"An Azure Water Crocodile!"
Azure Water Crocodiles were renowned among low-tier demon beasts, and the burly man from the Giant Sword Sect had certainly heard of them. Now that he had seen one kill his friend effortlessly with a single Water Arrow, he had no doubt about its identity.
He did not dare linger another moment. He hastily slapped a Lightness Talisman onto himself, his speed soaring as he fled at a dead run.
But how could Lin He let him escape just like that? With a pulse of his spiritual sense, he urged the Azure Water Crocodile to spit out another thick Water Arrow.
The burly man had just witnessed the power of that Water Arrow firsthand. Not daring to take it head-on, he hurriedly employed his movement technique and narrowly dodged it.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, however, a thick, powerful tail swept toward him.
The Azure Water Crocodile could do more than spit Water Arrows. It crawled swiftly too, and its tail strikes carried tremendous force.
"Damn it!"
The burly man had no time to dodge. He could only hastily pull out a high-grade Shield and hold it in front of himself.
As a peak level one demon beast, the Azure Water Crocodile already possessed a tough body. Combined with the force of its swinging tail, the impact felt like a massive hammer slamming into him. Without the Shield, he would have been smashed to death in a single blow. Even so, the high-grade Shield shook violently, looking as though it could barely hold.
Just then, a high-grade Flying Sword struck the Shield at precisely the right moment. Already struggling to withstand the assault, the Shield immediately began to crack. Senior Sister Chang had seized the opportunity to attack.
A chill gripped the burly man's heart. Before he could do anything, eight streaks of golden light suddenly descended from above-the Golden Toad Mother-and-Son Blades Lin He had purchased from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
As top-tier magical artifacts, the Child Blades were naturally far beyond that Flying Sword. The golden streaks punched straight through the already fractured high-grade Shield. The burly man barely had time to scream before all eight pierced his body.
Senior Sister Chang drew a deep breath at the sight. A formidable opponent at the peak of the twelfth layer of Qi Refining had been dealt with so easily.
The way she looked at Lin He changed completely, an unconscious trace of fear creeping into her gaze.
Lin He paid no attention to what Senior Sister Chang might be thinking. He immediately collected the two men's Storage Bags, then destroyed their bodies and erased all traces of them. His movements were practiced; clearly, this was not his first time doing such a thing. Senior Sister Chang's heart tightened as she watched. Glancing at the eight stalks of yin spirit grass nearby, she asked tentatively,
"Junior Brother Lin, how should we divide this yin spirit grass?"
Lin He glanced at her. Seeing the unmistakable hint of hope in her eyes, he could not help smiling.
"Since you found this yin spirit grass, Senior Sister Chang, it naturally belongs to you."
"No, no," Senior Sister Chang said, hastily shaking her head. "If you hadn't intervened, Junior Brother Lin, I wouldn't have gotten anything at all. If you don't mind, just give me two stalks. The rest are yours."
Lin He was taken aback. She was actually going to such lengths to please him. It seemed the formidable fighting power he had just displayed had made quite an impression.
Since she was taking the initiative to offer goodwill, Lin He naturally would not refuse. He nodded in agreement. Senior Sister Chang cheerfully picked two stalks, and Lin He took the remaining six without ceremony.
"Senior Sister Chang, what are your plans now?"
Her smile faded at the question. "I'm not like you, Junior Brother. With the Azure Water Crocodile helping you, you can put up a fight even against those powerful opponents. I only have two high-grade magical artifacts, and my strength is meager. I only intend to gather some spirit herbs around the outskirts of the Forbidden Land. I wouldn't dare dream of the spirit medicines in the Central Area, nor do I plan to enter it. I imagine you're heading there, though?"
Senior Sister Chang certainly knew her own limits. Lin He promptly replied, "What you don't know, Senior Sister Chang, is that buying this Azure Water Crocodile nearly bankrupted me. I spent every bit of my savings from all these years. That's why I have to risk a trip into the Central Area. I hope I can earn back a little of what I spent."
Senior Sister Chang did not doubt him. Peak level one demon beasts were rare, and Lin He must have paid a hefty price for his. It was only natural that he wanted to try his luck in the Central Area.
"By the way, Junior Brother Lin, why don't we travel together for now? That way, we'll have someone to watch our backs. Once the Moon-Yang Orb disperses the thick mist in the Central Area on the third day, you can head inside. What do you think?"
With her meager strength, Senior Sister Chang feared encountering another incident like this. Naturally, she wanted an expert like Lin He along to keep her safe.
Whatever his reasoning, Lin He actually agreed to her suggestion. Delighted, she hastily took out her map, checked their bearings, and said,
"Junior Brother Lin, I previously exchanged maps with a disciple from Blade Transformation Valley. I learned that there's a cave several miles southwest of here with quite a few cold spirit flowers inside. But there are plenty of low-tier demon beasts guarding them. We..."
"Cold spirit flowers, then. We can take those back and exchange them for sect rewards, so naturally, we can't pass them up. Let's go have a look."
Lin He had no interest whatsoever in the cold spirit flowers. It was only the mention of demon beasts guarding them that made him decide to go.
Senior Sister Chang walked ahead excitedly, while Lin He followed behind. Watching her back, he silently considered,
The outskirts of the Forbidden Land are full of lower level one demon beasts, so it makes little difference where I go. But if I follow Senior Sister Chang, I should be able to run into those two.
A day later,
Senior Sister Chang was in high spirits, and her gaze was now filled with admiration as she looked at Lin He.
"I never imagined that not only could you command this peak level one Azure Water Crocodile, Junior Brother Lin, but you could also command a whole group of Frost Toads. It's truly unbelievable."
Lin He smiled. "It was just a lucky coincidence. I happened to find a bag of Beast-Driving Powder on the corpse of a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple. It lets me command these lower level one demon beasts for a short time."
Understanding dawned on Senior Sister Chang. She sighed. "You really do have good luck, Junior Brother Lin. Ah, why can't something like that happen to me?"
Despite her sigh, the smile on her face did not diminish in the slightest. With Lin He's help, she had reaped quite a harvest over the past day, picking several varieties of spirit herbs that the sect had specifically requested. Once she returned, she would be able to exchange them for plenty of sect rewards.
Of course, she still yielded most of their gains to Lin He, especially the low-tier demon beasts. He had collected a full forty or fifty of them. Senior Sister Chang naturally had no objections. Without his help, she would never have had the ability to obtain those spirit herbs.
If Junior Brother Lin kept helping me, I'd surely reap a tremendous harvest on this trip to the Forbidden Land. Ah, what a pity he already has Junior Sister Chen. Otherwise...
But Senior Sister Chang merely entertained the thought. After all, Lin He was definitely heading into the Central Area, and she lacked the strength to go there.
Of course, if Junior Brother Lin were still unattached, she would have been willing to sound him out. But he already had Junior Sister Chen as his companion, so she
gave up on the idea completely. Whether in family background or looks, she was far inferior to Junior Sister Chen.
After discussing matters for a while, the two were about to head toward their next destination when a White-Clad Woman suddenly blocked their path. She was reasonably attractive, but her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"Looks like my luck is pretty good. Before I meet up with my grandmaster, I'll use you two to relieve my boredom."