Greed and Fear

Everyone held their breath, all eyes focusing on Lin Ji's right foot suspended in mid-air. Time seemed to stretch; one breath, two breaths... The invisible barrier above the steps seemed to transform into a quagmire, trapping him fast and leaving him unable to advance or retreat.

Right at this moment, a sudden change occurred—

A streak of bloody, fierce light suddenly appeared from the void, like a poisonous snake thrusting its tongue, shooting out and lunging straight for Lin Ji's ankle! Its speed was so fast that it practically tore the air, emitting a piercing screech. The light flashed and vanished, instantly merging into his body.

Everyone's heart tightened, all of them assuming that the next moment would be the time when his body disintegrated and flesh scattered everywhere. Some timid righteous sect disciples even closed their eyes, unable to bear the sight of flying flesh and blood.

However, the expected tragic scene did not happen.

At the critical moment, a pitch-dark-red token carved all over with bizarre runes suddenly emerged from between Lin Ji's eyebrows, hovering in mid-air and slowly rotating.

A thread of bloody radiance lingered uncertainly upon it, exuding a profound and majestic aura that guarded the youth's entire body watertight. As for Lin Ji himself, his expression remained unchanged, and not even the corner of his garment had stirred.

"The Blood Corpse Sect Leader's token! Who... exactly are you?"

The artifact spirit's voice revealed uncertainty for the first time, carrying even a trace of hard-to-conceal tremor as it echoed within the empty main hall and slammed into everyone's eardrums.

Yet Lin Ji acted as if he hadn't heard.

He seemed to have anticipated this matter long ago; the moment the blood thread sank in and the token manifested, that binding force abruptly dissipated.

Without the slightest