Chapter 289: Chapter 285: The Five-Year Agreement

"Young Master Lin, just spare my life, and I’ll have the Netherworld Hall call off its pursuit." Seeing Lin Hao’s expression, Elder Ning was horrified and spoke in a panic.

Lin Hao, however, was unmoved. "You sold out your own sect just to get a Secret Skill. In the Netherworld Hall, you’re probably worth less than a dog. And you think you can call off the hunt? How laughable!"

Lin Hao wasn’t just guessing.

Now that Elder Ning had admitted to being a member of the Netherworld Hall, Lin Hao could finally connect all the dots.

The assassination attempt back in Celestial Jade City... that assassin had been elusive and unpredictable. At the time, Lin Hao had thought he cultivated some strange Cultivation Technique. Now, it was clear that the technique was a form of External Avatar!

The reason that assassin was so elusive was that the attacker had been just a Primordial Body!

And Elder Ning, having learned of the Netherworld Hall’s Cultivation Technique through some unknown channel, recognized it as External Avatar and joined their ranks just to obtain it.

Unfortunately, the Netherworld Hall had never handed the Cultivation Technique over to him.

In fact, the Netherworld Hall was still coveting the truly complete version of the External Avatar.

The reason Lin Hao was so certain that the Netherworld Hall’s version was incomplete was something he had deduced from the poem at Woniushan.

If the Netherworld Hall’s Cultivation Technique were complete, their people wouldn’t have been lurking in the shadows on Woniushan.

Hearing Lin Hao’s words, Elder Ning’s face changed drastically, as if he had seen a ghost.

Obviously, Lin Hao’s speculation was entirely correct.

Having reached this conclusion, a flicker of worry flashed through Lin Hao’s eyes before vanishing.

He thought of the Sacred Lord of that Holy Land in the Divinity Realm.

’Does the Cultivation Technique in that Sacred Lord’s hands have something to do with External Avatar?’

’If so, is there also a connection between that Holy Land and the Netherworld Hall?’

’If that’s the case, the Netherworld Hall’s power is likely far beyond my imagination.’

’Why overthink it? I’ll deal with whatever comes my way. Now that I have this Secret Skill, my odds are much better if a Netherworld Hall assassin appears.’ This thought flashed through Lin Hao’s mind, and he snapped back to the present.

Nearby, the sound of Ni Ziyun’s sobs arose.

Lin Hao glanced over. The elder Suanni had stopped breathing.

A monstrous rage suddenly erupted within Lin Hao’s heart.

SHLICK!

He swung the Evil-Slaying Sword, and a bloody gash instantly appeared on Elder Ning’s thigh.

"You stabbed Aunt Ni once, so I’ll repay you with a hundred cuts!" As Lin Hao spoke, the Evil-Slaying Sword in his hand moved again.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

"No, I didn’t attack her."

"Is there a difference?" Lin Hao said coldly, the Evil-Slaying Sword striking without mercy.

To protect his Devil Beast, Lin Hao transformed into a bloodthirsty madman, relentlessly swinging the Evil-Slaying Sword.

Before long, true to his word, Lin Hao had delivered a hundred strikes.

Except for his face, not a single spot on Elder Ning’s body was left intact. He was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, a truly miserable sight.

Lin Hao’s strikes had been meticulous. He severed several of Elder Ning’s major meridians, ensuring he would not die immediately.

After the hundredth strike, Lin Hao withdrew his sword and walked toward the deep pit.

There, the sound of Ni Ziyun’s sobs was heartbreaking.

"You take care of her!" the Devil Queen’s cold voice commanded.

"Aunt Yun, you can’t! The Sanqing Sect has already lost its masters. The others are innocent!" Lin Hao cried out.

He sensed the Devil Queen’s killing intent, afraid that in a fit of rage, she would leave the Sanqing Sect littered with corpses, wiping it from existence.

"My surname is not Yun!" The Devil Queen didn’t move, but her killing intent only intensified.

Lin Hao’s eye twitched.

’This Devil Queen seems so capricious, nothing like the gentle Aunt Yun he remembered. But their appearances were so similar; Lin Hao couldn’t make sense of it.’

While Lin Hao hesitated, Ni Ziyun was already in the Devil Queen’s arms.

At the same time, the barely conscious Elder Ning was moved into the deep pit.

"I am tired. We’re leaving." Her tone carried an authority that could not be questioned.

As soon as she spoke, Lin Hao was seized by her. She soared into the air, revealing her true form: a Cyan Simurgh.

RUMBLE!

With a single, gentle flap of the Cyan Simurgh’s wings, the mountainside below crumbled with a heaven-shaking roar. The Suanni and Elder Ning were buried beneath endless sand and stone.

And with that one flap, the Cyan Simurgh was already hundreds of meters away.

Dangling from the Cyan Simurgh’s talons, Lin Hao couldn’t even force his eyes open against the wind.

A few moments later, Lin Hao felt his body suddenly plummet and forced his eyes open.

The sight that met his eyes made his face pale in terror.

He was falling through the air. Below him were swirling clouds and the sheer face of a bottomless abyss.

Fortunately, with his incredible eyesight, Lin Hao spotted a massive, jutting rock below.

He breathed a small sigh of relief and was about to mobilize his True Essence, only to find that it wouldn’t respond to his command.

CRASH!

Lin Hao slammed hard onto the protruding rock with a deafening sound.

Almost at the exact moment he landed, the Devil Queen, now in human form, landed lightly on the rock with Ni Ziyun.

Lin Hao gritted his teeth, his face contorted in pain.

’Needless to say, the Devil Queen had definitely done that on purpose.’

After landing, the Devil Queen didn’t even glance at Lin Hao and walked straight inside.

Lin Hao looked around and realized he was on the highest peak of the Heaven-Rending Mountains, surrounded by an ocean of clouds. The white mist stretched out boundlessly. If there had been a palace here, Lin Hao would have sworn he had ascended to the heavens.

But of course, there was no palace—only a cave.

The Devil Queen’s figure was about to disappear into the cave.

Lin Hao hurriedly followed.

Once inside, Lin Hao was left speechless by what he saw.

Countless Luminous Pearls were embedded in the cave walls, casting a brilliant radiance.

The cavern within was vast and opulent, a scene of incredible luxury. To call it the grand hall of an Imperial Palace would be no exaggeration.

However, this "palace hall" was completely empty, giving it a desolate and lonely feel.

Lin Hao looked around, and then his eyes suddenly widened.

He strode forward hastily, reaching for something.

BOOM!

However, before Lin Hao could get close, his body was sent flying backward.

This was merely the result of a cold snort from the Devil Queen.

"Aunt Yun, where is Yan’Er?" Undeterred, Lin Hao scrambled back to his feet and asked urgently.

The thing he had just reached for was a wooden hairpin.

Lin Hao had recognized the wooden hairpin instantly, as he had carved it for Yan’Er himself.

With Yan’Er’s hairpin here, Lin Hao was now certain that this Devil Queen was Yan’Er’s mother, Aunt Yun.

"I am not surnamed Yun, and there is no Yan’Er here!" Killing intent dripped from the Devil Queen’s words.

But this time, Lin Hao was not intimidated. He pointed at the hairpin and said, "You’re lying! I made that hairpin myself! Yan’Er must be here!"

"You made this hairpin?" the Devil Queen asked, her voice suddenly devoid of its killing intent.

Lin Hao nodded eagerly.

Just as Lin Hao was filled with anticipation, believing the Devil Queen was about to come clean, she covered her mouth with her hand, a weary look on her face.

"I am tired. You look after her."

As her voice faded, the Devil Queen vanished without a trace.

"Aunt Yun! Aunt Yun..."

After calling out countless times, Lin Hao finally gave up.

He had initially thought she would reappear soon. After all, three years ago when Aunt Yun and Yan’Er had first arrived in War Dragon City, they had always been drowsy during the day and full of energy at night.

But two, then three days passed, and she seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

In that time, Ni Ziyun seemed to forget her past sorrows and began to communicate with Lin Hao telepathically.

After collecting himself, Lin Hao decided to focus on his cultivation.

’Anyway, Yan’Er’s whereabouts were all but confirmed. All he had to do was wait.’

’Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm, capable of manifesting a single Primordial Body... it was far from enough.’

Especially after witnessing the Devil Queen’s power, Lin Hao felt his own powerlessness more keenly than ever.

Here, atop the peaks of the Heaven-Rending Mountains, the ambient spiritual energy was dense beyond belief.

The moment Lin Hao began to cultivate, he became completely absorbed.

As for Ni Ziyun, once she grew tired of playing, she sat primly beside Lin Hao and began to mimic his cultivation.

Before long, she had surprisingly entered a state of deep meditation...

When Lin Hao’s cultivation reached the Peak of the Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm and he was preparing to push for the Seventh Layer, a tremor ran through his spirit, and he awoke.

Nearby, Ni Ziyun had grown a size larger and was still in deep meditation.

This startled Lin Hao.

’Even the Suanni has grown a size larger. I’m afraid this meditation session has taken quite a long time.’

"You’re awake." A voice interrupted Lin Hao’s thoughts.

Lin Hao looked up to see the Devil Queen toying with the wooden hairpin, her face cast in a strange, soft glow.

"Aunt Yun, where’s Yan’Er?"

The Devil Queen didn’t answer, instead asking, "You are Lin Hao, from the Lin family of War Dragon City?"

"Yes! Aunt Yun, you remember?" Lin Hao’s face lit up with excitement.

"No, I don’t know you. I merely went to War Dragon City to confirm your identity, that is all."

Lin Hao’s heart sank.

’He was now almost certain that the Devil Queen was Aunt Yun. Something must have happened to make her forget her past.’

"Yan’Er is here, isn’t she? She also doesn’t remember what happened before, right? That’s why she didn’t come to the Heaven-Stepping Sect to find me." Lin Hao muttered to himself, finally finding a reason for Yan’Er’s absence.

"Yan’Er... Yunyan, a nice name." The Devil Queen didn’t answer Lin Hao, just mused to herself. Then, she glanced at him and said, "Prepare yourself. I will send you out."

"No! I want to see Yan’Er! What are you so worried about?!" Lin Hao suddenly roared in anger.

’Even if the Devil Queen and Yan’Er both forgot the past, she had gone to War Dragon City. With her power, she must have figured out the whole story. For her to still not reveal Yan’Er’s whereabouts under these circumstances, she must be holding something back.’

"How dare you!" The Devil Queen’s voice was like thunder. With no power to resist, Lin Hao was blasted out of the cave by an immense force, plummeting straight down without losing momentum.

As if riding on clouds, Lin Hao fell into the dense forests of the Heaven-Rending Mountains, yet was miraculously unharmed.

Just then, a voice echoed in his ear: "In three years, no, five years—as long as your cultivation reaches the Sealed Martial Realm, Yan’Er will naturally appear."

Lin Hao was currently only at the Peak of the Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm. To reach the Sealed Martial Realm within five years was an almost impossible task.

It had been a very, very long time since a Martial Artist of the Sealed Martial Realm had appeared on the Celestial Yang Continent.

Setting others aside, even Cang Yan had been stuck in the Spirit Transformation Realm for forty years.

But Lin Hao did not hesitate for a moment, answering with a single word: "Fine."

The word was firm and resolute. His voice was low, yet it seemed to pierce the very heavens.

’Lin Hao was now almost certain that the Devil Queen had a burden she could not speak of. Since it concerned Yan’Er, he had to give it his all.’

’Besides, his goal was never just the Sealed Martial Realm.’