nirvana Sword Cultivator had reached a fever pitch.

The opponent's Sword Intent was deathly silent, capable of eroding life force and wearing down spiritual energy, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

Lin Hao already had several sword wounds on his body; the wounds had turned black, and his aura was slightly chaotic.

But his eyes grew increasingly bright, like tempered steel.

"Your sword only has the intent of death, but no vitality."

"The Dao of the Sword should not be like this!" Lin Hao suddenly spoke out loud, the long sword in his hand humming. That originally pure and swift Gale Sword Intent actually began to transform under the pressure of life and death, integrating a hint of his own understanding of life, becoming agile and resilient, like tough grass in a gale, seeking life in death!

Chii!

He thrust out his sword; the speed seemed a fraction slower, but it precisely pierced the core point of nothingness in the opponent's deathly Sword Intent!

The black-clothed old man's expression changed drastically, he let out a muffled groan, and his sword momentum stagnated for a moment.

Just then, a burly figure descended from the sky like a meteorite, a violent Ninth Level Tongtian Realm aura pressing down heavily on the black-clothed old man!

"Who dares touch my Lin Family's Sword Seed! Shi Lie is here!" Shi Lie arrived!

The giant axe split mountains with heavy momentum, directly joining the fray.

Lin Hao's pressure decreased sharply. Taking a deep breath, his Sword Intent sublimated once more as he teamed up with Shi Lie, instantly turning the tide of the battle.

Inside Sunset Valley.

Ye Chen was covered in blood, yet he fought with increasing madness. The recovery power of the Ancient Desolate Sacred Body was astonishing, and his wounds healed continuously.

He exchanged over a hundred punches with that main attacking Ancient Bloodline Yao King, fist to flesh, making the valley rumble.

"Refreshing! Again!" Ye Chen roared, the blood in his body like boiling lava. Under the extreme combat, that layer of Sacred Body Seal loosened once more, and his power surged!

Just then, the rhythmic rumble of battle formations and the sound of charging and killing came from outside the valley!

"The Heavenly Desolate Guard is here! Those who offend the Lin Family shall be killed without mercy!" The Vice City Lord of Heavenly Desolate City arrived leading an elite battle formation!

The iron-blooded Evil Qi dispersed the demonic mist, directly strangling the Cultivators driving the Yao Beasts and the weaker Yao Kings.

Seeing this, Ye Chen laughed heartily, completely letting loose and exploding with full force, each punch heavier than the last!

In the end, he forcefully blasted the head of that thick-skinned Yao King!

Within the Thousand Illusion Mirror Realm.

Lin Yun's face was as pale as paper, his Mental Energy consumption was immense.

This mirror Realm was incredibly bizarre, capable of reflecting and copying his attacks, and even attacking the Divine Soul Origin.

He tried time and again to see through the falsehood, but always missed by a hair's breadth.

At the critical moment, he had a flash of inspiration. He no longer tried to see through it completely, but instead concentrated the power of the Starry Sky Annihilation Pupil on "protecting" and "insight" into himself.

"All things are illusions; only my original heart is immortal!"

"Starry Fence, Stabilize!" He shouted lowly, the stellar trajectories in his eyes fixing in place, forming an absolutely stable stellar force field around him.

All illusion attacks hit the force field; although they caused ripples, they could no longer shake him in the slightest.

At the same time, through his Pupil Technique, he finally captured a trace of the energy node trajectory maintaining this mirror Realm.

Just as he was preparing a full-strength strike, at the edge of the mirror Realm, a shadow quietly permeated in like mercury, silently erasing several key nodes.

The mirror Realm fluctuated violently, and the illusions instantly became unstable.

Lin Yun seized the Opportunity, condensing his last bit of pupil power and shouting: "Phantasm Star, Break!" Crack!

The entire mirror Realm, like shattered glass, collapsed with a bang!

Outside, a figure shrouded in shadows nodded slightly to him and then disappeared.

The crisis was resolved.

A few days later, Lin Hao, Ye Chen, and Lin Yun returned safely to the Lin Family one after another.

Although all were injured, their auras were more condensed and powerful than when they left, and their eyes held the steadiness and sharpness of having weathered storms.

Lin Hao, Peak First Level Tongtian Realm, his Sword Intent had undergone a transformation, carrying a sense of endless life.

Ye Chen, First Level Tongtian Realm, his Sacred Body had further awakened, and his power surged.

Lin Yun, Peak Spirit Sea Realm Ninth Layer, his use of Pupil Techniques was more exquisite, and his Mental Energy had greatly increased.

After this ordeal, not only were the three unharmed, but they had instead turned misfortune into a blessing, making great progress in strength.

Lin Dao did not ask too many details; he only checked the three's injuries, bestowed Medicinal Pills, and let them return to consolidate their cultivation.

He knew in his heart that these three seemingly independent attacks likely had countless ties behind them, possibly even driven by the same hand, intended to test the Lin Family's bottom line or prune the Lin Family's future pillars.

"Clowns jumping around, after all, they can only hide in the shadows." Lin Dao snorted coldly and did not immediately seek revenge.

For now, improving the Family's overall strength to deal with the upcoming "Nine Provinces Dao Inquiry Convention" was the top priority.

He issued a decree, and Family resources were once again tilted toward core disciples, especially the three like Lin Hao, striving to let them make further Breakthroughs before the convention.

At the same time, he personally took action, using his Peak Spirit Tribulation Realm cultivation and System assistance to begin large-scale optimization of the Family's Cultivation Techniques, pushing the Qingyuan Sword Art, Archaic Savage Bull Art, and many secret techniques to higher levels, even touching a hint of the edge of Law, enough to support Cultivators in practicing to the Heavenly Soul or even Life Soul Realm!

The deep purple Family Luck roared into operation, massive amounts of resources were burned, and the Dao Tablet's radiance never ceased day or night.

Under this kind of investment regardless of cost, the Lin Family's overall strength began to surge crazily once again!

Lin Hao's trio remained in seclusion, charging toward higher Realms.

Acting Clan Head successfully stabilized his First Level Heavenly Soul Realm cultivation and began attempting to charge toward the Second Level.

Elder finally broke through the Life Soul Realm Bottleneck and stepped into the Heavenly Soul Realm!

Among the new generation of disciples, several more broke through to the Tongtian Realm!

Even the earliest trained Lin Feng, Lin Yun, and Lin Tie also stepped into the Late Stage or even Peak of the Spirit Sea Realm!

The entire Lin Family was like a highly efficient, massive machine, with every part becoming crazily stronger!

【Ding! Family member Elder has broken through to the First Level of the Heavenly Soul Realm, feedback cultivation +500!】

【Ding! The Family has added three new Tongtian Realm Cultivators, feedback cultivation +300!】

【Ding! Overall optimization of Family Cultivation Techniques completed, potential increased, feedback cultivation +1000!】

【Ding! Family Luck concentration increased, feedback cultivation +800!】

【Ding! Destiny Member Lin Hao's Sword Intent has transformed, feedback cultivation +400!】

【Ding! Destiny Member Ye Chen's Sacred Body awakening degree increased, feedback cultivation +450!】

【Ding! Destiny Member Lin Yun's Pupil Technique has advanced, feedback cultivation +380!】... The System's notification sounds were almost continuous, and the feedback cultivation was like a vast river, incessantly pouring into Lin Dao's body, pushing his cultivation, which had long reached the Peak of the Spirit Tribulation Realm Ninth Layer, toward that final barrier!

That invisible barrier blocking Spirit Tribulation and Dao Tribulation began to tremble violently under the impact of this torrent that gathered the strength and Luck of the entire Family, letting out groans of being overwhelmed!

On the barrier, cracks quietly emerged, and they became more and more numerous and dense!

Lin Dao sat cross-legged at the core of the Quiet Room, Chaos Qi permeating around him, and Law runes surrounding him like physical objects.

He could clearly feel that his distance from the mysterious Great Dao was getting closer and closer, only lacking one final Opportunity to completely poke through that layer of paper, trigger the Tribulation of the Dao Heart, and step into a brand-new Domain!

However, at this critical moment of the final step—

【Warning! Extremely high-level malicious prying detected! Source is blurred, suspected to involve the level of Fate and Karma!】

【Warning! Prying target: Host! Lin Family's core Destiny Members!】

【Warning! The opponent is attempting to conduct fate interference or marking!】 The System's alarm suddenly became sharp and urgent!

Lin Dao suddenly opened his eyes, the Chaos light in them surging, instantly severing that invisible prying force!

But just an instant before it was severed, he clearly felt that a cold, venomous, and destruction-filled mark had already landed on the fate trajectories of Lin Hao, Ye Chen, and Lin Yun!

Meanwhile, outside Qing Province, in an infinitely distant unknown void.

Inside a bizarre palace constructed from pale bones.

A figure shrouded in a black robe, with a constantly rotating dim crystal ball floating in front of him, let out a sound of surprise.

"To actually be able to perceive and sever this seat's 'Misfortune Mark'?"

"A mere Spirit Tribulation Realm, somewhat interesting... It seems those three boys who carry great Luck are the key to this Lin Family's future." A raspy and cold voice came from under the black robe.

"Unfortunately, once marked by this seat's 'Source of Calamity', no matter how towering your Luck is, you will ultimately become a slave to disaster, to be used by me..." His withered finger lightly tapped the dim crystal ball.

Inside the ball, three weak light threads of Luck representing Lin Hao, Ye Chen, and Lin Yun were quietly entwined with a wisp of ominous grayish-black color.

Inside the Lin Family's Quiet Room, Lin Dao's face was cold, and the cold light in his eyes was like a physical substance.

"Source of Calamity?"

"Fate Mark?"

"Hmph, people who hide their heads and tails!" With a quick thought, he immediately used the System to mobilize the massive Family Luck, which washed toward the seclusion places of Lin Hao's trio like a torrent, attempting to cleanse that ominous mark.

The deep purple Luck canopy roared, casting down thousands of auspicious lights, enveloping the three.

That wisp of grayish-black Qi was immediately suppressed and faded, but it was like a maggot on a bone, stubbornly entwined around the core of the three's Luck, difficult to completely eradicate.

"System, analyze this mark and find a way to resolve it."

【Analyzing... Requires consumption of a large amount of Authority Points and Luck power...】

【Analysis result: This mark is a technique of the 'Calamity Priest', involving the Laws of Fate and Curse. It is difficult to forcibly erase, but it can be gradually resolved or transferred by relying on one's own great Luck, great perseverance, and special opportunities.】

【Recommended solutions: 1. Increase one's own Luck (continuously ongoing). 2. Find 'Auspicious Items' or 'Destiny Treasures' to suppress it. 3. Experience a major turning point in fate to break through and rebuild.】 "Calamity Priest... Destiny Treasure..." Lin Dao's gaze was deep.

It seemed the enemy behind this was more troublesome than imagined, involving the ethereal level of fate.

But so what? "Wanting to use disasters to temper my Lin Family's true dragons?"

"I'm afraid you... will be playing with fire and get burned!" He did not panic because of this.