Ling Xuanzi was stunned for a moment, then hurried after him. “Junior Brother, isn’t this a little too reckless?”

“Senior Brother, you’ll understand soon enough.” Lin Xun smiled, rose into the air and shot toward Yingzhou Mountain.

Ling Xuanzi arched his brow. “It’s only been a few years and you’ve become this arrogant?” But seeing Lin Xun’s figure about to vanish into the bloody haze, he dared not linger. With a flick, he surged forward and summoned the Dao Endless Pagoda.

No matter what, Lin Xun was his junior brother, and as his senior brother, how could he let him charge alone into the deadly depths of Yingzhou Mountain?

Yingzhou Mountain stretched thirty thousand miles, its ridges undulating like a slumbering beast beneath a sky dyed scarlet. As Lin Xun drew near, he felt an obscure, dense fluctuation of principle power, like an invisible, crushing tide enveloping the entire mountain.

Ling Xuanzi quickly warned, “Junior Brother, this is one of the Five Principle Laws of the Return Dominion. We call it the Blood Refining Principle. If you just rush through it like that, you’ll...”

Before he could finish, the Immortal law swirling around Lin Xun gently rippled, effortlessly countering the power of the Blood Refining Principle. Then, he stepped onto Yingzhou Mountain as casually as if strolling through a garden.

Ling Xuanzi froze mid-air, eyes vacant. For a moment, he nearly slapped himself. Blood Refining Principle? And I was worried about him?

Now he could only watch as reality smacked him in the face.

“Fourth Senior Brother, why aren’t we going?’ Lin Xun turned back, genuinely puzzled.

Ling Xuanzi let out a startled grunt. Only then did he notice the Immortal law around Lin Xun dispersing the surrounding principle power, opening a clean, safe path. They moved closer to the mountain without any obstruction.

“Junior Brother...your Immortal law can actually counteract principle power!” Ling Xuanzi exclaimed as he hurried over.

Lin Xun nodded. Honest as always with his senior brother, he said, “After refining most of the Nirvana law power, my Immortal law isn’t quite the same as others. Well, at the very least...it’s comparable to a Divine Rank law.”

This was Lin Xun being modest. Along the way to the Dao Burial Ground, he had refined countless Eternal laws, causing his Immortal law to evolve beyond even Divine Rank.

Even so, Ling Xuanzi couldn’t help but gasp, “The Nirvana law! You...I’m honestly jealous.”

He meant it. Before Lin Xun joined Fangchun Mountain, Ling Xuanzi had been the undisputed prodigy among all the disciples. His talent was peerless and his foundation unmatched. He was hailed as ‘unparalleled through the ages.’

However, ever since Lin Xun’s arrival, that illustrious title ‘unparalleled through the ages’ had lost much of its brilliance.

“It really is true...comparison only makes you suffer...” Ling Xuanzi muttered bitterly under his breath.

“Fourth Senior Brother, your breakthrough speed has always surpassed mine, and your comprehension of the dao is far deeper than mine. If Master hadn’t suppressed you for countless ages, your dao attainment today would be far beyond this.” Lin Xun said with a smile as he walked along the rugged, winding mountain path.

Ling Xuanzi brightened at once, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. “Little Junior Brother, well said!”

But before his smile had fully settled, his expression abruptly shifted. “Junior Brother, watch out!”

In the drifting mist ahead, a shadow flashed past, its murderous aura vast and suffocating. It was a Blood Soul Wraith, born from the blood and qi of a fallen Eternal being! Even as he shouted, Ling Xuanzi lunged forward without thinking, activating the Dao Endless Pagoda to strike it down before it reached Lin Xun.

That instinctive act of protection warmed Lin Xun’s heart.

Shua! The blood-red wraith lunged like a bolt of scarlet lightning. It was faint and illusory, its entire body condensed from blood-red radiance. As it tore through the air, a tidal wave of killing intent swept out, making Lin Xun’s heart tremble.

Just as Ling Xuanzi had warned, the ferocity of a Blood Soul Wraith was ten or perhaps even a hundred times stronger than that of an Eternal Will Dharma Form. Even if all five of Lin Xun’s dao bodies were present, they likely would be no match for it!

Buzz!

The Dao Endless Pagoda shot forth, releasing a blazing beam of white radiance. The instant the Blood Soul Wraith charged toward them, the pagoda’s light trapped it completely. The wraith let out an earth-shaking roar of fury, but no matter how violently it struggled, it could not break free. In just a breath, it was utterly suppressed and locked within the pagoda.

“I never realized the Dao Endless Pagoda has such terrifying power...” Lin Xun murmured in awe.

When the pagoda was in his hands, it had been like a vast storage vessel and never possessed such might.

Ling Xuanzi lifted the Dao Endless Pagoda with a smile, “Junior Brother, that wasn’t your fault. Master has sealed most of this treasure’s power. Back then, you could only use the power of its first floor, the Wonder-Gold Dao Light, so of course it seemed limited.

“But ever since Master’s Will Dharma Form left within the pagoda awakened outside the Ruins of the Gods, the seals inside the pagoda have unraveled. Now I can use the White Oblivion Dao Light, the power of its thirty-ninth floor, which can suppress a Blood Soul Wraith with ease.”

He sighed regretfully. “The only downside is that with my current cultivation, I can use it no more than six times...and each use can subdue only one Blood Soul Wraith.”

“How many levels does the Dao Endless Pagoda have in total?” Lin Xun asked.

“Forty-nine,” Ling Xuanzi replied. “Our master has always followed the numerology of the great dao in everything he does. For example, this Dao Endless Pagoda has forty nine formed floors, while the pagoda as a whole symbolizes the fiftieth. You’ve heard the saying, ‘Of the fifty grand daos, only forty-nine are derived from the heavens while one escaped.’ This is exactly what this represents.

“It’s the same with our Fangchun Mountain. It originally has forty-nine blessed lands and forty-nine successors.”

He paused, then cast Lin Xun a meaningful glance. “Junior Brother, now you understand just how extraordinary it is that Master accepted you as the fiftieth successor...”

Lin Xun thought for a moment, then said calmly, “Although I respect Master deeply, I’ve never concerned myself with such arrangements. Whether things are predetermined or whether the great dao follows certain cosmic numbers, from the moment I began cultivating, I have sought only my own path. Everything else is just clouds drifting past.”

Ling Xuanzi raised a firm thumbs-up. “Well said. Cultivation is ultimately personal. Master has always said that disciples need not always walk in their teacher’s shadow. The dao he pursues and the truths he upholds aren’t necessarily what we must blindly follow. Otherwise, how could we ever hope for the day when blue surpasses indigo?”

He let out a long sigh, emotion welling in his voice, “But surpassing Master’s height...I fear that road is still unimaginably long.”

As the two were speaking, Lin Xun’s pupils suddenly contracted. Ahead on the mountain path, more than a dozen monstrous, violent auras erupted all at once! Ling Xuanzi froze for a moment, then his expression changed sharply. “I told you! Once you step onto Yingzhou Mountain, you’ll provoke a whole swarm of Blood Soul Wraiths! Run!”

As he shouted, he was already preparing to flee Yingzhou Mountain. Even with the Dao Endless Pagoda, facing so many Blood Soul Wraiths head-on was impossible!

At that moment, Lin Xun’s eyes lit up. Instead of retreating, he inhaled deeply and said calmly, “Senior Brother, leave them to me.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Dozens of Blood Soul Wraiths hurtled toward them. Each one seethed with monstrous blood qi, and their murderous aura was so violent it felt like it could tear the heavens apart. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Ling Xuanzi’s face turned ashen as he shouted in panic, “Junior Brother, you’re courting death! Run! Now!”

However, Lin Xun didn’t move. He stood still as stone, watching the swarm of Blood Soul Wraiths close in. Only when they were almost upon him did he lift his hand and activate the Gate of Exile.

Boom!

A spacetime portal hundreds of feet wide tore open behind him, like the maw of an abyssal hell. A chilling radiance poured out, swallowing everything before it.

The next instant, the dozens of Blood Soul Wraiths plunged straight into the Gate of Exile, like a school of fish diving willingly into a waiting net. In the blink of an eye, they were gone and not a trace remained.

Ling Xuanzi, who had been prepared to burn his life to help, stared dumbfounded. “What....what kind of innate divine power is that?” he stammered.

Dozens of Blood Soul Wraiths that could kill cultivators of our level have vanished as if they were nothing. Wasn’t that too easy?!

“The Gate of Exile, the fourth stage of the Grand Abyss Heaven Devourer.” Lin Xun said casually, shrinking the vast portal into a wisp of light. “Senior Brother, before the divine power fades, let’s move quickly. We might sweep up even more prey.”

Without waiting, he shot forward. Ling Xuanzi’s lips twitched. Only now did he truly understand why Lin Xun had dared to charge straight up Yingzhou Mountain.

His Immortal law neutralized the Blood Refining Principle, and his innate powers allowed him to capture Blood Soul Wraiths as easily as scooping fish from a pond!

To others, Yingzhou Mountain was a place of unmatched peril in the world. Even an Eternal Will Dharma Form stepping onto it would be no different from seeking death.

To Lin Xun, on the other hand, it was nothing less than a hunting ground where he could roam as he pleased, and where prey would throw themselves into his trap.

“Junior Brother, wait for me!” Ling Xuanzi snapped out of his daze and hurried after him, his heart suddenly burning with excitement.

For years, he had been hiding miserably in a remote canyon far from Yingzhou Mountain. He had waited for so long for the upheaval to erupt, yet once it finally came, he found that hunting Blood Soul Wraiths was fraught with danger and difficulty.

He couldn’t even step onto Yingzhou Mountain. He could only stay outside, luring the Blood Soul Wraiths out like a fisherman casting bait. Even then, success was never guaranteed. All he could do was endure and wait.

Sometimes, if luck was on his side, he would catch one Blood Soul Wraiths within two hours. More often than not, even after ten days or half a month, he wouldn’t even catch a single one.

Now, watching Lin Xun effortlessly sweep away an entire swarm, a spark ignited in his heart. This was a chance to completely and mercilessly sweep the mountain clean of prey!

“After sweeping away the Blood Soul Wraiths on Yingzhou Mountain, there’s still the Eternal Fiend Corpses of Penglai Mountain, the Undying Fierce Souls of Fanghu Mountain, the Dao Spirit Monsters of Daiyu Mountain, and the Eternal Demonic Armaments of Yuanqiao Mountain...If we keep this up, won’t all the fortunes of the five sacred mountains end up belonging to the two of us?”

The more Ling Xuanzi thought about it, the more his blood burned. It felt as though the dawn of eternal enlightenment was finally waving him forward!