A clear objective

There were now twelve people inside the Bodhi Grotto-Heaven.

Five of them had been chosen by the grotto-heaven to enter. The other seven had simply been lucky enough to be beside Lin Jing when it descended, slipping inside before it had fully taken shape.

In a sense, fortune had smiled upon them, too.

Seeing that nobody paid him any attention, the body cultivator clad in beast hide curled his lip and headed straight toward the Golden Bodhi Tree.

"Within the Bodhi Grotto-Heaven, the golden bodhi offers the best enlightenment, followed by silver, then green."

"The fewer people beneath a bodhi tree, the better the enlightenment. Surely it's not right for you to claim the Golden Bodhi Tree all to yourself?"

The Green-Robed Scholar addressed the body cultivator mildly. "Unless I'm mistaken, you're a cultivator from the Snowfield. Only Snowfield cultivators wear beast-hide skirts."

The body cultivator was indeed wearing a beast-hide skirt.

Everyone looked over.

The bald body cultivator's gaze turned cold.

The scholar continued, "Judging by this young lady's attire-the Purple Flame Cloud-Pattern Alchemist Robe-she should be a disciple of the Pill Cauldron Sect in the Fire Domain."

The female alchemist folded her arms across her chest.

"As for this young swordsman, he carries a Demon-Slaying Sword, the standard equipment of outer gate disciples from the Heavenly Sword Sect in the Sword Domain."

The young swordsman remained silent, merely taking down his sword slowly.

"And these eight all have beast companions. As far as I recall, only disciples of the Beast Taming Sect in the Desolate Domain keep beast companions so consistently."

Lin Jing and the others already knew what he was about to say.

"As for myself, I come from the Literary Domain. All of us hail from one of the Heavenly Origin Ancient Kingdom's Nine Domains. We are cultivators of the Ancient Kingdom, while this Snowfield cultivator alone comes from a foreign land." The Green-Robed Scholar divided them neatly into two camps.

"Everyone, the Snowfield tribes have been at odds with the Heavenly Origin Ancient Kingdom since ancient times, coveting the Central Lands. As cultivators of the Heavenly Origin Ancient Kingdom, shouldn't we stand united against outsiders?" He cupped his hands toward the others.

Beyond the Heavenly Origin Ancient Kingdom lay a snowy expanse where living conditions were harsh.

"Hahahaha! I knew you sons of bitches would gang up on me. I'm not afraid of you!" The Snowfield cultivator laughed.

He naturally understood everything the Green-Robed Scholar had deduced. They belonged to different camps, so these people would certainly deal with him first. He had therefore dispensed with courtesy and prepared to take them all on alone.

"I've heard that every cultivator from the Heavenly Origin Ancient Kingdom is as meek as a little lamb. Today, I'll show you what a real cultivator looks like!"

He stood before the Golden Bodhi Tree, breathing out icy air. A yellow-green gleam flashed through his beastlike eyes, and as his muscles and veins bulged all over his body, the cries of lions and tigers rang out from within him.

"I bear the Snowfield no ill will, but you certainly are a rude cultivator," the female alchemist in the Purple Flame Cloud-Pattern Alchemist Robe said, shaking her head.

"Come on, then. You dress it up so nicely, but which of you doesn't want the golden bodhi all to yourself?" the body cultivator sneered.

"Everyone, attack together! Take him down!" The Green-Robed Scholar produced a Word Treasure. Literary talent fused with the written characters, instantly conjuring spectral soldiers armed with swords and sabers in midair. They charged toward the Snowfield cultivator.

"I'll join in!" The female alchemist raised her arm lightly, and a wisp of purple flame instantly gathered at her fingertips. This was no ordinary fire. Its heat was immense, and it carried an unusual fragrance, beautiful yet enough to make the heart tremble.

The flame danced in her palm as though possessed of a will of its own. At a thought from her, it transformed into a fiery cauldron that spiraled upward with a succession of thunderous rumbles.

Whoosh!

She swung her arm sharply, sending the fiery cauldron crashing toward her opponent.

"Aaaaargh!!!" The Snowfield cultivator stayed where he stood, beast-shaped totem markings flickering across his body as he let the attacks slam into him.

His gaze was savage as he assumed a defensive stance. The next instant, the spectral soldiers' weapons struck him as though hitting steel tempered a hundred times, ringing with metallic clangs before shattering into smoke.

"Fuck you!" After taking the Green-Robed Scholar's attack head-on, his blood surged. Red light shone around his hand as he swung his arm hard at the approaching fiery cauldron.

Boom!

Serpents of flame scattered across the sky. Bathed in firelight, he charged toward the Green-Robed Scholar the next second like a beast that had broken its reins, pulling an enormous hammer from his Storage Bag to swing at him.

"Why aren't those of you from the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect attacking? Are you hoping to play the fisherman while the snipe and clam fight?"

Seeing this, the scholar summoned an azure cloud beneath his feet and rode it into the air, unwilling to clash head-on with the Snowfield cultivator. At the same time, he challenged the cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect.

"Get down here!" The Snowfield body cultivator hurled his heavy hammer into the air, but the Green-Robed Scholar dodged it easily.

Apparently deciding he could not deal with the Green-Robed Scholar anytime soon, the Snowfield body cultivator turned a vicious gaze on the female alchemist, who had also attacked him.

The female alchemist immediately looked aggrieved. "Never mind, never mind. You can fight over it. I'm an alchemist, not much of a fighter. A Silver Bodhi Tree will do for me."

At this point, nobody wanted to waste too much strength first and let someone else reap the fisherman's reward.

The Snowfield body cultivator snorted. How could he not know what the female alchemist was thinking? His gaze swept over the Heavenly Sword Sect and Beast Taming Sect cultivators. "You, sword-swinger. Are you going to fight for it?"

"As for the Beast Taming Sect, you all look like trash. You must have slipped into the grotto-heaven, right?" He unleashed his aura. The roars of myriad beasts seemed to echo within his blood, as though he had become the king of all beasts. In an instant, several Beast Taming Sect disciples' expressions changed.

The Battle Ape belonging to He Yiming's senior brother, Senior Brother Ziran's Fire Spirit Sparrow, and the fierce beasts brought by the Demon Hunting Hall disciples all began trembling at once.

There's no doubt about it. This fellow definitely has the Myriad Beasts Body, a special cultivation constitution that lets him fuse the blood of myriad beasts to strengthen his physique. Not only does he grow fiercer the longer he fights, but his bloodline also exerts a powerful suppressive effect on beasts!

Senior Brother Ziran was shaken. The difference between those chosen by the grotto-heaven and those who had slipped inside became immediately apparent. Merely releasing his aura made most of the Beast Taming Sect's companions react as though they had encountered the king of beasts, reducing their fighting strength by several tenths.

"This is bad." Feeling pressure comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast, the Demon Hunting Hall disciples, who had intended to seize an opportunity when it arose, abandoned any thought of competing with him for the Golden Bodhi Tree.

The Green-Robed Scholar shook his head at the sight. He had known that with so many Beast Taming Sect disciples present, some of them had to be padding the numbers. Sure enough.

Still, this works out. There's much less competition now.

Suddenly...

Several Water Arrow Arts shot toward the Snowfield body cultivator. His terrifying physique had allowed him to withstand the Green-Robed Scholar's and the female alchemist's attacks with ease. Even if both had held back, it was enough to demonstrate how powerful his body was. Yet faced with these water arrows, his expression abruptly changed as his body sounded a fierce warning. Just as the Snowfield Cultivator was about to dodge, before the arrows even struck, a terrifying tide of spiritual power surged up and swallowed him!!!

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

Dozens of successive explosions sent the spiritual energy into violent turmoil. A powerful gale blew the Green-Robed Scholar straight out of the sky, while the female alchemist and young swordsman stared blankly, their hair whipping wildly.

The Beast Taming Sect disciples were driven backward again and again by the shock waves.

They stared in disbelief at Lin Jing, who had taken out a Mechanism Bamboo Gun and was calmly firing at the Snowfield body cultivator with a steady "pfft, pfft, pfft."

On Lin Jing's shoulder, the Pineleaf Squirrel showed none of the fear that gripped the other spirit beasts and demon beasts. Whether that was because of its mutation or because its desire outweighed its fear was unclear.

A strange gleam shone in the Pineleaf Squirrel's eyes. What had it just seen!!!

This Snowfield body cultivator actually had a Storage Bag!!!

Forget the chance at enlightenment for now... that Storage Bag absolutely had to be snatched away!!!

The smoke cleared.

The Snowfield body cultivator still stood in place, hammer in hand, but the wounds covering his body were horrifying. The shock waves from the exploding spirit beans had torn his skin open in multiple places, leaving wounds of varying depths. Blood continued to gush from them, exposing bright red muscle tissue and even glimpses of white bone-a chilling sight.

His chest rose and fell slightly, his face filled with rage. An unnatural light suddenly shone from his blood, and he roared as he charged toward Lin Jing.

"What a terrifying body cultivator." Lin Jing took a step back and changed magazines, wasting another large batch of Spirit Beans Bombs.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

Another volley.

When the smoke cleared again, the Snowfield body cultivator's eyes had already gone vacant.

Seeing this, a squirrel cautiously scurried over, tugged off its Storage Bag, and ran back.