“Are you really going? There are probably going to be many Dragon Tribe mighty figures attending the ritual. You might end up losing your life before you can get any money.”
“How about you come with me, Bai Ling?” An Lin suggested.
Bai Ling shook her head. “One of my experiments has reached a critical juncture, so I won’t be able to go anywhere anytime soon.”
An Lin was a little disappointed.
Bai Ling’s inability to accompany him instantly made the mission more than twice as difficult than it originally was.
“Master, I’m willing to come with you!” Xiao Ze said with an excited expression.
“I can come with you as well.” Xu Xiaolan chimed in, “I have an indistinct feeling that an opportunity for me to progress to the Return to Void Stage might be waiting for me at the East Sea.”
An Lin was astonished. “Xiaolan, you’re going to make another breakthrough?”
“Hmm…” Xu Xiaolan nodded a little sheepishly. “The vermilion bird bloodline within my body is too powerful. My spirit root is already bearing ripe fruit, and I’ve successfully refined my spirit, so everything is ready… The biggest issue I’m facing now is how to fuse my vermilion bird bloodline with my original phoenix and dragon bloodlines…”
Everyone drew a sharp intake of breath upon hearing this.
Was this what life was like with hacks on?
“Alright, Xiaolan can come with me as well, but you have to be careful. If the opposition is too powerful, then we’ll think if another way.” An Lin approved Xu Xiaolan’s proposal.
“Giant An Lin, I want to go too!” Tina volunteered excitedly.
“No problem!”
As far as An Lin was concerned, the more Return to Void Stage mighty figures the merrier!
“Bryce, you come as well. Don’t just sit under the sun like an idiot all day!” An Lin issued a command to the tree person beside him.
“Hey! What do you mean like an idiot? Are you looking down on sunbathing?” Xiao Hong was very displeased.
“Master, do I really have to go? Autumn is here, and I’m feeling quite feeble. Look, even my canopy has turned yellow…” Bryce spoke with a reluctant expression.
“A yellow canopy is bad luck. If I go, the mission might fail…” the tree person continued.
“I’ll give you one milliliter of holy blood after the successful completion of our mission!” An Lin added.
“Bryce is willing to lay down his life for Holy Leader An Lin!”
The tree person shuddered upon hearing this, and his canopy rustled incessantly before turning green in the blink of an eye.
Everyone: “…”
After a short discussion.
The Four Nine Immortal Sect money-borrowing team was finally established.
The team leader was An Lin, and he was going to lead a team consisting of Xu Xiaolan, Xiao Ze, Tina, and Bryce.
Aside from Bai Ling, all of the most powerful Four Nine Immortal Sect cultivators had been deployed.
“The Dragon Tribe’s ritual is going to be held half a month from now. Let’s set off to the East Sea to gather some information!” the team leader announced, and all of his team members responded with impassioned cries of approval.
An Lin made his way out of the conference chamber and was met by a young woman standing under a tree.
“Big Boss An Lin,” Lan Xiaoni called in a crisp voice.
“Underling Lan, were you waiting for me?” An Lin made his way over to her with a smile.
Lan Xiaoni nodded. “The wedding is over, so I have to go back now. I’ve come here to bid farewell to you.”
“You’re not going to stay for a few more days? Didn’t you say you really liked everyone here?” An Lin asked.
“Heehee… Maybe next time. I have a mission, after all.” Lan Xiaoni winked at An Lin with a cheeky expression.
An Lin recalled her mission to unite the West Sea upon hearing this.
“Alright, then take care of yourself.”
“I will! Goodbye, Big Boss An Lin!”
“Goodbye, Underling Lan.”
The warm light of the sun shone down upon the vibrant green leaves of the trees they were standing under.
The two of them parted after a simple farewell.
Lan Xiaoni flew into the sky atop a huge wave and soon disappeared from An Lin’s line of sight.
An Lin looked on as she left, and an involuntary smile appeared on his face.
He felt like Lan Xiaoni had changed. She had become mentally stronger, and now, she even had a goal which she was striving toward. He was starting to look forward to their next encounter. What would she be like then?
Night slowly fell.
In a certain location on the Tai Chu Continent.
A vast, inky-black continent slowly hovered through the sky, obscuring the moon and the stars.
There was a grand palace situated at the center of the continent. There were eleven dazzling carved symbols that represented the eleven monarchs, which lit up the night sky.
However, what was different from usual was that one of the carved symbols was flickering unsteadily, as if it were about to be snuffed out at any moment.
Ten Dark Wing Tribe monarchs were gathered within the palace. They were looking at a woman on the ground with grave expressions.
The woman’s entire body was riddled with wounds. Not only was her musculoskeletal structure and meridians severely damaged, but even her consciousness and sea of vital energy had also sustained grievous wounds.
The Dark Wing Emperor was trying his best to administer treatment, but he was still unable to stabilize her condition.
“How did this happen? The Moonlit Night Monarch is one of the three most powerful beings among us! How could she sustained such grievous injuries…”
“Didn’t she only go to snatch away An Lin’s sword? How did she almost die from a mission like that? Is An Lin already that formidable?”
“You’ve always been talking about how terrifying the mysterious power within his body is. But what about now? He doesn’t even have to draw on that power, and he can still kill us! Even the most powerful being among us, the Heavenly Night Monarch, would probably be unable to complete this mission!”
“I was thinking about trying to take the mission from Moonlit Night at first, but thank God I didn’t…”
All of the monarchs discussed among themselves with some of them expressed sympathy, while others were just glad that it was not them that had suffered such terrifying injuries.
Some of them had even pulled out napkins to wipe away the cold sweat gathering on their foreheads.
“There’s no way around it. Her injuries are too severe, and my power is not enough to save her.” The Dark Wing Emperor heaved a faint sigh. “Moonlit Night only ended up in this grievous condition for the sake of completing the mission. Even though she failed, I think her efforts make her worthy of that divine fruit. I plan to feed her the divine fruit as that is the only chance we have of saving her.”
None of the monarchs offered any objections.
To them, Moonlit Night was a true hero and was worthy of that divine fruit!
That night.
A crimson pillar of light blasted into the heavens, making the wind and clouds surge within a radius of over five hundred kilometers.
Not long after that.
A red blood moon was revealed in the sky.
“Grandpa, Grandpa, look! There are two moons in the sky!” A little boy with twin horns on his head tugged on an elderly man’s sleeve as he pointed up at the two moons in the sky with amazement.
The elderly man looked up into the sky.
There were indeed two moons there, one of which was as pristine as a disc of white jade while the other was as crimson as blood. The two of them seemed to be competing with one another by trying to outshine the other with their own light.
“Two moons in the sky at the same time? How long has it been since I’ve seen something like this…” A reminiscent smile appeared on the elderly man’s face. “Everything really is starting to spice up recently…”
Within the Moon Palace.
A woman in a palatial robe was carefully examining some medicinal ingredients when her brows furrowed slightly. She then turned to look out the window into the far distance.
“Oh? Someone dares to compete with me?
“So be it, I was just starting to get bored anyway…”