Trial seekers!

This was the first time Lin Xun had heard of such people.

Ji Leng continued, "Generally speaking, trial seekers are almost all members of the Three Dark Giants, and some are disciples of sects from the other worlds of the Ancient Nebula Road.

"These guys regard the Underworld as a trial ground, killing without restraint, and have many means of saving their lives, which is the most difficult to deal with."

Lin Xun finally understood.

"Senior, although the ten region lords of the Frosty Air Region are extremely feared, the only one who can truly influence and manipulate the overall situation of the Frosty Air Region is the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect.

Ji Leng continued quickly, "Like the number one region lord of the Frosty Air Region, Demon Emperor Wind Slaughter, he himself is actually an elder in the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect, with tremendous power.

"So if we encounter a trial seeker from the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect this time, we must not provoke them, otherwise, it will definitely cause countless issues."

Lin Xun did not comment on this.

When the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect was mentioned, Lin Xun thought of quasi-Emperor Baqi, and an uncontrollable murderous intent arose in his heart.

The truth of the tragedy that had befallen the Lin Clan that year had been revealed. Yun Qingbai had just been a chess piece at the mercy of others, and the mastermind behind the scenes was quasi-Emperor Baqi!

When the tragedy broke out, the taboo law power had also appeared, which made Lin Xun come to the conclusion that the Holy Illumination Ancient Sect was probably a dog of the previous Nameless Emperor!

"Let's go."

Without thinking any more, Lin Xun took action.

Ji Leng hurriedly chased after him and couldn't help saying, "Senior, we’re... just going to attack them like this?"

In his opinion, if you wanted to seize a city, you first needed to make sufficient plans and preparations. If possible, you needed to first find out the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and take it slowly.

However, it was obvious that Lin Xun had no intention of doing so. Instead he responded directly, "Speed is of the essence in war. It's just Vibrant Mulberry City, let’s just go and attack them directly."

Ji Leng's lips twitched.

Isn’t this…too simplistic and crude?

Not long after, the huge and majestic outline of Vibrant Mulberry City appeared on the horizon, and the setting sun bathed the entire city in a layer of blood-red light.

The city gate was open, and many cultivators were coming in and out. Each of them was extremely powerful and fierce.

"Senior, there is a beacon tower in Vibrant Mulberry City. If there is a dangerous situation, people will light the beacon tower and the experts under the command of the Region Lord Xuening will come as soon as possible." ȐåŊＯ𝖇Êȿ

After arriving, Ji Leng's expression became solemn, and he said quickly, "Over the years, Region Lord Heikong has sent countless cultivators to retake Vibrant Mulberry City, but in the end they all returned empty-handed. The reason is this beacon tower.

"My suggestion is that we'd better control this beacon tower first."

Lin Xun's spirit sense spread, and instantly covered the entire Vibrant Mulberry City. After a slight thought, he asked, "Is the beacon tower you mentioned in the Vibrant Mulberry City Lord's Mansion?"

Ji Leng nodded repeatedly, "That's right."

"Let's go."

Lin Xun walked straight to the city gate.

On both sides of the city gate, there were two fierce guards stationed. When they saw Lin Xun appear, one of them shouted, "You look strange; you must be new here, so you need to pay five thousand dao crystals to enter the city!"

Lin Xun seemed to be unaware of their demands and walked forward on his own.

Seeing that he was ignored, the guard's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he grabbed Lin Xun with a palm, "You dare to force your way in, you are simply courting death!"

Bang!

Before the guard's palm power touched Lin Xun, his sight turned black and it felt like he had been hit hard by an ancient wild bull. With a bang, he flew backwards and hit the city wall, becoming embedded in the wall before fainting.

The other guard was shocked and was about to speak when he saw Lin Xun waving his sleeves.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, this guard was smashed into the ground like a wooden stake, leaving only his head above ground. His eyes rolled as he fainted.

Lin Xun had already disappeared inside the city gate.

Ji Leng stared at him with his eyes wide open.

He really wants to force his way in!

He did not dare to hesitate and hurriedly chased after Lin Xun.

"Who is that guy?"

"His methods are too cruel. Is he here to snatch the position of city lord?"

"Let's go and watch the fun."

Many strong experts inside and outside the city gate were shocked. When they saw what Lin Xun did, they were all surprised, but not scared.

In fact, many people chased after him with the mentality of watching the fun.

After all, in the Underworld, turbulent events like this happened way too frequently.

City Lord's Mansion.

Lan Jiao was sitting cross-legged in meditation. He had fair skin and an elegant appearance, but there was a lingering sinister aura around his face.

As the city lord, he was known for his extortionist methods and sheer greed. After becoming the city lord of Vibrant Mulberry City six years ago, the number of dao crystals he collected every month had reached an astonishing eighty million!

Of note, the four cities controlled by Ji Leng, Nightmare, Flame Sin, Beituo, and Water Caltrop, could only collect a total of ninety million dao crystals every month.

With such a comparison, it was clear that Lan Jiao's means of plundering and exploiting people for dao crystals were quite ruthless.

Only Lan Jiao himself knew that while he was a supreme Saint-King with a strong foundation, he would not be able to sit in the position of the city lord for too long.

Vibrant Mulberry City was too turbulent. It was adjacent to the territory of Region Lord Heikong and was regarded as the hardest hit area of the war between the two region lords.

Lan Jiao had thought carefully about this. In the past thousand years, on average, every ten years, the current city lord of Vibrant Mulberry City would encounter some sort of accident, either being killed or becoming a subordinate of others.

Lan Jiao did not dare to take those stats lightly.

In the past six years, except for the times when he was collecting dao crystals, he almost never left his territory and stayed in the city lord's mansion.

"Are you Lan Jiao?"

Suddenly, a calm voice rang out, waking him up from his mediation session.

He stood up, his body exuding a terrifying power, and shouted, "Who?"

As he said that, he waved his hand, and a dark blue divine flame swept out and rushed to the beacon tower that was only three meters away from him!

In the six years since he had become the city lord, Lan Jiao had been very careful. Even when he was cultivating in seclusion, he stayed by the beacon tower.

He did this in order to be able to light the beacon tower as soon as danger came knocking and get help from the experts under the command of the Region Lord Xuening.

However, what made Lan Jiao blanch with fear was that the dark blue divine flame he released was extinguished silently halfway, as if it was wiped out by an invisible big hand.

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, Lan Jiao moved through the void and fled with all his strength.

Such an alert and sharp response made Lin Xun, who witnessed everything, reveal a strange look.

However, he would not watch Lan Jiao attempt to escape without doing anything.

Bang!

The next moment, Lan Jiao stumbled and fell from the void. He crashed to the ground, covered his head, groaned in pain as he saw stars streaking in front of his eyes.

This experience was like hitting a thick steel wall while running madly.

However, compared with this pain, what made Lan Jiao even more scared was that through this blow, he completely understood the horrific strength of the newcomer!

Lan Jiao immediately chose to bow down and kneel on the ground. “Senior, please show mercy, I admit defeat!"

When Ji Leng followed Lin Xun and witnessed this happening, his eyes became wide again.

Within seconds, Lan Jiao had reacted immediately to his sudden crisis, and his actions could only be described as textbook perfect!

He had wanted to light the beacon tower at the first moment, but when he saw that the situation was not right, he chose to escape without hesitation. When his escape route was blocked, he then immediately knelt down and admitted defeat.

Ji Leng was amazed and deeply impressed by the other man’s reaction speed. There was no doubt that Lan Jiao's desire to survive was really extraordinary.

"Just like that...you admitted defeat?" Lin Xun was also stunned.

Lan Jiao looked respectful and said, "If one is not strong enough, then one should know their own limitations. I am not as skilled as you, and I still want to survive. How dare I resist? Senior, whether you are here for the position of the city lord or for the wealth I have accumulated, you can take it all."

"This guy is too smart." Ji Leng couldn't help but say, "Senior, in my opinion, it would be best to kill him directly."

Lan Jiao's expression flickered slightly, and he whispered, "Fellow Daoist, we are all trying to eke out a living in the Underworld, so why do you need to be this overbearing?”

Lin Xun looked down at him, his eyes shining with a mysterious light, "Don't be scared, since you admit defeat, I will give you a chance."

Lan Jiao looked up, and when he met Lin Xun's eyes, his mind suddenly shook violently, as if the world was turned upside down. He immediately became confused.

"Opportunity?" He looked as if he was at a loss.

"Yes, from today on, if you obey me, you can not only survive, but also continue to serve as the city lord of Vibrant Mulberry City." Lin Xun's voice was low.

"Okay!" Lan Jiao agreed.

Boom!

At this moment, the turbulent power in Lan Jiao's mind suddenly calmed down, and his eyes gradually regained clarity.

However, when he looked at Lin Xun again, his eyes were filled with uncontrollable fear. He said in a trembling voice, "Thank you for your mercy, Senior."

"Now, hand over the wealth you have plundered over the years," Lin Xun said.

"Yes."

Lan Jiao opened his mouth and spat out a dark blue crystal bead, which was a storage artifact that could be nurtured inside someone.

Lin Xun reached out and took it. After a quick look, he could not help but frown, "You have been the city lord for six years, yet you have only collected 150 million dao crystals?"

Lan Jiao replied respectfully, "Senior, you don't know that eighty percent of the dao crystals I collect every month need to be handed over to the Region Lord Xuening, and most of the remaining have to be used for various expenses. In the end, I can only keep less than ten percent of what I collect."

"This Region Lord Xuening is even more evil than Region Lord Heikong." Ji Leng sucked in a breath of cold air.

Lin Xun put away the storage bead and said, “When I need you to take action, I will notify you."

After that, he turned and left.

"Yes!"

Lan Jiao crawled on the ground, respectful like a humble and obedient servant.

After they left the City Lord's Mansion, Ji Leng couldn't help but ask, "Senior, what did you just do to Lan Jiao? Why did he become so obedient?"

Thinking of what he had just witnessed now, Ji Leng felt that something was a little weird and abnormal, which made him feel uneasy.

"A little trick that targets the state of mind. It’s called Nightmare Dread," Lin Xun said casually, but he didn't explain much.

However, just that phrase Nightmare Dread made Ji Leng think of many things. The more he thought about it, the more scared he became, and cold sweat dripped from him.

Could it be that his state of mind had already been hit by this Nightmare Dread without knowing it?