The ups and downs of the past came back along with the crashing of the waves.

Lin Xun would have never thought that there’d be such a day. Apparently on the Sinking Sea there was a special method for him to ‘meet’ his parents.

This was his first time ‘meeting’ his parents as an adult.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Unfortunately, it was simply an old and dusty memory. There was no chance for him to see them again in this lifetime.

Lin Xun silently lamented and sighed.

Within his mind appeared that man who was dressed entirely in snow-white. He could also see the sword that split open the heavens and the hand holding that ancient, pitch-black sword that still had beads of scarlet blood on it. Behind the man was that burning scene of destruction.

Yun Qingbai!

Lin Xun felt a hard-to-put-into-words kind of hate rushing into his heart. He carved this feeling in his bones so he would never forget it.

In the past, he had taken on the task of avenging the Lin Family as a responsibility he had to do as a direct descendant. Now, the desire to get revenge was a basic instinct within every fiber of his being!

……

Crash crash~

On the Sinking Sea, fierce waves came one after another, buffeting the lotus boats as the cultivators sailed forward.

Of course, whether it was peak geniuses such as Yu Lingkong or Ji Xingyao, or other cultivators, none of them were progressing quickly.

This was the third trial that tested a cultivator’s heart and state of mind. There wasn’t a time limit, nor was there a reward. As long as a cultivator could reach the other side without any problems, it would count as passing the trial.

However, in comparison to the other kinds, this type of trial was one of the most ruthless.

Incorporeal forces spread throughout the Sinking Sea and attacked their hearts. This made them suffer from invisible ambushes and influences.

This kind of test wasn’t a fight. Instead, it was a tussle with an emotionless force. Yet, it was related to the strength of a person’s heart, which was one of the most mysterious and terrifying trials to undergo.

Within the waves, all sorts of noises appeared. There were alarmed shouts, angry screams, and insane-sounding laughter.

Those who could hold fast to their dao heart were able to remain clear-headed, whereas those who had weaker minds were washed away by the waves and eliminated.

Lin Xun and Yue Jianming had both experienced a kind of nightmare earlier, which made them become conscious of the dreadfulness of the Sinking Sea. Following that, they didn’t dare to lose caution and continued to carefully move forward while resisting the forces.

……

At this moment, in the outside world, there were all sorts of discussions going on.

“During the second trial, Fairy Ji took second place, Yu Lingkong took third, so who took first?”

When the cultivators who had been eliminated appeared, they also brought with them the most recent news of what had been going on. All of the waiting experts paid close attention.

“We suspected that there was a high likelihood that first place was stolen by Demon God Lin!”

“That’s impossible. Who is Demon God Lin? And how could he possibly do better than Fairy Ji?”

“But other than Demon God Lin, who else could do it? The rankings of supreme peak geniuses, such as the Jade Emptiness Temple’s Mu Jianting, the Great Desolate Lightning Clan’s Lei Qianjun, and Azure Sea Sect’s Li Qinghuan, have all been exposed. None of them have taken first place. Only Demon God Lin’s ranking is still unknown.”

Everyone spiritedly discussed what was going out. Who would have thought that the third trial had already begun yet no one knew who had taken first in the second trial? It was still an enigma.

“What? Demon God Lin provoked all of the heaven prides by himself?” Before long, this unexpected news caused a sensation with everyone present.

Prior to traveling on the Sinking Sea, Lin Xun had brutally beaten up Xie Yutang and viciously defeated an expert from the Golden Purple Lynx Clan. In addition, the fact that he had a quarrel with the peerless heaven prides had also been exposed.

No one could sit still after hearing that as they were all surprised.

“He’s courting death for sure! Demon God Lin has abruptly risen into fame and has yet to encounter a setback, so he believes he can act impertinently and arrogantly. Does he look down on all of the geniuses?”

Some people disdained him and used this time to attack him.

“That’s how a true man should act. A man should always be lofty and unyielding with a heroic spirit. How many cultivators of the younger generation in the West Infinity World can have an attitude like his?”

There were also many people who exclaimed in admiration as they appreciated Lin Xun’s courage and bravery. They were now convinced of his valor.

“Regardless, once they arrive at the Ancient Dao Lantern Tree, Demon God Lin is destined to be ambushed and attacked until he dies!”

Everyone was in agreement about that.

After all, it wasn’t just Yu Lingkong, who had long become famous and had a dazzling reputation, who had come out to target Lin Xun. There were also other supreme peerless experts, such as Sha Liuchan, Qing Lian’er, and Zhuo Kuanglan.

Although Sha Liuchan and Qing Lian’er had been handedly defeated by Lin Xun in the past, that didn’t mean that no one believed that they didn’t have any trump cards in their hands.

“This Demon God Lin is in a bind now. Even that Xie Yutang has confirmed that he had been to one of the four great dao dominions and had great fortune there, gaining a Saint Treasure. I can foresee that there will be many experts keeping their eyes on him in the dark!”

“That’s right. If Demon God Lin had an ancient orthodoxy standing behind him, then that would make many people afraid of the consequences of targeting him. Then they wouldn’t dare to do anything too excessive. Unfortunately, everyone knows that he is all alone and came from the lower world. There is no one for him to rely on. This will make his situation even more dangerous.”

The cultivators present commented endlessly on the situation.

Some powerful experts had varying thoughts. The Return Dominion, great fortune, Saint treasure…just those words were enough to make even the freaks in the King Stage salivate.

It was easy to foresee that even if Demon God Lin was able to leave the Dao Lantern Festival alive, there’d be many other troubles trying to find him in the future.

This was the so-called ordinary man getting in trouble due to a jade ring. A youngster with no roots and no background yet a lot of luck was like a moving treasure house. That was more than enough to make a lot of people covet his possessions.

……

Four hours later.

Lin Xun felt a bit exhausted. In the Sinking Sea, he needed to constantly guard his heart and also use his cultivation base to propel the lotus boat forward. By now, Lin Xun had used up a lot of his power.

He didn’t dare to recklessly use more. After all, in the Sinking Sea, there were many strong cultivators around. If someone decided to ambush him, he needed to have enough strength to fight back powerfully.

“It’s my turn now.”

Yue Jianming, who was next to him, took up the burden of sending the lotus boat forward.

Lin Xun sat down cross-legged and began to meditate at once.

The Sinking Sea was a trial that tested a person’s heart. During this entire journey, Lin Xun had suffered from attacks to his mental state at all times.

There were dreams that used the memories of his past and also devils that tried to invade. There were even mysterious illusions that descended, transforming into elemental attacks. It was a constant test of his heart.

Even though it was incomparably dangerous, after experiencing this period, it allowed Lin Xun’s dao heart to undergo a rare baptism and transformation.

It was as if a piece of unpolished jade ore was being worked on constantly and was now beginning to expose its bright and translucent interior.

This kind of valuable and transformative training for the heart could also be called a type of great fortune for him.

At this moment, Lin Xun was working on restoring his strength while also consolidating the gains he had gotten for his mental state. The experiences began to subtly change his dao heart.

Time passed, and Lin Xun finally opened his eyes. A divine light flashed within the dark depths, causing people to feel fear.

His strength had been completely recovered, and his heart was like a rock, having become even more tough and formidable compared to before.

“I should take this opportunity to make a breakthrough!” Lin Xun made a decision.

Crash~

He took out a pile of sparking and translucent stones that were as bright as fire. There were some the size of a walnut and others the size of a fingernail. All of them had a pure and divine aura.

They were divinity crystals. Lin Xun had obtained them during the first trial, the Reverse Five Elements Secret Realm, when he had hunted fierce beasts. He had gotten around fifty of them.

These things were incredibly marvelous. Their biggest efficacy was in the realm of increasing a cultivator’s cultivation. In fact, using them didn’t have any detrimental effects on a cultivator’s foundation. It was impossible to find treasures like these in the outside world, so they were considered special items that can only be found but not sought.

“Time to begin refining!”

Lin Xun didn’t hesitate and began to operate the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture as he mediated.

His soul of the primordial spirit was quick and immediately came out. It controlled Lin Xun’s heart and state of mind. In addition, it kept alert of his surroundings while also resisting a steady flow of attacks to the dao heart.

Fortunately, Lin Xun had managed to condense a soul of the primordial spirit, so he could multitask. Otherwise, trying to break through on the dangerous Sinking Sea was absolutely no different than seeking his own death.

As time passed, Lin Xun could clearly tell that his cultivation was increasing constantly. Every time it increased a level it became even more outstanding. It resembled a river being filled with gushing rainwater.

This was the power of the divinity crystals!

In the past, if his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, Lin Xun would have been worried whether it would cause his foundation to become unstable and influence his future cultivation journey.

But now, there was no reason for him to be worried. Divinity crystals had a pure and robust power that originated from the great dao. When someone refined that power, it not only did not influence a cultivator’s base, but instead also caused an extraordinary transformation. They were things that nourished and tempered a person's cultivation.

Within the amount of time it took to brew a cup of tea, he could acutely tell that he was about to break through. At this time, he still had over twenty divinity crystals left, which was more than enough.

Bang!

All of the qi with his body begin to move, causing booming noises. It was as if a volcano was about to erupt. He used all of his power to attack the wall to the next level.

Bright red clouds tumbled through the sky looking as if they were bathing him in light. It was a dazzling and beautiful sight.

This was too flashy. Even Yue Jianming beside him had been alarmed, and his pupils had become constricted. In fact, he almost yelped aloud. Who would have thought that Lin Xun would try to break through to the next level in such a dangerous place?

This was too audacious!

“Heavens, my eyes aren’t lying to me right? Is Demon God Lin…attempting to break through?”

“Oh my gosh, he's really trying to do it!”

“I got it. It must be because he will have to fight with Yu Lingkong and the others, which is giving him a lot of pressure. He needs to take the opportunity now to advance, otherwise it'd be hard for him to survive!”

In the distance, many cultivators looked over as they had also been alarmed. Their eyes flickered as they tried to guess what he was doing.

“He's courting death!”

“If someone tried to ambush him now, not only would he have a high chance of being eliminated from the trial, but it's also possible that he'd end up with an inner demon and become handicapped!”

There were other people who muttered about this, as they weren't sure whether this was deliberate or an accident. They were trying to remind the others that if they wanted to get a piece of Lin Xun, this would be the best time to do so.

Yue Jianming’s face turned dark as he silently cursed that the situation was not good.

Within a moment, he sharply sensed that there were many people looking at them with evil intentions, and they were staring from all directions.

“We’re in trouble!”

Yue Jianming frowned and shortly therafter began to clench his jaw. He had come to the decision to do his best to keep Lin Xun afloat even if he ended up being eliminated himself. That way Lin Xun would avoid getting overtaken by an inner demon.

However, before Yue Jianming could even prepare, he heard Lin Xun transmit, "Brother Yue, don’t make a move now. I want to see just who will try to attack me at this time!"

His voice was dull and carried a hint of chilly killing intent.