Friend, Please Stay-This Item Is Fated with Me

Lin Xian was speechless. Of course he knew Ye Fan was near the Qing Emperor's Tomb. He even knew Ye Fan was in the Eastern Wasteland, on this Big Dipper star.

The Qing Emperor's Tomb was enormous; the entire Primordial Ruins had once been one of the Azure Emperor's cultivation grounds.

"Dong, dong, dong..."

The golden bell summoning Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven's disciples rang out. Several Other Shore Supreme Elders and the Jade Cauldron Sect Master rose into the air and shouted, "All cultivators of the Divine Bridge Realm, follow me! We head into the depths of the Primordial Ruins—heavenly treasure has emerged!"

The Primordial Ruins had undergone a disturbance. Several nearby Cave Heavens were among the first sects to receive word, and they raced against time, hoping to arrive before anyone else. Even if they could not get a bite of meat, they at least wanted a sip of the broth.

By then, renowned Four Extremes cultivators, Dragon Transformation experts, and even the lofty figures of the Immortal Altar would descend.

Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven would not even get a sip of broth. They did not even qualify to enter.

Streaks of divine rainbow rose into the sky, all of them Divine Bridge Realm cultivators. There were no Life Spring cultivators, because they could not keep up with the speed of the Other Shore cultivators. Going would be pointless.

Everything had happened too suddenly. The Jade Cauldron Sect Master had no time to organize his forces, so Lin Xian took the chance to blend in.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The sounds of tearing through the air rang without pause. Besides Lingxu Cave Heaven, which had entered the Primordial Ruins first due to its geographical advantage, the sect masters and Supreme Elders of Yan Kingdom's five great Cave Heavens had all arrived.

These Other Shore cultivators had no time to exchange words. Each was frantic, charging recklessly into the Primordial Ruins in hopes of getting the first taste of the spoils. The other Divine Bridge cultivators followed after them.

Seeing this, Lin Xian slowed his escape light and reduced his speed, letting everyone move ahead of him. A Wheel of the Sea Secret Realm cultivator attacking the Qing Emperor's Tomb? What a joke.

How was that any different from a Qi Refinement cultivator challenging a Mahayana dungeon? There were seven or eight major realms between them. Not even a Long Aotian protagonist would dare try that.

Even if the Primordial Ruins contained the Yang Tomb the Azure Emperor had specifically left for his descendants, a place to store fortuitous opportunities—essentially a cenotaph—where one could gain opportunities simply by paying respects at the Divine Stele Mausoleum.

It had still been left for the descendants of the demon race. If humans insisted on getting involved, they were doomed to face near-certain death.

"Old Ma, cultivators from a Sacred Land have arrived. Opportunities are hopeless now—staying alive comes first."

Lin Xian sent a Divine Sense transmission to Elder Ma Yun, the only person in Jade Cauldron Cave Heaven with whom he was acquainted, giving him a warning before turning and fleeing without the slightest hesitation.

Those who hesitated when they should act would only bring trouble upon themselves.

Elder Ma Yun looked up in astonishment, and his expression changed drastically at once. Clouds churned in the distant sky as brilliant light flashed. An enormous divine ship forged from Divine Jade tore through the air and rapidly approached.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

In another direction, dozens of divine rainbows blazed a path ahead. Nine Desolate Antiquity savage beasts resembling qilin pulled a jade carriage wreathed in divine radiance through the clouds and mist, producing peals of thunder as they charged over.

The Sacred Land immortal sects had arrived. The Cave Heaven cultivators probably would not even get a sip of broth—and they might even lose their lives.

"Old Lin..." Elder Ma Yun flew outward, about to offer a few words of thanks, but he could no longer detect Lin Xian with his Divine Sense. He could only mutter, "That fleeing speed is even faster than an Other Shore cultivator's."

Lin Xian flew all the way across the battlefield without ever entering the core region. He was searching for a place like Five-Finger Mountain, where the Azure Emperor's descendants had buried a Treasure-Gathering Basin that could draw treasures toward it.

As long as he stood there, he would not need to fight anyone. Treasures would simply fall from the sky. It was practically a holy land for free gains.

After wandering for a long while, Lin Xian looked down, and his face immediately lit up. He did not see Ye Fan, but he did see a rosy-faced fat Daoist. His cultivation was not particularly high, only at the Life Spring realm, yet he held a spirit weapon in his hand. He was utterly delighted, smiling broadly as his fat jiggled.

"Daoist, you look positively radiant." Lin Xian stopped his escape light and stood before Duan De, smiling as he asked, "May I know your honorable surname?"

"My surname is Duan, given name De. You may call me Duan De." Duan De immediately became wary, ready to flee at any moment. He probed, "What does this senior want with this humble Daoist?"

"Nothing. I merely saw that your face was glowing and your steps were light, while a stream of spiritual light surged from the crown of your head. You must be a rare prodigy unseen in ages. May I ask how many years you have cultivated?"

Lin Xian asked with a smile.

"Time spares no one. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years have passed." Duan De sighed, then flattered him, "I cannot compare to Senior, whose cultivation has reached the Divine Bridge Realm."

"You audacious zombie! You are clearly an old corpse that has cultivated for years!" Lin Xian suddenly shouted, "I see that you, old ghost, have died without becoming stiff. Carrying such a murderous dagger, you must be planning to harm the living!"

"Today, I shall capture you, you fiend!"

"Please spare me, Senior!" Having roamed the martial world for years, Duan De immediately understood that Lin Xian was picking a fight over his spirit weapon. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "This humble Daoist has always been kind-hearted and has never committed evil. I am truly a good man."

"I can see that Senior is filled with righteous energy and possesses the bearing of an immortal. If this spirit weapon falls into Senior's hands, it will surely shine brightly and uphold the righteous path of the world."

"Hahaha..." Lin Xian let out a hearty laugh, stepped forward, took Duan De's hand, and said warmly, "Earlier, I did not open my heavenly eye. I merely saw dense yin energy around you and mistook you for some demon or ghost. Now that I have examined you up close, I realize that Daoist Duan De is actually a person."

"What are you saying, Senior?" Duan De cursed inwardly. You're a damn person too.

Still, Duan De was half-convinced by Lin Xian's claim about a heavenly eye. He had spent years conducting archaeological research, so it was impossible for him not to carry some yin energy.

"A source eye, a martial heavenly eye, or some other ocular technique? This place is not safe to linger." Gritting his teeth, Duan De reluctantly handed over the spirit weapon.

"Safe travels, Daoist Duan. How about I see you off?" Lin Xian put away the dagger, smiled faintly, and patted Duan De on the shoulder.

"No need!" Duan De shuddered violently, summoned a divine rainbow, and flew back in the direction he had come from. He cursed under his breath. Why was I so unlucky today? To run into such a jinx—what a damnable Heavenly Venerable.

Quite a few spirit weapons had indeed escaped from the Demon Emperor's Tomb, blazing with radiant light as they shot in every direction. Numerous cultivators rode divine rainbows in pursuit, and the skies above the Primordial Ruins were filled with streaks of light and shadow.

"Whoosh!"

Duan De employed a treasure-seeking method and sharply spotted another streak of spiritual light flying toward Five-Finger Mountain. A little cultivator of twelve or thirteen had golden threads flashing at his fingertips as he swiftly cut through a stone wall and unearthed a blood-red bead. Scarlet radiance immediately burst out in every direction.

"Hahaha, what was lost in one place had been gained in another..."

Duan De was in high spirits. He flew over quickly and said with a smile, "Little friend, we meet again!"

"Damn it!" Ye Fan cursed inwardly. Grabbing the bead wreathed in scarlet radiance, he turned and ran. That dead fat man had just stolen a spirit dagger from him, yet the moment he turned around, he had run into him again.

Enemies really did meet on narrow roads!

"Friend, please stay." Smiling, Duan De stretched out his large hand and said, "This item is fated with this poor Daoist!"

"Daoist, you're bullying people too much." Ye Fan gritted his teeth, wishing he could skin the fat Daoist alive.

"This bead was transformed from a demon. Little friend, you cannot suppress it. This poor Daoist is doing this for your own good and has come specifically to subdue it." Duan De beamed as he stretched out his chubby hand and, with a swish, took the red bead away.

Ye Fan cursed inwardly and could only say, "Daoist, you already took one. Leave this one for me."

"Alas, that spirit weapon from earlier was snatched away by some damned bastard." Duan De said in extreme frustration.

"Ah..." Ye Fan froze. Seeing that Duan De did not seem to be faking it, he could not help laughing. Dead fat man, so you can get robbed too.

"But fortunately, I have you, little friend!" Duan De looked at the bead, and his frustration vanished completely. He burst into laughter and said, "Little friend, you truly are my lucky star."

Ye Fan's face darkened. Smiles did not disappear; they merely moved elsewhere.

Two updates tomorrow, both posted at eight in the evening.