Lin Xun felt a burning sensation as his internal injuries recovered at an astonishing speed.

It was the miraculous effect of the Golden Essence Jade Liquid he had swallowed earlier.

The Golden Essence Jade Liquid was indeed worthy of being called one of the Eight Treasures of Heaven and Earth. In a few brief moments, it had substantially healed Lin Xun’s wounds and replenished some of his energy.

Lin Xun put away the Grand Universe Ark and began to scour the battlefield.

He soon found a dark silver ring only to be disappointed after scanning it with his spirit sense.

It was Gou Gui’s storage ring and contained a few high-grade aeth essence fragments, a dozen rare tonics, and some high-grade materials.

Additionally, there were three jade strips containing three secret arts, the Black Nightmare Incineration Sutra, the Ruyi Azure Light Art, and the Little Formless Tribulation Neutralization Art.

To ordinary cultivators, these three secret arts were absolutely first-rate inheritances that recorded the secrets of cultivating the five greater cultivation realms and how to forge the dao to become a King expert. It would be impossible to measure their value.

For Lin Xun, however, who had stepped foot on the supreme path, the first two secret arts were of little value since they clashed with his path.

Only the Little Formless Tribulation Neutralization Art made his heart stir.

It was a secret art that could be considered a ‘King Stage Inheritance.’ It contained some details about the Nine Longevity Tribulations and secrets on how to overcome the tribulations and attain immortality.

Although it wasn’t suitable for Lin Xun at this juncture, it would become useful for him when he one day reached the King Stage and began his journey to search for the path of immortality.

However, this small haul alone was still rather disappointing.

Gou Gui was an apex expert who had already started his search for the immortal path. Hence, Lin Xun could not help but be a little speechless at how poor he was.

After a lot more searching, Lin Xun finally found a giant black dog leg which made him feel slightly better.

After all, it was the meat of a King Stage existence. Lin Xun wondered what it would taste like after being barbecued...

……

Before leaving, Lin Xun glanced at the nameless mountain in the distance with a strange look in his eyes.

In the previous battle, he had clearly seen golden lightning descend from the sky to help him at critical moments.

In the end, Lin Xun silently bowed and cupped his fists together before turning around to leave.

……

Not long after, a woman appeared atop the peak of the nameless mountain. She wore golden gauzy clothes and was enveloped by a grand halo of light, making her resemble a magnificent goddess.

A young boy stood beside the woman. He had delicate features and a pair of brightly shining eyes.

"Mother, why did you help that bastard!"

The little boy was very angry. He ground his teeth and said, "That bastard stole my Golden Essence Jade Liquid and hit my behind. He’s shameless and despicable!"

The woman peered in the direction Lin Xun had left. After a long time, she replied, "Child, do you remember who our clan's enemy is?"

The little boy instinctively answered, "The Golden Crow Clan!"

"Correct." The woman nodded, "That’s why you must remember that youngster."

The little boy was taken aback. "Is he a descendant of the Golden Crow Clan?"

The woman shook her head as a strange arc formed from the corners of her lips. "No, he is like us. The day will come when he will go to war with the Golden Crow Clan."

"Does he also have a grudge against the Golden Crow Clan?"

"There may be no grudge now, but it is impossible to say in the future."

"Why is that, Mother?"

"Because the bow in his possession has killed more than one Golden Crow Clan Saint expert in the ancient era, while that arrow he used is one of the 'nine divine arrows' of the Great Yi Tribe and has also been dyed with the blood of many Golden Crow Clan experts."

The woman indifferently said, "It is karma from long ago. Although there might be no enmity between the youngster and the Golden Crow Clan now, he is destined to sooner or later be entangled in their karma the moment he came into possession of that bow and arrow."

"Mother, I do not understand."

"Lin'er, you are still young and will understand in time. However, as a descendant of the Single-Horned Golden-Eyed Clan, you must never forget that your father was killed by the Golden Crow Clan."

The little boy nodded as a determined look emerged on his face. "I understand!"

However, he inwardly said, "When I grow up, I’ll give that bastard a good beating. He’s the first person who dared to beat my behind and such humiliation absolutely cannot be tolerated!"

The little boy would eventually be known as ‘Emperor Tai Lin,’ whose divine might became famous even across the universe and was worshipped by countless cultivators.

No one would know that Emperor Tai Lin was once spanked when he was young, an event he would never forget and viewed as the only stain in his entire life...

Of course, this would only happen in the future.

……

Lord Gou Gui is dead!

An incense stick of time later, Gou Xuxing and the others appeared in the vicinity of the battlefield. When it was determined that Gou Gui was dead, they were utterly dumbstruck as if they had been struck by lightning.

After a long time, Gou Xuxing instructed with an ashen expression, "Send the news back to the clan."

He knew that he could not hide this. The death of a King expert was a heavy blow to the Black Nightmare Sky Dog Clan, which had factions all over the Ancient Wasteland Domain and was no less than a bolt from the blue.

No matter how much he stood out among the younger generation or how reluctant he was, Gou Xuxing simply did not have the balls to hide such terrible news.

Two Half-Step Kings were dead!

Most of his elite subordinates were killed!

And now, even Gou Gui was gone...

Meanwhile, the opponent was still alive and kicking!

The operation was a complete failure.

Gou Xuxing knew that if he returned to the clan now, they would have to face the fury and punishment of the higher-ups!

"I'm going to kill you!"

Gou Xuxing inwardly muttered as Lin Xun’s figure appeared in his mind. Never before had he ever hated someone so deeply.

……

The clouds hung above the ancient forests while mountains rose in the distance, painting a magnificent picture.

Lin Xun traveled alone through the wilderness.

In the day, he observed the mountains and rivers and searched for aeth veins to learn the essence of Chaofeng Eye.

At night, he would meditate and absorb the essence of the world to temper himself.

He didn’t encounter any danger along the way. The enemy seemed to have understood that they were beaten and did not appear again.

A few days later.

On a mountain peak surrounded by lavender mist, Lin Xun waved his sleeve. The fog was immediately blown away, revealing the mountain’s true face.

Crash~

He reached out and made a grabbing motion, causing the mountain to shake as a terrifying force descended upon it. Before long, a vein-like stream was extracted.

The vein sparkled beautifully with flowing lavender light.

Lavender Treasure Copper!

It was a type of high-grade material that was very expensive. A thumb-sized piece could be exchanged for thirty pieces of low-grade aeth essence in the market.

The Lavender Treasure Copper vein before him probably weighed more than ten thousand pounds and was as thick as a python.

Lin Xun casually tossed it into his storage ring before continuing on his way.

Over the past few days, he had used the Chaofeng Eye to discover many treasure troves that contained various aeth veins and ore deposits such as True White Prime Gold, Blue Fiend Rune Iron, Red Smoke Jade, and many others."

There were also a few aeth veins that contained high-grade aeth crystals, aeth essence, and other treasures. Although they were of varying quality, they were clearly more scarce than the ore deposits.

In addition, the Chaofeng Eye also allowed Lin Xun to discover some prime locations which could be called ‘blessed lands.’

Of course, it wasn’t all rewards. There was also danger.

Treasure troves with excellent feng shui would sometimes contain hidden danger.

Lin Xun had encountered such dangers more than once. Take yesterday, for example, when he discovered a mountain that glowed with treasure light. The mountain also gave off a dark gold luster and was surrounded by thick aeth qi. Lin Xun deduced that it was a Golden Jade ore deposit.

While he was excavating, however, terrifying blood-earth qi suddenly gushed out from below the mountain and spouted into the sky.

In a mere few moments, all of the grass, rocks, mountains...and everything else within a hundred-mile radius was corroded and destroyed!

Lin Xun would have also been in trouble if he hadn’t avoided it in time.

Earth-blood qi was a type of frightening and bizarre qi that possessed unimaginable corrosive power.

Even Heaven Ascension cultivators would instantly be corroded into nothingness if a tiny speck touched them!

Such encounters had happened several times to Lin Xun over the past few days.

However, he also learned from each experience as his understanding of the Chaofeng Eye grew deeper and deeper.

Half a month later.

Late at night. The stars shone brightly, illuminating the night sky while the mountains were quiet save for the whistling night wind.

Under a willow tree halfway up the mountain, Lin Xun was meditating beside a campfire, the flickering flames casting moving shadows on his face.

His presence was withdrawn and silent like an unmoving rock.

A squirrel climbed up the tree and curiously observed Lin Xun from the branches. After a long hesitation, it carefully leaped down and brushed his face with its fluffy tail.

Upon seeing that he still didn’t move, it joyfully hopped about on his shoulder as if it had found an interesting toy.

In the end, the squirrel grew tired of playing. It burrowed its head into his arms, curled itself up, and began snoozing away.

A pair of green eyes suddenly appeared from the darkness in the distance, belonging to a Blood Leopard.

It stealthily approached like a vigilant and seasoned hunter, its green eyes staring at Lin Xun and the sleeping squirrel.

Just a little more...

The squirrel was still fast asleep, its soft little belly rising and falling as it breathed, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

The originally unmoving Lin Xun opened his eyes at this moment, making it seem as if lightning was flashing in the darkness.

Plop!

The Blood Leopard immediately prostrated itself on the ground, trembling in fear as it hissed pitifully.

An ethereal aura spread from between his brows as he quietly gazed at the Blood Leopard. In an instant, numerous sensations flooded his mind and heart.

The Blood Leopard had been starved for several days and was mother to a litter of cubs. It desired food because its cubs were dying of starvation.

It was also feeling fear, despair, and frustration. It wasn’t afraid of death but was instead worried that its cubs would be unable to survive after it died...

These feelings and thoughts that belonged to the Blood Leopard were instantly captured and understood by Lin Xun.

It was the ability of the ninth transformation of the Tribulation Dragon Nine Transformations, Qiuniu Heart.