Mysterious Jade Pearl

At the edge of the Back Mountain forest, dusk had fallen. The sun was already sinking, and a gray-clad youth was anxiously waiting for something.

Just as the youth could no longer restrain the anxiety in his heart and was about to enter the forest to take a look, the next moment, he saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The setting sun sank in the west, the dying light red as blood.

Against this faintly desolate atmosphere, a handsome youth in black slowly walked out of the forest, bathed in the evening glow.

Though the youth's steps were slow and seemed as leisurely as a stroll through a courtyard, they were firm and powerful, steady in rhythm, while he maintained a high level of vigilance at all times.

Large patches of blood stained his black clothes, and under the twilight, they appeared especially vivid, like flames from hell.

At this moment, several spots of blood had also accidentally smeared the youth's face, but when the twilight fell across his profile, it made him seem extraordinarily bewitching and handsome.

This youth was none other than Lin Yan, who had slain the Scorpion Tiger King and returned victorious.

When Lin Yun saw Lin Yan return, his original worry and anxiety immediately vanished, and a faint smile appeared on his usually unsmiling face.

However, when he sensed the fluctuations of Origin Power on Lin Yan's body, that smile instantly turned into surprise, and then he gave a bitter smile.

"An Origin Power Seed, Body Tempering Sixth Level... Cousin Lin Yan, just what secrets are you hiding? To cultivate so quickly is truly astonishing..."

As he thought this, Lin Yun's heart was filled with shock, but there was no jealousy or greed. Instead, he hurriedly walked toward Lin Yan.

When he reached Lin Yan's side, Lin Yun could sense the bloody smell on him even more clearly, and could not help asking worriedly, "Cousin Lin Yan, are you all right?"

Hearing this, Lin Yan, who had just come out of the forest, knew the other party had misunderstood. He quickly chuckled and explained, "Don't worry, Cousin Lin Yun. This is all the Scorpion Tiger King's blood. I'm not badly hurt."

Hearing these words, Lin Yun was shocked again, then asked uncertainly, "Cousin Lin Yan, you... you killed the Scorpion Tiger King?"

Lin Yan merely nodded calmly, as if he had done something utterly insignificant.

Seeing this, the scene from a moment ago instantly surfaced again in Lin Yun's mind.

The youth had walked out of the forest as though strolling through a courtyard, his entire body stained with great patches of blood, yet a faint smile that was there and not there hung on his lips. His expression was like that of a wanderer returning home. But not long ago, this youth who seemed so calm and unruffled had personally slaughtered a Scorpion Tiger King!

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Lin Yun congratulated him. "Cousin, since you broke through to Body Tempering Sixth Level, you must have condensed an Origin Power Seed. It's only natural that the Scorpion Tiger King wasn't your match.

"The clan competition will be in two months. I'm sure that when the time comes, Cousin Lin Yan, you'll definitely shine."

Lin Yun thought Lin Yan had happened to break through to Body Tempering Sixth Level during his fight with the Scorpion Tiger King, which was how he had killed it. He did not know that Lin Yan had killed the Scorpion Tiger King at Body Tempering Fifth Level, then successfully condensed an Origin Power Seed and broken through to Body Tempering Sixth Level only after using the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire to devour the Scorpion Tiger King's flesh and blood.

Lin Yan did not explain too much about this. Instead, his gaze shifted to Lin Yun's hand.

At this moment, the latter was holding a crystal-clear dark purple fruit. Faintly, a light fragrance drifted from it. It was precisely one of the greatest gains of this operation, the Amethyst Origin Fruit.

Noticing Lin Yan's gaze, Lin Yun's expression also became somewhat unnatural. After all, the one who had contributed the most to this operation was originally Lin Yan, and in the end, the other party had even unexpectedly killed the Scorpion Tiger King. This immediately made Lin Yun feel as if he were reaping without working.

Lin Yun thought for a moment, then suddenly handed the Amethyst Origin Fruit to Lin Yan and said, "Cousin Lin Yan, you contributed the most in this operation. You should take this Amethyst Origin Fruit."

Seeing Lin Yun's actions, Lin Yan was startled. A little admiration rose in his heart, but he still politely refused. "Cousin Lin Yun, although the Amethyst Origin Fruit is precious, I've already broken through to Body Tempering Sixth Level now. It doesn't have much important use for me anymore.

"You're currently at Body Tempering Fifth Level. Taking the Amethyst Origin Fruit will have a better effect for you. You should keep this thing. Besides, it's not like I gained nothing. There can't be nothing at all in the Scorpion Tiger King's tiger den, right?"

As for the treasures collected by the Scorpion Tiger King, Lin Yan was still rather curious. It gave him the feeling of opening a blind box in his previous life, though he still did not hold too much hope in his heart. After all, how many good things could a wild beast have?

However, when Lin Yun took out the treasures from the tiger den, Lin Yan still felt that he had underestimated that Scorpion Tiger King.

Among the dazzling array of items were quite a few gold and silver treasures. It seemed the Scorpion Tiger King also liked these brightly colored things. Apart from that, there were also several second-grade spiritual herbs and over a dozen first-grade spiritual herbs. Although all of them together were not worth as much as a single Amethyst Origin Fruit, they still counted as no small gain.

At this moment, a piece of black metal suddenly caught Lin Yan's attention.

This piece of black metal was covered in dust and did not attract much notice. However, the first moment Lin Yan saw it, he thought of something.

Sensing Lin Yan's gaze, Lin Yun, who was beside him, picked up the iron piece and looked it over, but did not discover anything special about it.

But Lin Yan knew that this was a piece of Shattered Origin Mysterious Steel. It had an extremely good effect in breaking through Origin Power. If a little of this Shattered Origin Mysterious Steel were mixed into certain weapons, even ordinary Heavenly Origin Realm experts would not dare be struck head-on by them. Otherwise, they would probably end up with a bloody hole straight through them.

More importantly, this Shattered Origin Mysterious Steel had an extremely excellent effect in carrying and guiding Spiritual Power.

Lin Yan remembered that in the original work, when Lin Dong had just become a Symbol Master, the Shattered Origin Shuttle forged from this Shattered Origin Mysterious Steel had been one of his few killing moves.

As for becoming a Symbol Master, Lin Yan also had ideas of his own. After all, this profession was not weaker than the Medicine Refinement Masters of Douqi Continent. In that case, this Shattered Origin Mysterious Steel would definitely be of great use in the future.

Thinking of this, Lin Yan could not help smiling. He had not expected this Scorpion Tiger King to have hidden away quite a few good things.

Next, Lin Yan casually rummaged through the remaining items a few times. After all, with an item like the Shattered Origin Mysterious Steel, Lin Yan was already satisfied enough.

However, just as he was about to give up, a white jade bead about the size of two fingers appeared in his line of sight.

This jade bead was only the size of two fingers and was a faint jade-white color. It did not seem particularly special, but the moment Lin Yan saw it, he felt the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire inside his body fluctuate slightly.

His heart stirred. Lin Yan pinched it with his palm, but the sensation did not feel like jade, nor like stone, much less like wood.

Seeing this, Lin Yan smiled faintly and immediately felt that he had probably encountered something interesting.

Although he was not clear on exactly what this thing was, nor whether it contained danger, Lin Yan understood that in the Great Thousand World, whether on Douqi Continent or Tianxuan Continent, when you encountered this kind of situation, you absolutely must not let go—because the next Flame Emperor or Martial Ancestor might just be you!