Lin Fan gave a crooked smile.
He patted his backside, stood up, and stretched. His bones crackled all over, his blood and Qi surging like a dragon.
This time, not only had Lin Fan broken through in cultivation, but his body had also grown dozens of times stronger.
The Ancient God Body Refining Art was truly terrifying!
It had turned all his blood golden and coated the originally golden spiritual liquid within him with a somewhat mysterious layer of gold.
He had successfully reached the entry stage of the Ancient God Body Refining Art's second revolution!
If killing Wang Bo with a blow had previously required eighty percent of Lin Fan's strength, now he could kill him with a casual punch.
As for the burly man from before, who had felt evenly matched with him, Lin Fan now needed only one punch to blow him apart, just as he had Wang Bo.
He headed down the cloud stairs. As he left, Lin Fan took another look at the thousand-foot statue, a trace of gratitude in his eyes, and silently committed this favor to memory.
Lin Fan left the summit of the cloud stairs, and a familiar sight greeted him. The white jade cloud stairs extended downward, bringing the entire expanse of heaven and earth into view.
Suddenly, Lin Fan frowned slightly. Something felt wrong, and he soon discovered what was unusual.
There was no one on the cloud stairs below!
It was understandable that no one was on the upper steps, but as he looked down, everything from the nine-hundred-odd steps to the hundredth step was deserted.
The talented cultivators who had originally come to try their luck and temper their bodies had all vanished.
Lin Fan looked toward the large plaza below. It, too, was empty.
This was very abnormal!
If the Archaic cultivators had learned that he had obtained the Archaic inheritance and given up on coming here, it would make sense for there to be fewer heavenly prodigies.
But no matter what, this was still an excellent place to temper the body. Many had come specifically for body tempering, so it should never have been completely deserted.
It was as though someone had deliberately cleared the area...
At this thought, Lin Fan activated his Double Pupils without betraying a thing.
Every illusion and secret between heaven and earth appeared before his eyes.
His gaze traveled downward until it reached the entrance to the cloud stairs, where it stopped. His pupils contracted. "A formation?"
At the entrance to the cloud stairs, where there had originally appeared to be nothing, densely packed formation patterns emerged. Profound and intricate, they flickered with a terrifying, intimidating presence, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark.
The formation had been laid across the only route off the cloud stairs. Anyone descending would inevitably enter it.
Its concealment was masterful.
Without his Double Pupils, an ordinary cultivator could never have discovered it.
At the same time, Lin Fan sensed that the area around the plaza was not deserted. People were hiding around its edges. If his guess was right, those who had laid the formation were lurking in the shadows.
Suddenly, the corners of Lin Fan's mouth lifted slightly. "Half-Sage-level formations? Luring me into the jar? Since that's the case, I'll turn your scheme against you..."
Turn their scheme against them!
Lin Fan feared he would be too overwhelming.
Once the people in hiding saw him break the formations, they would not dare show themselves and would flee at once.
He might as well turn their scheme against them, using himself as bait to lure them all out and catch them in one net.
At this thought, Lin Fan continued down without betraying a thing.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen figures were concealed in the forest outside the plaza, led by Wang Xun. They had suppressed their presence, and even their breathing was extremely faint.
When Lin Fan's figure appeared, a cold gleam flashed in their eyes.
After two and a half days of waiting, he had finally emerged!
He had not discovered the formations!
Seeing that Lin Fan had not discovered the formations, they exchanged glances, delight appearing on their faces. Their breathing quickened, as though they could already see Lin Fan entering the formations and surrendering helplessly.
The Luo Clan's heavenly prodigy said, "Our Luo Clan's Seven Mysteries Earthly Baleful Intent Formation may only be Half-Sage-level, but it's enough to trap a Sage. Can your Wang Clan's formation reliably kill him?"
Wang Xun revealed a cruel smile. "Don't worry. Once he steps inside, his death is certain!"
Soon, under their watchful eyes, Lin Fan reached the entrance to the cloud stairs and inadvertently stepped into the concealed formations. The instant his foot entered, he seemed to sense something, and his expression changed drastically.
"No!"
At that instant, Lin Fan abruptly retreated. Before he could escape, his back seemed to strike a wall. The terrifying formations awakened like ferocious beasts, their patterns enveloping the area at the speed of light and sealing off his escape.
Boom!
His face dark, Lin Fan kicked off hard with both feet. His body shot into the air like an arrow loosed from a bow, intending to fly out of the plaza and race into the distance.
Yet to his astonishment, he discovered that the sky was also covered in densely packed formation patterns flickering with strange light! The patterns intertwined, radiating a heart-pounding presence as they enveloped this stretch of heaven and earth.
Not even a tiny fly could escape.
Rumble!
Lin Fan punched the formations, only to find that they did not budge. He could not help cursing angrily, "Damn it! Sage-level formations?!"
"Bastards! Who dared plot against this imperial scion? Show yourselves!"
At this moment, Lin Fan kept looking around and fiercely striking the formations, looking just like a trapped bird. No matter what he did, he could not escape the cage before him.
"Hahaha!"
"Stop wasting your strength, fool!"
"These are the Blazing Fire Four-Directions Formation and the Seven Mysteries Earthly Baleful Intent Formation, two Half-Sage-level formations!"
"Never mind a mere Spirit Sea Realm cultivator like you-even a Purple Mansion Realm expert would probably have to pound away for three days and three nights to break them."
Seeing Lin Fan's wretched state, Wang Xun and the other imperial clan prodigies hiding in the shadows emerged onto the plaza, unable to restrain their loud laughter.
"So this is all the Lin Clan's imperial scion amounts to!"
"No matter how monstrous your talent, haven't you still fallen into our hands? Little bastard, to think you'd live to see this day!"
Seeing the familiar faces from the Wang Clan, Luo Clan, and the others, Lin Fan looked furious. "The Wang Clan, Luo Clan, and Feng Clan! So you really were behind this!"
"It's all thanks to Brother Xiang's concealment formation!"
Wang Xun sneered. "Otherwise, it would have been hard to lay such a seamless trap, let alone imprison this brat."
Xiang Yunjie's face was cold, and he seemed unappreciative as he said, "Heh, isn't he just a brat who only recently broke through to the Spirit Sea Realm? Did several mighty imperial clans like yours really need to go to such lengths?
"If you ask me, we should have simply gone up and killed him! There was no need for all this trouble!"
Heavenly prodigies like Xiang Yunjie had their own pride.
Cultivators ought to meet difficulties head-on without fearing powerful enemies. He would dare fight even someone in the Purple Mansion Realm, yet they had resorted to such schemes against Lin Fan, whose cultivation realm was below his own. This was an utter disgrace that went against his Dao heart.
Wang Xun said grimly, "This brat has a deep feud with our three clans. I hope you understand, Brother Xiang!"
Though there was something improper about it, the clan's Great Emperor had ordered them to exercise two hundred percent caution with Lin Fan and seize any opportunity to snuff him out.
Seeing Xiang Yunjie among the crowd, Lin Fan was somewhat surprised.
He had not expected this man, but it was not strange. He could guess why the other man had come.
Seeing Lin Fan's gaze settle on him, Xiang Yunjie said arrogantly, "Heh! The Archaic Lineage's inheritance belongs to whoever has the ability to claim it!"
After finding that he could not break the formations, Lin Fan simply stopped what he was doing and snorted coldly. "You dare scheme against this imperial scion? Do the Wang Clan and Feng Clan want war? And you, Luo Clan-do you want your name erased?"
Hearing Lin Fan's words, the heavenly prodigies of the Wang Clan and Luo Clan wished they could rush forward and kill him on the spot.
Lin Fan had killed the Wang Clan's Wang Bo and Wang Song, and two of their Great Emperors had also fallen because of him. The Luo Clan had lost a Quasi-Emperor and a Great Emperor because of Lin Fan and had nearly been erased from Archaic.
Lin Fan was the source of it all. How could they not hate him?
Wang Xun said coldly, "Are you saying all this to stall for time?"
At his words, panic appeared on Lin Fan's face.