Demonic Invasion

Upon arriving at his residence, Ye Lin began to take stock of his recent gains.

Of course, the most important item was the Phoenix Egg. Ye Lin took it out and placed it beside him, then brought out the Foundation Establishment Pill, Demon Shadow No Trace, and the final two items: the God-Hiding Bead and the Fire Spirit Stones.

Any one of these items, if leaked to the outside world, would be enough to trigger a bloodbath.

"The Foundation Establishment Pill—I can use this when I break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

Looking at the pill before him, Ye Lin muttered to himself. This Foundation Establishment Pill had been refined during the ancient era; as for the present, the formula for it had long been lost.

In other words, he was the only one who possessed such a pill.

"But what exactly is the use of this God-Hiding Bead?"

Staring at the blue bead in his hand, Ye Lin fell into deep thought. He then slowly injected his spiritual power into it, and suddenly, a strange radiance covered his entire body.

Hiss, this God-Hiding Bead can actually make me invisible? And it can mask every trace of my aura?

After figuring it out, Ye Lin was deeply shocked. The effect of this God-Hiding Bead was simply heaven-defying! Furthermore, once invisible, no one below the Golden Core realm would be able to detect him.

"Perfect. With this treasure, I won't have to panic even if I face Lin Zisheng in the future."

Ye Lin carefully tucked the God-Hiding Bead back into his Spatial Ring; this thing was truly a treasure.

"However, how exactly are you supposed to be hatched?"

At this moment, Ye Lin turned his gaze toward the Phoenix Egg, though he currently had no clue.

The feeling of having a mountain of treasure but being unable to utilize it made him feel incredibly frustrated.

"Phoenix Egg, I possess Phoenix Fire now. Let me try that."

With that thought, Ye Lin began to channel the Phoenix Fire within his dantian. Suddenly, a scorching flame erupted from his body, enveloping the entire Phoenix Egg.

At the same time, the mysterious patterns on the surface of the Phoenix Egg began to glow, and waves of strange energy radiated outward.

"Damn it, stop!"

Ye Lin's expression shifted. The Phoenix Egg before him was greedily absorbing the Phoenix Fire, and the spiritual power within his body had already been drained dry.

The Phoenix Fire required spiritual energy to sustain; now that the egg was absorbing the fire, and the fire was consuming his spiritual energy, he had fallen into a vicious cycle.

If this continued, once his spiritual energy was gone, it would start draining his very lifeblood.

"Screw it, I'll risk it."

Ye Lin gritted his teeth and took out his last remaining Mid-grade Spirit Stone to begin absorbing it. As for the innate spiritual energy in his dantian, that was reserved for his breakthrough to the ninth level of Qi Refining; he couldn't touch that, absolutely not.

The spiritual energy contained within a single Mid-grade Spirit Stone was vast, yet even so, it was drained dry in a mere moment.

However, to Ye Lin's relief, the Phoenix Egg had stopped its absorption, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at the pile of spirit stone powder in his hand, Ye Lin felt like crying. Just like that, it was gone...

"There is a very faint trace of life. This method works."

Ye Lin sensed a weak pulse of life emanating from the previously dead-silent Phoenix Egg. Although it was extremely faint, it was undeniably a sign of life.

This brought a surge of joy to his heart. As long as he could hatch a phoenix, what did wasting a spirit stone matter?

"Right, there's also that Nirvana Fruit from Lin Ziyou. The Nirvana Fruit can heal injuries; perhaps it will be useful for the Phoenix Egg. Never mind, time to start cultivating."

Having settled his thoughts, Ye Lin closed his eyes and began to absorb the innate spiritual energy in his dantian with all his might.

In the blink of an eye, eight days passed.

"Such powerful strength. Innate spiritual energy—it truly lives up to its reputation."

That day, Ye Lin opened his eyes and looked at his robust arms, unable to help but exclaim in admiration.

Strengthened by the innate spiritual energy, he was even more formidable than an average ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

Combined with his various methods, he had few rivals among those at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Right, the Fire Spirit Stones."

Suddenly remembering something, Ye Lin looked toward the bedside, only to find that the three Fire Spirit Stones that had been lying there were now gone.

"Where are my Fire Spirit Stones?"

Ye Lin shifted his gaze to the Phoenix Egg nearby and saw that the life force within it had grown stronger. Realizing his Fire Spirit Stones had vanished, he felt a mix of sorrow and joy.

"Little guy, you've eaten so many of my resources; you'd better reward me well when you hatch."

Ye Lin stroked the Phoenix Egg with a sigh. As he spoke, the egg wobbled slightly, as if in response to him.

"Phew, now that the Phoenix Egg has a life force, it can no longer be kept inside the Spatial Ring."

Ye Lin looked at the egg and pondered for a moment.

The Spatial Ring could only store inanimate objects, not living things.

"I'll have to hide it."

To ensure its safety, Ye Lin dug a large hole in his residence, placed the Phoenix Egg inside, and covered it with soil.

"This is all I can do for now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

After finishing, Ye Lin clapped his hands together.

"Junior Brother Ye, are you there? Junior Brother Ye?"

At this moment, a voice rang out from outside the door.

"What is it?"

Ye Lin frowned as he stepped forward to open the door, only to see a disciple with an unfamiliar face standing before him.

"Junior Brother Ye, the Sect Master has summoned all Inner Sect disciples to the main hall for a meeting."

"I understand."

Hearing this, Ye Lin nodded with a grave expression. Had things truly reached such a dire point? He didn't need to think twice to know it must be about the demons.

"In that case, I shall be off; I still need to notify the other brothers."

"Go safely, Senior Brother. I will arrive immediately."

Ye Lin nodded, and a transparent panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Liu Ming

Cultivation: Ninth Level of Qi Refining

Fate Rank: Green

Destiny: None (Mediocre)

Fate: Descends the mountain tomorrow to slay demons, only to have his life essence drained dry by a demon and perish.

Recent Opportunity: None

Watching the panel of the departing Liu Ming, Ye Lin felt a jolt of shock.

Back when he was in the Outer Sect, he had already discovered that many disciples had died at the hands of demons. Now, had it reached the Inner Sect disciples as well?

But what exactly were these demons? He would have to go to the main hall to find out.

With that thought, Ye Lin dared not delay. He tidied himself up and headed toward the main hall.

At this moment, twenty Inner Sect disciples stood in the sect's main hall, along with the three direct disciples at the front. Standing at the very center of the hall's dais was an old man, flanked by three other elders.

"It seems all disciples not in seclusion have arrived. Let us begin."

After one of the elders spoke, the old man in the center nodded and began to address them.

"Everyone, demons have appeared within the territory under the jurisdiction of our Azure Cloud Sect."

"These demons are descendants of ancient great fiends. They are inherently cruel and feed on humans. Already, several cities have been ravaged by these demon invasions, and the number of dead is beyond counting."

"As cultivators, we must not stand idly by. I hereby announce that starting today, you are all to descend the mountain to slay these demons."

As the elder above finished speaking, a fighting spirit ignited within the other disciples. We, as cultivators, should naturally slay demons and defend the righteous path.

"Very well, the notice has been issued. Of course, we will not have you act in vain. Slaying a demon below the fifth level of Qi Refining will be rewarded with ten Low-Tier Spirit Stones; those above the fifth level of Qi Refining will be rewarded with fifty Low-Tier Spirit Stones."

"Slay the demons, defend the path! Slay the demons, defend the path!"

Once the Sect Master finished his sentence, the disciples roared in unison. They were desperately short of resources—very, very short—and the sect's offer was exactly what they wanted.

Ye Lin, standing at the very back, felt his heart pounding. He had checked the panels of every single person in this group, and not one of them returned alive. This was utterly absurd.

"Good! With all of you, how could our sect not flourish?"

Watching the disciples in such a state, the Sect Master nodded with satisfaction.