The Journey Begins

"Cousin Yiqing, are you... are you alright?"

Lin Dong had just steadied himself when his gaze swept across the scene. He was struck by a wave of horror; the mangled corpses of Lin Mang and the Blade God Gang members, combined with the shattered debris littering the ground, all pointed to a fierce battle that had taken place here.

Moreover, it was clearly a one-sided slaughter.

He wondered what kind of person could possess such strength.

In Qingyang Town, he had never heard of such a figure.

He scanned his surroundings in a daze, but unfortunately, he saw no other strangers present.

"Cousin Lin Dong, it has been a long time. What brings you here?"

Lin Yiqing looked at Lin Dong, who had appeared on the scene, with some surprise before asking.

"I heard from Lin Changqiang that Lin Shan and his father had tracked you down. I hurriedly begged my father to come and save you, but I didn't expect..."

Hearing this, Lin Dong spoke quickly. Although he and Lin Yiqing were not particularly close, he could not help but beg his father to intervene when he heard the other was in trouble.

After all, when it came down to it, this was a "family scandal" for the Lin Family. He could not bear to stand by and watch his own kin slaughter one another.

However, he had not expected that when he arrived, Lin Yiqing would be unscathed, while Lin Mang's family was already dead.

Lin Yiqing studied the middle-aged man and Lin Dong for a moment, and he instantly understood. It seemed that, unsurprisingly, this man must be Lin Dong's father, the third master of the Lin Family, Lin Xiao.

However, Lin Xiao's facial muscles were taut, and his eyes held a trace of helplessness and sorrow, making one feel the weight of his heavy and painful heart.

"Haa!"

With a long sigh, Lin Xiao walked over to Lin Mang's corpse and closed his eyes. He then stood up and asked, "What exactly happened here?"

His brows were tightly locked, and his eyes had lost their luster, becoming dim and vacant. Although Lin Mang had sometimes pushed him aside, he was, after all, his own half-brother. Now that both father and son were dead, a surge of anger burned within him.

"I killed them."

Lin Yiqing did not intend to hide it and admitted it directly. When it came down to it, the Lin Shan brothers had provoked him first, and Lin Mang had intended to kill him to seize his treasures. From beginning to end, he had only been forced to retaliate.

"I believe you have heard of the matters between Lin Shan, Lin Hong, and me. But after I left the Lin Family, Lin Mang sent men to hunt me down, and today, he even personally ambushed me. I merely fought back."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao turned his head abruptly, his eyes staring fixedly at Lin Yiqing, as if trying to see if there was any sign of a lie in his eyes.

After staring at each other for a while, Lin Xiao finally gave up. The young man's brown eyes were clear, yet they hid a unique, untamable spirit; one could almost see his stubbornness within them.

"Sigh, forget it. Go! Go far away and never return to the Lin Family again. I will explain the matter of their father and son for you. This is all the fruit of their own actions—cause and effect!"

Lin Xiao waved his hand heavily, then said no more, focusing only on stepping forward to collect the bodies.

"Cousin Yiqing, take care of yourself!"

Lin Dong's heart was in turmoil. He had not expected that Lin Yiqing was the powerhouse who had single-handedly killed Lin Mang. After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward and whispered. He had not expected things to reach this point.

Admittedly, Lin Mang and the others had brought this upon themselves, but after this, Lin Yiqing had completely severed ties with the Lin Family.

Lin Yiqing looked at Lin Dong's resolute face and could not help but smile. He had to admit that Lin Dong was a man of integrity and justice; his repeated assistance had moved him.

"Cousin Lin Dong, I will remember your two acts of kindness. Take this as a gift!"

With that, he took an old book from his Universe Bag and tossed it over. It was the Lesser Red Sun Scripture.

"Cousin Lin Yun, you and I had originally agreed to study this technique together, but you betrayed me. I will spare your life now, but this item has nothing to do with you anymore. Get lost!"

Lin Yiqing glared at Lin Yun, who wore a bitter expression and could only nod in agreement. This was all his own doing.

With this, the grievances between Lin Yiqing and Lin Shan's family were settled.

Outside Qingyang Town, by the ancient road.

Sunlight poured down through the gaps in the branches, reflecting off the gnarled limbs and weathered bark of the ancient trees, looking like a series of picturesque paintings.

Under such beautiful scenery, Lin Yiqing's mind suddenly opened up, and the pressure brought by his desperate cultivation during this period eased significantly.

Walking leisurely along the main road, Lin Yiqing began to calculate his own cultivation. He was severely lacking in martial arts; if he could obtain high-level martial arts or spiritual secret techniques, he would have a measure of self-preservation with his late Earth Origin Realm strength and his status as a Second Seal Rune Master.

"It seems I must go and acquire some high-level martial arts."

Lin Yiqing tallied his options, but the only martial art he could currently show off was the Wood Sword Art, and it was only a second-grade technique.

However, since he had left the Lin Family, the most important question now was where to go. This was a very serious problem.

Suddenly, Lin Yiqing thought of the "Devouring Ancestral Rune" through his spiritual power. This was a true supreme divine object of this plane.

He remembered that Lin Dong had embarked on his journey to the Great Wilderness Prefecture after reaching the Great Circle of the Origin Pellet Realm at around eighteen, in order to defeat his nemesis, Lin Langtian, in the Lin Clan competition two years later.

In the Great Wilderness Prefecture, Lin Dong had also spent nearly two years delayed by the Great Wilderness Ancient Monument and the Devouring Ancestral Rune, with the monument alone taking up over a year, only managing to make it to the Lin Clan competition at the very last moment.

But everything was different now. He, Lin Yiqing, had arrived, and the current Lin Dong was only fourteen or fifteen, just at the stage of having obtained the Ancestor Stone.

This meant there were at least four or five years left. The Devouring Ancestral Rune must still be inside the Great Wilderness Ancient Monument at this moment, and the Yinkui Sect had not yet obtained it.

There was still hope for everything!

Thinking of this, Lin Yiqing could not help but grow excited. Fortunately, he had read the original story many times; otherwise, this opportunity would have been truly difficult to grasp!

The original text recorded that the Great Wilderness Ancient Monument opened every three years. Based on age, if the opening Lin Dong caught was when he was nineteen, then three years prior would have been when he was around sixteen.

There was about a year or two left until the opening; if he rushed to the Great Wilderness Prefecture now, he would definitely make it!

If he could obtain the Devouring Ancestral Rune, the help it would provide him would be immeasurable. That ability to refine and devour everything, paired with his own peerless talent—hiss...

"It is settled then. I shall journey toward the Great Wilderness Prefecture and strive to seize the Devouring Ancestral Rune!"

A look of excitement surfaced in Lin Yiqing's eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. Since he had the fortune to arrive in this world, he was determined to ascend to the pinnacle of the strong!

Over the next few days, Lin Yiqing proceeded through the forest with caution, avoiding many adventurous cultivators and demonic beasts along the way, and minimizing bloodshed even when he did encounter them.

One could never be sure what high-level demonic beasts or ruthless individuals might be lurking in the forest; when traveling abroad, he could not afford to be anything but prudent.

However, this approach also served to hone his use of spiritual energy. Previously, time had been too tight, but now, through deliberate exploration, he could keep his spiritual energy in a constant state of activity, allowing him to sense the slightest movement in his surroundings at the first sign of disturbance.

I wonder just how miraculous that spiritual secret technique might be!

Lin Yiqing could not help but feel a sense of anticipation.