Traveling Together

Ling Qingzhu was the first to rush into the Ancient Tomb Mansion. Having just reached the entrance and about to press deeper inside, her delicate brows suddenly furrowed. Just as she was about to turn around, she sensed an additional presence at her side.

Whoosh!

Ling Qingzhu felt only a light breeze brush past her. The next moment, Lin Xuan, dressed in a coarse white robe, had appeared beside her.

"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Ling must be from one of the Eight Great Super Sects, correct?"

Lin Xuan turned his head and glanced at Ling Qingzhu. As he spoke, he continued deeper inside. After frowning slightly, Ling Qingzhu followed close behind.

"It seems Young Master Lin Xuan knows quite a lot."

"I wonder whether Miss Ling's elders ever told you about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of this Ancient Tomb Mansion?"

Under Ling Qingzhu's gaze, Lin Xuan spoke with a perfectly calm expression. Ling Qingzhu's delicate brows had not relaxed in the slightest upon hearing this.

"What do you mean by that, Young Master Lin Xuan?"

"This Ancient Tomb Mansion was accidentally discovered by my father while searching for an opportunity for me to break through to the Nirvana Realm. However, it drew some attention and thus alerted Miss Ling's elders."

Ling Qingzhu's eyes narrowed slightly. She truly had not known this, though even if she had, she would not have cared. After all, the fact that her master had not forcibly claimed it already counted as giving them considerable face.

"I have no other intentions. I merely wish to say that, for that Nirvana Heart, you and I are each other's only competitors."

Lin Xuan indeed meant nothing else by it. Opportunities such as these depended on fate, and he and Ling Qingzhu happened to be the only two with such a connection to it.

What Lin Xuan had in mind was to make a gentleman's agreement with Ling Qingzhu: whoever won would claim the Nirvana Heart, while the loser could not take advantage of the victor's weakened state!

"So, Young Master Lin Xuan wishes to travel with Qingzhu to the core hall and settle our contest there?"

A glimmer flashed through Ling Qingzhu's eyes. Toward so-called Great Yan Dynasty geniuses such as Lin Langtian and Wang Yan, she had only the courtesy of polite manners.

Of course, it was not that she looked down on them, because from the beginning, they had not belonged to the same world.

Yet Lin Xuan was someone Ling Qingzhu genuinely regarded as a rival from the same world.

After all, despite never receiving the nurturing of a Super Sect, Lin Xuan had attained his current strength and combat power. Even within the Eight Great Super Sects, his talent would absolutely make him a core-seed genius, perhaps even greater than that.

"Although Miss Ling is extremely strong, even stronger than I am, I still wish to try. At the very least, I cannot let my father's painstaking efforts go to waste."

Lin Xuan spoke softly. Though his words admitted inferiority, his expression remained utterly calm.

"Young Master Lin Xuan is too modest. In that case, Qingzhu shall ask for a lesson in your swordsmanship later!"

There was also a hint of fighting spirit in Ling Qingzhu's eyes. After all, the man before her was the first person who had so surprised her, and the first opponent whom even she found troublesome.

"I would not dare call it instruction. When the time comes, I hope Miss Ling will offer me some guidance."

As they spoke, Lin Xuan and Ling Qingzhu had already reached the main hall of the Ancient Tomb Mansion. Facing the six spiritual treasures floating within the light screen before them, neither paused for even a moment, continuing onward into its depths.

After Lin Xuan and Ling Qingzhu had gone on for a while, three figures arrived one after another. They were none other than Lin Langtian, Wang Yan, and Qin Shi.

Upon seeing the full six mid-grade spiritual treasures, a clear fervor flashed through Wang Yan and Qin Shi's eyes. Though such treasures were of no use to them personally, obtaining them would allow them to exchange them within their clans for superior spiritual treasures.

However, after hesitating for only a breath, the three hurried deeper into the Ancient Tomb Mansion once more. That light screen clearly could not be broken in just a few blows, and they did not dare waste any more time.

After all, Lin Langtian and the others had sped onward for so long without seeing Lin Xuan or Ling Qingzhu, which meant the two had certainly gone much farther ahead.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan and Ling Qingzhu had already passed through the field of wooden stakes and arrived in a great hall.

Looking at the talisman puppets before them gradually awakening one after another, Ling Qingzhu's brows lightly furrowed. Just as she was about to act, she saw that Lin Xuan beside her remained completely calm.

"What does Young Master Lin Xuan intend to do?"

"Isn't this place perfect for blocking those irrelevant people?"

Lin Xuan chuckled, causing Ling Qingzhu's Dai Eyebrows to knit together. Looking at the talisman puppets, which had already begun to recover their energy fluctuations, she could not help asking.

"Young Master Lin Xuan intends to pass straight through?"

"Isn't that precisely our competition?"

After glancing at Ling Qingzhu, the Origin Power fluctuations within Lin Xuan's body gradually rose. His Creation Realm Peak cultivation caused Ling Qingzhu's eyes to narrow slightly.

Whoosh!

Immediately afterward, Ling Qingzhu saw a streak of sword light flash continuously before finally coming to a stop at the other end of the hall.

"What incredible speed!"

Ling Qingzhu's pupils contracted. Yet in the next instant, seeing the talisman puppets around her beginning to close in, she too activated the movement technique of the Nine Heavens Great Purity Palace and arrived at Lin Xuan's side.

"Miss Ling's movement technique is truly exquisite! The foundation of a Super Sect really is extraordinary!"

Hearing Lin Xuan's praise, Ling Qingzhu unexpectedly felt a strange feeling rise in her heart.

It was clearly praise, yet Ling Qingzhu somehow felt that something was off. After all, she had needed to rely on the foundation of the Nine Heavens Great Purity Palace to barely make it through safely, while Lin Xuan had crossed with ease on his own.

"Let's go!"

After saying this softly, Ling Qingzhu and Lin Xuan continued deeper inside. Before long, using the same method, they passed through several more halls guarded by talisman puppets and finally arrived before the deepest underground hall.

After passing through the light screen, Lin Xuan and Ling Qingzhu found their vision filled with crimson. An astonishing heat wave came rolling toward them.

Without Ling Qingzhu needing to activate it, a clear radiance automatically rose from the Ancient Azure Sky Lotus beneath her feet, shielding her within and cutting off the external heat.

Lin Xuan beside her, however, seemed entirely unaffected by the scorching aura. He made no move at all, causing Ling Qingzhu's expression to sharpen.

Calmly gazing at the sea of fire before them, Lin Xuan turned toward Ling Qingzhu and spoke with a light smile.

"With Miss Ling's abilities, I imagine this place won't be able to stop you, will it?"

"Likewise, it probably won't be able to stop Young Master Lin Xuan either, right?"

Looking into Lin Xuan's clear eyes, Ling Qingzhu strangely felt as though he had seen through her completely.

"Then shall we enter together?"

"As Young Master Lin Xuan says!"