Obtaining the Remnant Map

"I am Xu An! As for my origins, you don't need to know for now."

Sensing that Hai Bodong had dispersed his Dou Qi, as though he had temporarily given up resisting, Lin Yuan's eyes turned sharp. With a thought, he used the Pill Flame Technique to form the Azure Spirit Flame. Then the hand seals of his right hand changed, and a mass of purplish-red energy was released from his Natal Blood Pill. The purplish-red energy fused into the flame, and the flame immediately transformed into a small, nimble Dragon-shaped Fire Spirit.

"Heavenly Fire Tribulation, Ancient Dragon Spirit Suppressing Seal."

The Dragon-shaped Fire Spirit easily entered Hai Bodong's undefended body and turned into a seal. As the seal took shape, Hai Bodong's aura rapidly fell, finally dropping to the Da Dou Shi level.

"Looks like this sealing technique is basically completed. If I get the chance, I'll study the sealing technique Queen Medusa placed and see whether there are any areas that can be improved." Sensing Hai Bodong's aura, a trace of satisfaction appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes.

The Ancient Dragon Spirit Suppressing Seal was a unique sealing technique Lin Yuan had created after referencing many sealing-type Dou Techniques and combining them with what he had learned. It could seal another person's Dou Qi cultivation, and the caster could detonate the energy of the seal to directly cause devastating damage to the sealed person from within their body.

As Lin Yuan's cultivation of the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art deepened, his understanding of Magical Beast bloodlines had increased greatly, and he had developed some methods of using the Natal Blood Pill. After referencing some sealing-type Dou Techniques of the human race, he had finally reproduced and completed a unique sealing technique similar to this kind of inheritance sealing technique from Magical Beast bloodlines.

As the seal was completed, Lin Yuan also dispersed the Dou Qi in his left hand and withdrew it.

Feeling the decline of his own Dou Qi, Hai Bodong seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, and his face instantly turned pale. At the same time, he understood that he had completely lost any chance to resist. Forcing himself to stay composed, Hai Bodong asked in a dry voice, "What did Your Excellency do? And what do you want?"

"What did I do? Don't worry. I merely added another seal to you, Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong," Lin Yuan chuckled.

Hearing the young man before him call out his name, Hai Bodong's heart could not help but sink, and he thought to himself, Not good. This wasn't by chance. This person came for me. Looks like I won't escape disaster this time.

"As for what I want, it is not yet time to tell you the details. However, I can tell you that the Jia Ma Empire has already fallen into a vortex. Some colossi are about to place their pieces here, and the faction I represent is one of them. And you are the collaborator I have chosen." Lin Yuan deliberately acted mysterious and began his art of deception.

"Collaborator? Is this how Your Excellency treats a collaborator? Seizing your collaborator's belongings and sealing your collaborator's strength—is this Your Excellency's way of cooperating?" Hai Bodong asked the young man before him with some ridicule.

Lin Yuan didn't care at all about the ridicule in Hai Bodong's words and answered him quite honestly, "I took your thing because I need it. I sealed your strength because it makes it easier to control your actions. Right now, my strength surpasses yours, so I will naturally carry out my own intentions. If our positions were reversed, Your Excellency would not do anything much different from me. After all, this is the fundamental law of the Dou Qi Continent, where the strong are respected."

"Then should this old man also thank you for being willing to spare this old man's life? For giving this old man a chance to work for you?" After hearing Lin Yuan's honest answer, although Hai Bodong himself acknowledged the principle in his words that the strong were respected, and if their positions were reversed, he would certainly have forced the young man before him to reveal what he knew about that remnant map, when the matter occurred to him, he still could not help but retort sarcastically.

"There is no need to thank me. Also, it is not working for me, but cooperation—a mutually beneficial cooperation. I hope we can establish this cooperative relationship, and Your Excellency's life is one of the signs of sincerity from our side." Lin Yuan's tone was gentle, but the meaning within his words was extremely cold.

"In other words, if we cannot reach cooperation, I will die, right?" Although it was a question, Hai Bodong already had the answer in his heart.

Hai Bodong had already understood the implication in Lin Yuan's earlier words. Although the young man before him had a gentle tone and spoke calmly, the coldness in his attitude, the kind that would cut things off decisively when needed, was especially chilling.

"You can understand it that way. In addition, I will trouble Ice Emperor to hand over the other part of the remnant map. That map still has another part in your hands, doesn't it?" Lin Yuan calmly looked into Hai Bodong's eyes.

When Hai Bodong heard this, his eyes shrank. Then he sneered, "If you want the map, that will depend on your sincerity. Back then, after exhausting all my schemes to obtain this remnant map in the desert, I used my many years of experience in mapmaking to perfectly divide it into two pieces. One of them was the one you took earlier, and as for the other one... hehe."

"Forget it. I'll take it myself!" Lin Yuan directly cut off Hai Bodong's words.

"Freeze."

With a light shout from Lin Yuan, a wondrous fluctuation came from the Natal Blood Pill in his body. The seal inside Hai Bodong beside him seemed to sense this fluctuation. A stream of purple charm flowed, releasing a special pressure. Hai Bodong, who had already fallen to the Da Dou Shi level, could not resist this pressure and was instantly suppressed until he could not move at all.

Lin Yuan calmly took Hai Bodong's storage ring, then released Hai Bodong and handed the storage ring to him. Lin Yuan said indifferently, "Take the thing out. Believe me, even if you do not do it yourself, I have ways to take out what is inside. It is just that when the time comes, old sir, your losses will be great."

As he spoke, Lin Yuan released his powerful Soul Power and completely locked onto Hai Bodong, letting him feel it. At the same time, he condensed a powerful Dou Qi deterrence. As long as Hai Bodong made any unusual movement, he would kill him on the spot.

"This kind of Soul Power... a High-Level Alchemist. Sigh." Hai Bodong sensed this powerful Soul Power. It was forceful enough to wipe away his Soul Imprint on the storage ring. He sighed helplessly, rubbed his finger over the storage ring, and then a small piece of extremely ancient-looking yellowed parchment flashed into his hand.

"Here. This time, this old man admits defeat. But how did you confirm that this map was definitely in this old man's storage ring?" Feeling that Lin Yuan had already locked his killing intent completely onto him, Hai Bodong did not dare to make any extra move and handed the remnant map to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan dispersed his Soul Power. After confirming that it was a fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Map, he put it into his storage ring. Only then did his tense heart relax, and his tone also became a bit lighter. "Because if it were me, I would do the same. After all, for the strong, the person most worth trusting in this world is oneself. Naturally, important things should be carried personally.

After a pause, Lin Yuan added a sentence, "Moreover, it was just a try. If it failed, there would be no loss, right?"

"You were not afraid this old man would fight you to mutual destruction?" Hai Bodong stared deeply at Lin Yuan, as though trying to see through the young man before him.

Lin Yuan chuckled. "The fish may die, but the net will not break." His calm words were filled with Absolute Confidence. "Moreover, would a strong person who could cultivate to the Dou Emperor level in a remote and backward place like the Northwestern Continent and become the once-renowned Ice Emperor give up his life so easily?" Lin Yuan asked in return.

When Hai Bodong heard this, his eyes shrank. He did not reply, but his mind was constantly pondering. He calls the Northwestern Continent a remote and backward place. Looks like this person is from another region. Could it be... the Central Plains? Those that this kid would call colossi—could they be the great factions of the Central Plains? Placing pieces? What does he mean? What exactly is happening in the Jia Ma Empire?

Lin Yuan took a look at Hai Bodong, who was in the middle of a mental storm, guessing that he was most likely imagining all sorts of things. This effect was also what he needed.

"Using both kindness and authority—the authority is already enough. Next comes the kindness, and I can also add some fuel to his imagination. I'll place a piece first. Hai Bodong is indeed quite a useful fulcrum for prying open the Jia Ma Empire. He may come in handy for future schemes against that old demon, Protector Wu." Lin Yuan quietly worked through his little calculations and made up his mind.

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