Ancient Soul

"Rat?"

Inside the mysterious Stone Talisman Space, Lin Dong stared at the black rat before him in astonishment. He had never expected that what was hidden inside this mysterious space would be a rat.

Hearing Lin Dong's startled exclamation, the black rat's fur bristled all over. Its rice-grain-sized eyes fixed on Lin Dong as it shouted furiously.

"You bastard! You're the rat! Your whole family's rats!"

"A talking rat?"

Lin Dong was startled again. It was his first time seeing a rat that could talk. The black rat grew even angrier at his words, but seemed rather wary of Lin Dong and could only shout,

"I, Lord Marten, am the famous Heavenly Demon Marten! Know what a Heavenly Demon Marten is? I'm not a rat, you ignorant brat!"

Seeing that the rat calling itself a Heavenly Demon Marten was furious but still didn't dare approach him, Lin Dong felt a little more confident. He spoke softly.

"You seem afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you? Hahahaha, ha... gah!"

The black marten laughed up at the sky as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. But the next moment, when he saw the invisible little needle in front of Lin Dong, his laughter abruptly stopped.

With a whoosh, the black marten put some distance between himself and Lin Dong. Staring at Lin Dong nervously, he spoke in a noticeably shriller voice.

"What are you trying to do, brat? Sure, you got this mysterious Stone Talisman, but I was its previous owner, after all. Me living here doesn't get in your way, so don't push me."

At that, Lin Dong stared at the Heavenly Demon Marten before him with an amused expression. He hadn't expected the Heavenly Demon Marten to be the previous owner of the mysterious Stone Talisman.

Uncomfortable under Lin Dong's gaze, the Heavenly Demon Marten backed away another two steps. Only after reaching what he felt was a safe enough distance did he plop down and speak.

"What exactly do you want, brat? I may only have a single demonic spirit left, but if you push me too far, I'll blow up right along with you. Believe me?"

"A demonic spirit?"

Lin Dong had heard that some extraordinarily powerful demonic beasts could condense demonic spirits. Could this so-called Heavenly Demon Marten before him really have been such a powerful being?

If that was the case, perhaps he could give it a try. Maybe the Heavenly Demon Marten could deal with the Blood Robe Sect, which was about to come after him.

With that thought, Lin Dong suddenly asked the Heavenly Demon Marten,

"You were awakened by me, weren't you?"

The little marten pursed his lips and answered with disdain.

"Bah, don't flatter yourself, brat. If it weren't for that Ancestral Fire Demonic Flower, you'd never have laid eyes on Lord Marten in your whole life."

"So you did awaken because of me. Since that's the case, it shouldn't be too much to ask you for a favor, right?"

Lin Dong seized on the loophole in the little marten's words. At that, the little marten immediately grew wary. He eyed Lin Dong suspiciously and asked,

"You're not thinking of taking my demonic spirit, are you?"

"A demonic spirit? What's that good for?"

Lin Dong asked curiously. The little marten seemed to realize he'd let something slip and quickly waved his little paw.

"Uh, well, it's no use. No use at all..."

As he spoke, the little marten saw that Lin Dong really didn't seem to know and felt relieved.

Lin Dong didn't dwell on it. Instead, he looked curiously at the little marten before him, his expression turning more serious as he asked softly,

"Why are you here? Don't try to lie to me. I think it would be best if we were honest with each other, trusted each other, and helped each other. That would be better for both of us."

"All right, you do have a point, brat."

The little marten nodded lightly. His demonic spirit was indeed very weak right now, and he needed someone to help him restore it.

Besides, if something happened to Lin Dong and someone else took control of the mysterious Stone Talisman, the little marten couldn't be sure the next person wouldn't set their sights on his demonic spirit.

"I was the previous owner of this mysterious Stone Talisman. But I hadn't had it for long before I was hunted down. In the end, I had no choice but to self-destruct and hide my demonic spirit inside the Stone Talisman, then tear through space and flee."

"Then you must have been really powerful before?"

Hearing the words "tear through space," something he couldn't even imagine, Lin Dong's eyes lit up. He looked at the little marten with anticipation.

The little marten casually waved a paw, as though it didn't matter, and said,

"Nothing special. At my peak, I could've farted and blown a thousand or ten thousand people like you to kingdom come."

Lin Dong rolled his eyes. He didn't really believe him, but he did believe that the Heavenly Demon Marten had been far stronger in life than his grandfather. Perhaps he'd even been a powerful figure in the Three Realms of Creation.

With the attitude of having nothing to lose, Lin Dong asked the little marten hopefully,

"Do you have any way to help me defeat a powerhouse at the Lesser Perfection of the Yuan Dan Realm?"

"Someone at the Lesser Perfection of the Yuan Dan Realm counts as a powerhouse? And why go picking fights with people when you're this weak, brat?"

The little marten rolled his eyes. Lin Dong had no choice but to tell him about the feud between the Lin Family and the Blood Robe Sect. The little marten's heart sank immediately.

From Lin Dong's description, that Wei Tong of the Blood Robe Sect didn't sound like a good person. If that foolish brat Lin Dong got killed, the little marten's demonic spirit might not survive either.

"You were so powerful at your peak. Didn't you say you could fart and blow away people at the Primal Core Realm? You should have some way to deal with Wei Tong, right?"

If Lin Dong had said that to him earlier, the little marten would have been delighted. But now, all he could manage was an awkward expression.

"Well, uh... That was when I was alive. Right now, I've only got a single demonic spirit left, and I just woke up..."

Lin Dong's expression dimmed. He didn't even curse the little marten for bragging, only sighing in disappointment.

That sigh of disappointment made the little marten feel indignant. Not to save the brat, but simply to prove himself, he said with displeasure,

"What do you mean by that, brat? You don't trust Lord Marten?"

"You have a way?"

Lin Dong froze, then hurriedly looked up at the little marten. A hint of hope appeared in his eyes.

"Of course. Deep inside the Stone Talisman Space, an Ancient Soul lies dormant. First, see if you can wake him up. If you can't, then Lord Marten will risk his life to drive off that bastard Wei Tong for you."

The little marten was throwing caution to the wind. If Lin Dong was done for, his demonic spirit would probably get devoured by that Wei Tong too. So he might as well fight.

Looking at the little marten's seemingly unconcerned expression, Lin Dong felt a surge of emotion in his heart. He said solemnly,

"Don't worry. If it really comes to it, I'll run. Once we get stronger, we'll come back and make that bastard Wei Tong pay!"