During the entire Forbidden Land Trial, cultivators could roughly be divided into three categories.
The first category consisted of low-cultivation disciples from various sects at the tenth and eleventh layers of Qi Refining. They sat at the bottom rung, forced to enter the trial for various special reasons.
The second category possessed the twelfth and thirteenth layers of cultivation. Though higher than the first group, their strength fell short of the top experts from the various sects. Naturally at a disadvantage when competing for spiritual herbs in the central region, they set their sights on the first category instead, attempting to kill people and seize treasures.
The third category comprised the peak disciples of the various sects. Although few in number, they occupied the absolute apex of the pyramid. Their goal was the spiritual herbs in the central area, yet they also wished to weed out anyone trying to fish in troubled waters beforehand, so they turned their sights onto the first and second categories.
Thus, after entering the forbidden land, the third and second categories would initiate a massive purge targeting the first category, much like Senior Sister Chang at this very moment.
A burly man from the Giant Sword Sect and a Daoist priest from the Qingxu Sect were currently looking at Senior Sister Chang with ill intent.
"What do the two of you mean by this? I discovered these Yin Spirit Grass plants first, and even everything else has to follow the principle of first-come, first-served."
Senior Sister Chang pointed at the eight spiritual herbs nearby that exuded a frigid aura. Although this Yin Spirit Grass was not a material for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, it could still be exchanged for rewards within the sect.
Senior Sister Chang had arrived a step early and was just about to harvest them when she ran into the two men opposite her.
Seeing this, the burly Giant Sword Sect man's expression sank as he said, "First-come, first-served? In this Forbidden Land Trial, there is only the distinction of who wields the bigger fist. What talk is there of who came first and who came last?"
The Qingxu Sect Daoist priest agreed with his friend's sentiment, stepping forward to say, "This poor Daoist shares the same view. However, benefactor Hu, you dislike killing women, so I shall play the villain."
The burly Giant Sword Sect man remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to the matter. The Daoist priest chuckled, casually taking out a pair of High-Grade Magical Artifact Flame Flying Forks, and with a simple point of his finger, the flying forks immediately surged forward trailing a string of sparks.
Senior Sister Chang frowned and hastily produced a high-grade ring. The ring instantly enlarged to block in front of her, colliding with the Flame Flying Forks and emitting a continuous chain of booming sounds.
"Hoh, it actually turns out to be a high-grade magical artifact. It seems this poor Daoist has good luck today."
The Qingxu Sect Daoist priest was pleasantly surprised instead of alarmed. He frantically urged the formidable magical power of the twelfth layer of Qi Refining to its peak, and those Flame Flying Forks entangling with the huge ring in midair suddenly blazed with spiritual light as if they had consumed a potent divine medicine, pressing down on the enormous ring until it rang with clashing impacts.
Simultaneously, a scorching, intense heat spread outward from the flying forks, causing Senior Sister Chang to feel a bout of parched dryness and turn deathly pale.
Naturally, Senior Sister Chang possessed more than just these means, but out of caution that the burly Giant Sword Sect man had yet to make a move, she still held back thirty percent of her strength and could not unleash her full power.
Damnable, fighting two against one, I hold no advantage whatsoever. It seems I can only abandon these Yin Spirit Grass plants.
A hand Senior Sister Chang kept behind her back quietly felt for an Earth-Escaping Talisman, preparing to activate the talisman and flee.
Just at that moment, the hitherto silent burly Giant Sword Sect man suddenly shouted in anger, "Who is there? Get out here!"
Startled by the cry, the Qingxu Sect Daoist priest quickly looked in the direction the burly Giant Sword Sect man was watching. He saw a handsome young man in yellow robes suddenly emerge from the weed-choked brush-none other than Lin He!
Spotting Lin He, the Daoist priest immediately cast the Heavenly Eye Technique to examine him, subsequently revealing an expression of wild elation. The burly Giant Sword Sect man also breathed a sigh of relief, evidently having seen through Lin He's eleventh-layer Qi Refining cultivation.
"Junior Brother Lin!"
Upon seeing Lin He, Senior Sister Chang was first startled with joy, but immediately followed that by frowning as if thinking of something.
The cultivation levels of both the Qingxu Sect Daoist priest and the burly Giant Sword Sect man were at the peak of the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, while she herself was at the mid twelfth layer, and Lin He possessed merely the eleventh layer. The gap between both sides was truly not small.
Following the map guidance provided by the Spirit Beast Mountain disciple, Lin He had successfully captured twenty Frost Toads. Having succeeded twice in a row, Lin He was making his way toward the next location when he bumped into this Senior Sister Chang halfway.
If it were anyone else, Lin He could not care less, but this Senior Sister Chang was a close confidante of Senior Sister Chen, so he naturally could not stand by and watch her die.
Lin He arrived beside Senior Sister Chang, making no attempt to conceal his voice, "Senior Sister Chang, once the fight starts, just protect yourself well and leave the rest to me."
"What?" Senior Sister Chang stood there in a daze, as if she had misheard, and failed to react in time.
The Daoist priest and the burly man opposite clearly heard him. The burly man merely sneered, entirely unconcerned.
Instead, the Daoist priest flew into a rage and said, "A mere eleventh layer of Qi Refining, and you want to imitate heroes saving the damsel in distress? I see you can barely protect yourself, yet you're still running your mouth here, you-"
The Daoist priest wanted to continue spouting arrogant words, but Lin He opposite him had already made his move.
He immediately chanted an incantation to cast the Wind-Riding Art. His speed surged instantly as he rapidly closed in on the Daoist priest.
"Hmph, you are courting death!"
Lin He's such arrogant action made the Daoist priest's expression sink. He hurriedly recalled the pair of Flame Flying Forks, directing them to fly toward Lin He.
Seeing this, Senior Sister Chang hastily urged her ring to intercept them, yet the two opponents seemed unaccustomed to cooperating for the first time; their coordination was seamless. A black greatsword instantly flew out from the burly Giant Sword Sect man's hand, actually achieving a preemptive strike by arriving late to intercept and block the ring.
Senior Sister Chang's expression shifted at the sight, but the burly Giant Sword Sect man's strength surpassed even that of the Daoist priest, leaving her with no spare energy to support Lin He.
At the same time, the red light of the Flame Flying Forks flared brilliantly at this moment. Evidently, enraged, the Daoist priest had driven them with his full power. The flying forks moved with extreme speed, reaching Lin He's back in the blink of an eye, on the verge of succeeding in a sneak attack.
Seeing this, Senior Sister Chang could not help letting out a gasp of alarm. Yet Lin He never turned back at all, merely casually taking out a shield to block behind him. With a single clanging sound, that pair of Flame Flying Forks actually spun around several times in midair, easily batted back by the shield.
The Daoist priest was utterly astonished, completely failing to anticipate such a situation. Terrified that Lin He would seize the opportunity to rapidly approach him for close-quarters assassination, he found it strange that after blocking the attack of the Flame Flying Forks, Lin He instead stood his ground and remained unmoving.
He watched as Lin He stroked the shield, fixing him with the gaze one might reserve for a dead man.
"Dodge quickly!"
The burly Giant Sword Sect man, currently fighting Senior Sister Chang, seemed to have sensed something and hurriedly shouted a warning, but it was already too late!
A thick water arrow shot out from the brush where Lin He had just appeared. The Daoist priest had been devoting his entire focus and attention to dealing with Lin He and completely failed to sense such a tricky ambush. By the time he reacted, he lacked even the time to activate a talisman; the water arrow pierced straight through his chest, leaving behind a massive, bloody cavern before he toppled to the ground, breathing his last breath.
As the Daoist priest fell to the ground, the figure of a peak tier-one spirit beast, the Azure Water Crocodile, was finally exposed.
Senior Sister Chang stared in disbelief at the abruptly appearing Azure Water Crocodile, while an unprecedented chill rose from the depths of the burly Giant Sword Sect man's heart.