Lin Yan in Love, Departing for the Holy Land

Another dozen days passed quickly. During that time, Zhao Zixuan continued to look after Lin Yan's daily needs. Whenever Lin Yan killed a demonic beast, Zhao Zixuan prepared its carcass and turned it into a delicious meal. It had to be said that her cooking really was quite good, and Lin Yan had visibly put on a few pounds. At night, Zhao Zixuan often helped cover him with a blanket, attending to his every need.

As they spent every day together, Lin Yan gradually grew accustomed to having Zhao Zixuan at his side, and his attitude toward her improved more and more. After all, ever since his grandfather and parents had passed away, no one had cared for him so attentively.

One day, Lin Yan finally found the ninth-stage Grotto-Heaven Realm demonic beast. He then said to Zhao Zixuan, "Zixuan, wait for me here. This demonic beast is exceptionally fierce. I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

Zhao Zixuan pretended to be concerned. "Can you handle it alone? If it's too dangerous, give up. After all, this is a ninth-stage Grotto-Heaven Realm demonic beast."

Lin Yan smiled confidently. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Lin Yan then began fighting the ferocious beast. By constantly swallowing the spirit pills and medicines he had grown himself, he, a first-stage Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivator, actually managed to fight the ninth-stage Grotto-Heaven Realm beast to a standstill for a time.

But demonic beasts' bodies were far stronger than those of humans. In a moment of inattention, Lin Yan was struck across the back by the beast's tail. Its immense physical strength made him instantly spit out a mouthful of blood. The beast swung its tail at him again. Afraid that Lin Yan would be killed by the powerful beast and that she would then be unable to complete the task Yuan Zhexian had given her, Zhao Zixuan quickly rushed in front of him and brought out her treasure. A red umbrella covered in runes appeared before her.

The umbrella had been given to Zhao Zixuan by her master, an elder of the Mystic Rain Sect. It could withstand one strike from an expert below the ninth stage of the Grotto-Heaven Realm.

The red umbrella covered in runes appeared before Zhao Zixuan and emitted a red light, firmly blocking the demonic beast's tail.

"Zixuan, get out of the way! You're no match for this demonic beast," Lin Yan said anxiously.

Zhao Zixuan acted as if she had not heard him, using all her spiritual power to hold back the beast's tail strike. Then, with a crack, the red umbrella was split in two by the tail, which went on to strike Zhao Zixuan. Her cultivation was still too low; she had only just advanced to the Blood Moving Realm. Although the treasure had blocked most of the force, what remained knocked her unconscious, leaving a bloody gash on her arm.

"Zixuan!"

Seeing Zhao Zixuan unconscious, Lin Yan's eyes turned red. He took out two spirit pills and put them straight into his mouth. His presence immediately grew stronger. He then seized his spirit sword and drove it into the demonic beast's heart. The beast let out a pained wail and collapsed to the ground, its breath gone.

Lin Yan limped over to Zhao Zixuan and slowly helped her up. He took out a pill and fed it to her, and before long she slowly regained consciousness. Seeing Lin Yan, she immediately asked, "Are you all right? How bad are your injuries? What happened to the demonic beast?"

Seeing Zhao Zixuan show concern for him as soon as she woke, Lin Yan felt warmth in his heart. Other than his parents and grandfather, no one had ever risked their life to protect him like this. Lin Yan gradually began to develop feelings for Zhao Zixuan.

Lin Yan said, "I've already killed the demonic beast."

Zhao Zixuan was surprised. She had already been somewhat puzzled while Lin Yan was fighting the beast. He was clearly only at the Body Tempering Realm, so how could he fight a Grotto-Heaven Realm demonic beast to a standstill?

Seeing the puzzled look in the beauty's eyes, Lin Yan said, "Sorry, Zixuan. Circumstances left me no choice but to conceal my cultivation all this time. But from today onward, I won't hide anything from you again."

Hearing Lin Yan say this, Zhao Zixuan laughed inwardly. Fortunately, her efforts over the past several days had not been wasted. Lin Yan should have feelings for her now, which meant she could complete the task Yuan Zhexian had given her more quickly.

Zhao Zixuan smiled understandingly. "It's all right. Everyone has their secrets. From now on, I won't hide anything from you either."

Lin Yan was delighted to hear her response. The happiest thing in life was for the person you liked to like you back.

Another dozen days passed. By now, Lin Yan had fallen completely in love with the beauty before him, while Zhao Zixuan continued to attend to his every need, making him very dependent on her.

That day, the two finally found a clear lake in the Demonic Beast Forest. After spending a month in the forest, Zhao Zixuan could hardly wait to take a comfortable bath. She told Lin Yan, "No peeking," then found a secluded corner and began to bathe.

Lin Yan felt as if a cat were scratching at his heart. Thinking of the beauty in the lake, he felt the fire in his heart burning fiercely. Then he remembered that the two of them had already declared their feelings for each other, and Zhao Zixuan would be his sooner or later. He endured it and immediately sat down cross-legged.

After Zhao Zixuan finished bathing, she came out wearing a white silk dress. Her curvaceous figure and a pair of fair thighs were exposed, and droplets of water ran down her smooth skin. The low neckline made her twin peaks faintly visible.

Gulp, gulp. Lin Yan swallowed, then went over to Zhao Zixuan and said, "Zixuan, take this medicine, and then I'll apply some more for you. Your injuries should be practically healed after that." He took out a pill and brought it to her lips, then gently lifted her arm and applied a spirit medicine.

With the beauty drawing ever closer and giving off waves of fragrance, Lin Yan's gaze grew hazy. He promptly pressed Zhao Zixuan down. A trace of disgust appeared in her eyes, but it vanished in a flash, and she immediately returned to normal.

Seeing Lin Yan consumed by lust, Zhao Zixuan immediately pushed him away. Lin Yan looked at her in confusion. With a solemn expression, she said, "Lin Yan, there's something I need to tell you."

His face flushed red, Lin Yan asked in confusion, "What is it? Why so serious?"

"Lin Yan, you may not know this, but I actually have the Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique," Zhao Zixuan said.

"The Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique? What kind of physique is that?" Lin Yan asked, still puzzled.

"The Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique is an extremely cold physique. Every day, it suffers an invasion of cold poison. The suffering is unbearable."

"What?" Lin Yan exclaimed.

Zhao Zixuan continued, "With this physique, not only do I suffer from cold poison every day, but more importantly, I can't live past twenty."

Hearing that Zhao Zixuan could not live past twenty, Lin Yan grew anxious. He immediately asked, "Then what do we do? Is there any way to get rid of it? Don't worry, Zixuan. No matter what, even if I have to climb a mountain of blades and plunge into a sea of fire, I'll fear nothing for your sake."

Seeing how serious Lin Yan was, Zhao Zixuan said, "There is a way to save me, and I've already eliminated the cold poison of the Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique, breaking the curse that kept me from living past twenty."

Hearing that Zhao Zixuan had already dealt with the Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique, Lin Yan immediately sighed in relief. Then he asked curiously, "Zixuan, how did you cure it?"

"Young Master Yuan cured me, and he did it without asking for anything in return," Zhao Zixuan said.

"Young Master Yuan?" Lin Yan did not know Yuan Zhexian's name, so he asked in confusion.

"He's the Young Master Yuan from that hidden Lineage," Zhao Zixuan said with a smile.

"So it was him. He really didn't ask anything of you?" Lin Yan said, still somewhat doubtful.

"When Young Master Yuan heard that I had the Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique, he couldn't bear to see me perish before I turned twenty. He later used an Extreme Yang Holy Pill to cure me."

"An Extreme Yang Holy Pill? An actual holy pill? As expected of a hidden Lineage, giving away such a precious pill so readily," Lin Yan said enviously.

Zhao Zixuan continued, adding embellishments as she spoke. "Actually, many of you have misunderstood Young Master Yuan. He's from a hidden Lineage, so naturally he lacks neither cultivation techniques nor pills. He only came out into the world to travel and see it. When he heard that a mysterious space had appeared, he wanted to broaden his horizons. After all, he'd stayed in his Lineage ever since he was born. He's a pitiable person too. This is his first time out in the world, so it's only natural that he'd be curious."

Hearing Zhao Zixuan say this, and remembering that Yuan Zhexian had previously told him he would not reveal his whereabouts to anyone, Lin Yan reflected that he and Zhao Zixuan were now living peacefully and comfortably in the Demonic Beast Forest. His hostility toward Yuan Zhexian lessened considerably.

He then said to Zhao Zixuan, "Zixuan, as for you and that Young Master Yuan...?"

Zhao Zixuan immediately understood what Lin Yan meant. "I only want to repay Young Master Yuan for saving my life. I have no feelings for him whatsoever. My heart belongs to you now."

Lin Yan was delighted to hear this. "Young Master Yuan saved you without asking for anything in return. We should thank him properly. He invited me to explore that mysterious space with him before, but I thought he had bad intentions. It seems I judged a gentleman by the measure of a petty man. How about this? Once we leave the Demonic Beast Forest, we'll find Young Master Yuan. I'll thank him in person, and I'll take him into the space with me."

Seeing that she had nearly completed Yuan Zhexian's task, Zhao Zixuan was delighted. She excitedly planted a kiss on Lin Yan's cheek, then composed herself and said, "Although my Mysterious Yin Enchanting Physique has been cured, I still need time to recover. It won't be too late to give myself to you once I've recovered."

Lin Yan touched his cheek, still lost in the kiss Zhao Zixuan had just given him. He replied dreamily, "It's all right, it's all right. I can still hold back. Hehehe."

After spending another three days in the Demonic Beast Forest, Lin Yan and Zhao Zixuan finally came out. Lin Yan felt that the trip had been a tremendous harvest: not only had he gained many demonic beast cores, but he had also found love. Now he kept his promise to Zhao Zixuan and hurried with her toward the Gathering of Fate restaurant.

The Gathering of Fate restaurant had been rebuilt after Huo Ping destroyed it. One could not help but marvel at how quickly cultivators worked: in just a few dozen days, they had restored the Gathering of Fate to its original condition.

Yuan Zhexian was in his room, quietly waiting for news of Zhao Zixuan with Yuan Ruochu and the other three standing behind him.

Yuan Ruochu said, "Divine Son, it's been almost fifty days without a word. Do you really think that Zhao Zixuan will help us trick Lin Yan?"

Sipping his tea, Yuan Zhexian smiled. "Brother Ruochu, you don't seem to have any confidence in me. And please leave out the words 'think that.' Zhao Zixuan will help me trick Lin Yan. A woman's eyes don't lie. Zhao Zixuan is already so infatuated with me that she's lost her heart and soul. So I do have that much confidence."

Hearing Yuan Zhexian say this, Yuan Ruochu said no more and quietly waited with him for news of Zhao Zixuan.

Just then, a voice came from outside Yuan Zhexian's room. "Young Master, may I come in?"

Yuan Zhexian said calmly, "Come in."

The visitor was none other than the Divine Feather Holy Son. After returning from their last meeting, he had informed his sect about Yuan Zhexian. The sect had been quite shocked to hear that he was an heir of a hidden Lineage. Then word came that one of the heir's subordinates had gravely injured a Samsara Realm expert, so the sect immediately sent the Divine Feather Holy Son and the Divine Feather Supreme Elder to invite Yuan Zhexian to visit the Divine Feather Holy Land.

After entering the room, the Divine Feather Holy Son said to Yuan Zhexian, "Young Master, I informed the sect about you. The Holy Lord and the elders considered the matter extremely important, so they sent the Supreme Elder and me to invite you to visit our Divine Feather Holy Land. Might you honor us with your presence?"

Yuan Zhexian looked at the Divine Feather Holy Son and asked, "When do we leave?"

The Divine Feather Holy Son immediately said, "We can leave right away. Please wait a moment, Young Master. We'll find a flying beast to take you to the Divine Feather Holy Land at once." He had not expected Yuan Zhexian to agree so readily, so he had not prepared a flying beast. He and the Supreme Elder promptly withdrew from the room to find one.

Watching the two leave, Yuan Yan'er asked in confusion, "Divine Son, why would you lower yourself to visit such a minor holy land?"

Yuan Zhexian said, "Thirty-one Quasi-Saint Realm experts are nothing to me, but I'm afraid they'll strike at you behind my back when I'm off guard. My purpose in going to the Divine Feather Holy Land is simple: to bring it under my control and give you more protection. I also feel that entering that inner world this time definitely won't be simple. So I need some Quasi-Saint Realm experts to protect you in secret."

The four were deeply moved to see Yuan Zhexian thinking of them. They felt that their cultivation was still too low and that they were holding him back. They became even more determined to enter seclusion when they returned.

The five then left the room and came to the entrance of the Gathering of Fate restaurant. A gigantic birdlike demonic beast crouched in the middle of the open plaza outside, with a massive pavilion on its back. The Divine Feather Holy Son and the Divine Feather Supreme Elder stood beside the beast, waiting for Yuan Zhexian. When the five arrived, they immediately said, "Young Master, this demonic beast is the finest flying beast. Please take a seat in the pavilion." Yuan Zhexian then led the five in a flying leap into the pavilion and sat down in a cushioned reclining chair. Yuan Ruochu and the other three sat down beside him. The Divine Feather Holy Son and the Divine Feather Supreme Elder flashed into the pavilion on the beast's back and stood there. Then one of them said, "Depart."

With a soft birdcall, the flying beast spread its wings and set off for the Divine Feather Holy Land.