The Prodigies War

The pagoda’s color was actually a mix between plain jade and glass. However, the dense brilliant gold luster it gave off made it appear extremely magnificent.

Although it was only palm-sized, it was easy to see that the pagoda was an extraordinary artifact. Each part of its octagonal body was a world of its own, imprinted with the images of the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, heaven, earth, the cosmos, the stars, the ancient gods, and so on.

It was as if all traces of the ancient world had been branded onto the pagoda, giving it a boundless aura that seemed to encompass all of time itself!

Unfortunately, the pagoda was damaged. The words originally carved into the top of the tower were missing, leaving only a blurry and incomplete ‘no.’

This was the Nameless Pagoda!

It was the most mysterious and supreme treasure Lin Xun possessed and contained a Buddhist verse linked to the secret of Fangchun Mountain.

The old ginseng immediately felt something bad was going to happen, causing its smile to freeze. It frantically fled as if horrified.

"Trying to escape? Too late!"

A ray of wonder-gold dao light shot out from the Nameless Pagoda and bound the old ginseng with a light sweep.

Light surged from the old ginseng’s body in alarm, but it was useless no matter how it struggled. Its elderly face was filled with terror as it was pulled into the Nameless Pagoda.

Boom!

In the first level of the pagoda, the old ginseng suppressed by wonder-gold dao light realized the danger it was in and displayed a pitiful expression as it sent out a thought transmission, "Calm down my young friend, calm down. This is a misunderstanding."

Lin Xun’s pupils shrank as his heart shook. The supreme-king-grade herb possessed intelligence!

He soon sneered and said, "Weren’t you having a jolly good time earlier? Why aren’t you laughing but instead begging for mercy now?"

The old ginseng had repeatedly provoked him while being chased and displayed such a loathsome mocking smile that even the usually good-natured Lin Xun had been triggered.

If the other party wasn’t a supreme-king-grade herb, he would have strangled it to death long ago.

The old ginseng pitifully said, "Young friend, I am a spirit root of Cangwu Mountain. I have never harmed anyone ever since I gained sentience. I swear I had no evil intentions and was just having a little fun with you earlier. Please be magnanimous and forgive me for this once."

"Don't even think about it!" Lin Xun's tone was firm. It would be a waste not to consume such an unrivaled herb.

"Damnit, boy are you really not going to relent? Listen up! Back in the day, this Grandpa was well-known to be a fearsome character in Cangwu Mountain. I had countless disciples, and even the Saint experts showed me respect. What’s a little brat like you in comparison? I’ll give you another chance so hurry up and let me go. Don’t make a mistake this time, or no one in the world will be able to save you!"

Suddenly, the originally pitifully begging old ginseng changed his tune and cursed with the mannerisms of a hoodlum with his hands clasping his waist.

Lin Xun was slightly taken aback by the swift transformation. He didn’t expect the old ginseng to suddenly show a completely different persona.

Boom!

The reply, however, was a vicious whipping from the wonder-gold dao light, causing the old ginseng to scream as he let out a stream of expletives.

"I curse your ancestors #$%..."

"Ouch, it hurts you b*tch, f*ck your #$$..."

How was this a supreme-grade-king herb? It was more like an old gangster!

Eventually, the old ginseng was brutalized until it was on the verge of tears and seemed to be on its last breath, leaving it unable to curse.

However, it still refused to bow down. It gritted its teeth like a stubborn old gangster and said, "Just you wait..."

It lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move a muscle.

Only now did it resemble an old herb with a strong medicinal fragrance wafting from its body.

If not for the current situation, Lin Xun would have loved to cut off a piece of it to try.

"This fellow is sentient and has probably lived for many years so he might know something about Cangwu Mountain’s secrets. There’s no rush to process it..."

While contemplating, Lin Xun withdrew his spirit sense and put away the Nameless Pagoda.

At this time, he was already very high up on the Ancient Dao Lantern Tree. The branches reached straight into the clouds, and the surroundings were covered in a purple mist. There was also no one to be seen nearby.

The sounds of battle could still be heard from below as the experts continued to vie for the various treasures and blessings with experts perishing from time to time amidst the scuffles.

It was a bitter scene.

Anyone who could reach the Ancient Dao Lantern Tree was a top heaven pride of the younger generation. The loss of each one was no less than a heavy blow to their respective factions.

However, everyone couldn’t care less about such things at this juncture as they desperately fought for the blessings.

This was the great dao struggle, where blessings were always accompanied by blood and death.

Boom!

Suddenly, the sounds of an intense battle rumbled from the purple mist in the distance.

Lin Xun sent forth his spirit sense and instantly discovered that two supreme heaven prides, Mu Jianting and Lei Qianjun, were facing off.

They were fighting over a leather scroll that sprinkled azure divine light as it danced in the air. Faint wisps of dao sound spread from the scroll, producing a deafening noise.

There was no doubt that it was a mysterious and unfathomable ancient inheritance!

It was no wonder that the likes of Mu Jianting and Lei Qianjun were fighting over it. In fact, even Lin Xun felt a little tempted.

From the misty dao sound and the light sprinkling from it, the inheritance recorded in the scroll was certain to be extraordinary.

In the end, Lin Xun held back from joining the fight.

He had no grievance with either of the two individuals, and there were plenty of other blessings to be found on the Ancient Dao Lantern Tree. Hence, it wasn’t worthwhile to stick his foot into this affair.

Lin Xun decided to check out other places.

However, just as he was about to turn around and leave, a terrifying aura suddenly attacked.

Boom!

It was a pine-patterned sword that shone like the sun. A vast radiance wrapped in almighty power slashed at him from above.

Lin Xun instinctively dodged to the side.

The moment he moved, however, a thick rod entwined with horrifying lightning descended with power that could pulverize mountains.

It was no longer possible to avoid.

The attacks were too sudden and coordinated as if they had already calculated where Lin Xun would move.

"Doh!" At this critical moment, power bloomed from Lin Xun's tongue as a golden sound wave rippled outwards.

It was the Pulao Roar.

Unlike before, the golden sound wave abruptly transformed into densely packed restrictions as a phantasm of the divine beast, Baxia, emerged. With a stomp of its four hooves, the entire area was placed under a powerful restriction.

It was Baxia Imprisonment!

Two completely different secret arts were perfectly fused together by Lin Xun into a single roar.

The rod suddenly slowed down as if it was stuck in a quagmire.

Lin Xun immediately took advantage of the opportunity. He disappeared from the spot like a phantom and reappeared some distance away.

Boom!

The pine-patterned sword struck the spot where Lin Xun originally stood, causing space to collapse into itself with a loud boom.

Crack!

The lightning rod broke free of the restriction and smashed into the ground, causing a flurry of sparks to fly.

The surface of the tree was covered in a thick and dense layer of restrictions. If it was the outside world instead, the strike would have destroyed a large mountain!

If Lin Xun had reacted just a split second slower, he would have been caught between the sword and rod, and probably suffer a serious injury.

Although everything had transpired in the blink of an eye, the danger of the situation would make a chill run up any cultivator.

It was also at this point that Lin Xun finally got a clear look at the two experts who had suddenly attacked him.

"It's you guys!" Iciness surged in Lin Xun's black eyes as anger and killing intent surfaced on his handsome face.

In the distance, Mu Jianting and Lei Qianjun arrived side by side.

They had been fiercely fighting over the leather scroll just moments ago but were now displaying a united front.

Lin Xun realized that the fight earlier was just a front to trick him. Their real intention was to catch him off guard and deal a fatal blow!

This caused uncontrollable killing intent to surge in Lin Xun's heart. He had decided to not get involved and was just about to leave, feeling there was no reason to create a potential grudge over the scroll since he had no previous grievances with them.

Who could have anticipated that the duo would join hands against him? Furthermore, they had clearly intended on finishing him off with a single strike.

"As expected of Demon God Lin, such reaction speed is genuinely astonishing." Mu Jianting rubbed his palms together in admiration, appearing rather dignified and refined in his daoist robes.

"It is indeed a surprise." Lei Qianjun imposingly stood there as he gave off a fierce and oppressive aura.

"Why?" Lin Xun's voice was ice-cold.

Mu Jianting smiled faintly and said, "We just wanted to spar."

"Yeah, we just want to spar." A fierce and icy light flashed in Lei Qianjun’s eyes.

From their demeanors, Lin Xun knew that it was impossible to get a straight answer. They were not going to reveal anything even if he asked again.

However, this only intensified Lin Xun’s killing intent.

On his way here, he made sure to stay on guard against Yu Lingkong, Sha Liuchan, Zhongli Wuji, Qing Lian'er, and Zhuo Kuanglan, and never imagined that the two supreme heaven prides, Mu Jianting and Lei Qianjun, would also turn hostile against him.

No matter the reason, their actions had already touched Lin Xun’s bottom line!

"Spar?"

Lin Xun displayed an emotionless expression. As he stepped forward, an incomparably terrifying aura surged around his body like a giant azure sun.

His aura had changed in an instant and now resembled a demon god. Meanwhile, his internal energy boiled to reach a whole new peak.

"Sure, let’s have a good sparring session!"

Lin Xun’s black hair began to float as his presence became akin to an abyss. Murderous intent burst from his body like a tsunami, enveloping the entire area.

Mu Jianting’s and Lei Qianjun's pupils shrank in response to Lin Xun's transformation. The duo then exchanged a look and attacked in unison.

Swish!

Blinding sword light rose upwards, causing the sky to lose color. Mu Jianting’s clothes fluttered around him as he rushed at Lin Xun, resembling a ferociously attacking sword king.

Rumble~

On the other side, Lei Qianjun's lips curled into an icy smile. He lifted his lightning rod and pounced like a ferocious tiger ready to unleash carnage and violence.