CHAPTER 418: CHAPTER 0415: SEEING YOUR HANDSOME APPEARANCE, I’M TAKING YOU IN

"Brother Lin, there’s a great sect here. We should tread carefully," Xiang Fei cautioned.

After traveling for some time, leaving the lake behind, and crossing over ten mountain ranges, they arrived at this place.

Qin Yang nonchalantly said, "A great sect is just a sect, what’s there to fear? As long as I reveal my lineage, even the sect hierarchs of those great sects would have to warmly welcome me."

Xiang Fei considered saying something.

But then thought better of it. Qin Yang was indeed somewhat arrogant, but his words weren’t entirely unreasonable. After all, a direct descendant of an Immortal Venerable Family visiting a great sect would indeed be received with hospitality.

Lin Fan slapped Qin Yang on the head angrily, "Do you understand the concept of low profile?"

Qin Yang clutched his head, "Brother Lin, we’ve known each other for a long time, but you hitting my head affects me greatly. Although I know you want to step on my reputation to prove your own dominance—after all, one day, I, Qin Yang, will surely become the top figure in the Immortal Venerable Family—you can’t just go around telling people that the handsome and charismatic Qin Immortal Venerable had his head smashed by you."

"Sure, that might earn you a lot of admiration from others, but the way you’re flaunting it is too forced."

Lin Fan glanced at Qin Yang. Frankly, he wanted to send Qin Yang back to the Immortal Venerable Family.

Dammit!

Having him around made it near impossible to keep a low profile, as the guy was always stirring up trouble.

On observing the pig ranch, the Qiankun Island Master was indeed cultivating. The Emperor Scripture seemed to hold immense allure for him, and perhaps, the Island Master had exceptional talent to truly grasp the essence of the scripture.

For the Island Master, upon learning that he was being allowed to cultivate an Emperor Scripture, no one knew how thrilled he truly felt inside.

Although it was likely that the other party was using him as a test subject.

Still, what could he do?

As long as he kept a low profile, once he mastered the Emperor Scripture, he’d kill his opponents so decisively they’d be crying for their mothers. What a satisfying thought!

"Sigh, the piglets are indeed diligent, but there aren’t enough of them."

Lin Fan was deeply troubled. Nobody understood the struggles of a pig farmer; what they usually saw were the joys of a bountiful harvest.

In the distance.

A fiery red glow lit up the sky, as if the heavens were ablaze.

"That place looks strange. It’s daytime, so where is this red haze coming from, covering half the sky? If this is due to someone’s cultivation, that would be terrifying—such blood energy is overly thick," Lin Fan said, pointing to the distance.

Could it be that someone in the Immortal Realm was cultivating Martial Arts?

Moreover, doing so so brazenly—the red haze was clearly an indication of blood energy.

For a martial artist to cultivate to such a degree, wasn’t that an exaggeration?

"Let’s go take a look," Lin Fan said.

Xiang Fei was quite intrigued.

Soon.

They arrived at the edge of a towering cliff, their gazes set downward. The originally flat land had been excavated into a massive pit, hundreds of meters deep, spanning the size of dozens of football fields.

The fiery glow wasn’t caused by an individual but by a crowd of strong men. Shirtless, each carried oversized square stones as large as a person on their backs, emerging step by step from a cave below and heading up toward the pit.

Their bodies were blood-red, either stained with blood or because their internal blood energy was boiling. The combined effort of countless individuals created a shocking scene of flaming red haze enveloping the sky.

"These are Blood Stones. I’ve heard they are peculiar stones abundant only in the Eastern Desolate Domain. They can block mana fluctuations and are usually used for constructing buildings," Xiang Fei, knowledgeable as always, immediately recognized the stones at first glance.

Lin Fan mused, "But aren’t these people being forced to work here? If that’s the case, we might have to step in and act heroically again."

Xiang Fei shook his head, "Probably not. These folks are here for Immortal Stones. They work in exchange for Immortal Stones since Blood Stones can block mana fluctuations, leaving only brute strength as a way to move them."

"Disciples of great sects wouldn’t stoop to doing this kind of hard labor."

Below.

A vast number of burly men were straining themselves to move the blood stones. However, the sharp edges of the stones seemed to cut into their flesh, mixing blood with stone, thus giving a fitting reason for calling them Blood Stones.

This great sect here was called the Hunyuan Great Sect.

It was established by a Supreme Great Power long ago and had been passed down for tens of thousands of years at the very least.

"Brother Lin, there’s nothing significant happening here. Let’s go," Xiang Fei suggested, unwilling to get entangled with the affairs of a great sect. After all, these ancient sects held countless secrets.

Associating with them wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was unlikely to lead to anything good either.

Suddenly.

The ground shook violently.

The pit below erupted into chaos, with many strong men emerging from a mountain cave, panicked.

"Ah! Run for your lives! There’s a mystical beast!"

"Quick, hurry!"

"What is that creature? Its eyes are as big as a mountain—a monster!"

Everything fell into complete disarray.

The orderly task of transporting Blood Stones was abruptly interrupted by the appearance of an unknown mystical beast, causing great turmoil. Indeed, the fear of the unknown was terrifying for anyone.

The cliff beneath Lin Fan’s feet trembled, the rock cracking. A fissure extended swiftly from the base, and within moments, the entire cliff crumbled. Countless fragments fell into what seemed like the Abyss.

"What the heck."

The group of four leapt into the air, surveying the scene below, unable to catch sight of the mystical beast’s true form.

Suddenly.

Lin Fan noticed spatial distortions in the surrounding area. The fleeing strong men appeared as though immobilized by some spell, frozen mid-action, yet fully aware.

Each man’s face was marked by terror, with beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads.

They were truly terrified.

Yet their bodies wouldn’t move.

With a deafening crash.

A pile of mountains of stones shattered instantly. A monstrous caterpillar, dozens of meters long, crawled out from the cave. Its body was covered in soft white fur, and antennae resembling signal receivers extended from its forehead.

The caterpillar looked adorable, but its actions were anything but.

It slowly crawled toward a strong man in the distance, opening its mouth. Clearly, it was hungry—very hungry.

The chosen man was already scared senseless, wetting his pants in fear.

What kind of beast was this?

With so many people around, why was he chosen specifically? Why not eat someone else? Why him? It was deeply unfair.

Lin Fan boldly stepped in, saving the strong man from the caterpillar’s jaws, delivering a punishing blow to the creature that caused it to howl in pain. The surrounding spatial distortions instantly dissipated.

The fleeing men, regaining their momentum, toppled over in a tumble but quickly scrambled to their feet, rushing for the exit with all their might.

All the while shouting and screaming.

Whoosh!

The caterpillar turned its furious gaze toward Lin Fan, enraged at having its impending meal thwarted.

"Little caterpillar, don’t look at me like that," Lin Fan remarked.

[Larva: Immortal Realm Heavenly Immortal Stage Second Level]

[Possible loot: ???]

"Huh?"

It was the first time Lin Fan encountered a "???" sign. In the past, even the most fearsome figures were laid bare before him—nothing remained hidden.

But what was going on this time?

Could it be that this larva was so insignificant that there was nothing to loot? Or was it so deeply concealed that it was actually extraordinary, hence the inability to discern?

Lost in thought, Lin Fan pondered over the possibilities.

Perhaps both scenarios were plausible.

Though the exact circumstance remained unclear.

"What kind of mystical beast is this? I’ve never seen anything like it," Xiang Fei frowned. He had studied countless ancient texts, and while he hadn’t seen every mystical beast personally, he’d read about most of them.

This creature before them was entirely enigmatic.

The most striking part was that the creature was relatively weak; its cultivation was low, but it possessed the ability to freeze the surrounding space—a truly unusual phenomenon.

"Brother Lin, this might be an undiscovered mystical beast worth researching," Xiang Fei advised.

Lin Fan replied, "That’s exactly what I was thinking."

The caterpillar lunged at Lin Fan in fury. Lin Fan refrained from using his Divine Skills, fearing a single move might accidentally obliterate the frail caterpillar.

Instead, he swung his fist directly at the caterpillar’s head.

The punch sent the caterpillar’s head wobbling, as if stars spun atop it. The landscape seemed to tilt, the heavens and earth overturning.

"Quite the tough hide," Lin Fan chuckled.

The typical mystical beast at the Heavenly Immortal Stage would have fainted from such a punch, but this caterpillar seemed inexplicably resilient, showing no signs of losing consciousness.

Rustle, rustle!

The caterpillar made peculiar noises, prompting Lin Fan to note with intrigue—a spatial anomaly seemed to reemerge.

"You’ve got some skill," Lin Fan remarked with a hint of admiration. With a shake of his frame, he shattered the immobilized space. Transforming into a streak of light, he darted to the caterpillar’s tail, gripped it tightly with both hands, and slammed it down hard.

Bang!

The ground quaked.

In Lin Fan’s hands, the caterpillar resembled a spinning wheel of fire, repeatedly smashing into the earth, leaving behind one deep pit after another.

Its wails filled the air.

Qin Yang crossed his arms casually and commented, "Well, I’m not sure what this mystical beast is thinking. Of all the people it could choose, it insists on attacking Brother Lin. You tell me, isn’t that a sign of poor judgment?"

Xiang Fei concentrated, shutting his eyes briefly, scrolling through memories of past manuscripts.

Had he ever seen something like this?

A creature capable of freezing space defied common understanding, particularly appearing in a beast whose cultivation was merely at the Heavenly Immortal Stage—an astonishing anomaly.

Xiang Fei knew practically every mystical beast in existence.

But this one stood outside his knowledge.

Several moments passed.

Whimpering sounds echoed forth.

The caterpillar seemed to plead for mercy, beaten black and blue, its battered body bowing in submission to Lin Fan.

It seemed to convey:

Stop hitting me, it hurts too much. You’ve frightened me into submission; just let me off now.

Lin Fan gazed playfully at the caterpillar, "You’ve cultivated to the Heavenly Immortal Stage, so you should be able to understand my words. I’m not fond of your current size—can you shrink down a bit?"

Immediately.

The caterpillar miniaturized itself, transforming into a petite caterpillar about the length of a finger.

Lin Fan beckoned it toward him with a curled finger, catching it in his palm to examine closely.

"Hmm, intriguing. After shrinking, you actually look decent—almost charming. Fine, I’ll research you thoroughly, and once I figure you out someday, I’ll let you go."