CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 0369: I WILL AVENGE YOU

People often say.

A day in the heavens is a year on earth.

The flow of time between the Cultivation Realm and the Immortal Realm does indeed differ.

Lin Fan stayed in the Immortal Realm for a day, yet a full month had passed in the Cultivation Realm.

Inside a certain mountain cave.

"Senior Old Sword God, what should we do now? The Immortal Sect has already begun a full-scale suppression of Martial Arts. Those who practiced Martial Arts—I’ve contacted them—they’ve completely forgotten everything about it."

"That’s right, the Immortal Sect’s methods are truly deplorable. This is cutting off our Martial Arts path entirely."

"Rumor has it that the Martial Arts Ancestor was betrayed by his own Immortal Sect and forced to ascend to the Immortal Realm. We don’t have any pillars of support left."

At this moment, a group of people huddled together inside the cave, not daring to wander outside.

The Immortal Sect’s experts were searching everywhere for them.

Luckily, they had escaped one disaster without being discovered, especially with Old Sword God stepping forward to lead them to this secluded area in the mountains, where they were safe for the time being.

Old Sword God stayed silent, his gaze fixed on the Martial Arts Stele standing upright nearby.

"Without support, we must rely on ourselves. The Martial Arts Ancestor left this stele as a legacy, hoping that we could reach Martial Arts to God."

"So, during this time, I suggest we focus on cultivating. A small group should head out to find like-minded individuals and bring them here."

"As martial artists, we must possess an unyielding spirit, follow in the footsteps of the Martial Arts Ancestor, and establish a domain for martial artists."

Ever since stepping into the new realm of Martial Arts, Old Sword God’s previously depleted vitality had been replenished, making him much stronger.

His white hair turned black.

His energy and spirit were more abundant than ever before.

"Old Sword God is right. We must work hard, reach Martial Arts to God, and avenge the Martial Arts Ancestor in the future."

"Though things are dangerous right now—"

"Danger spurs us to push forward harder."

Currently, the mortal world has been thrown into chaos by the Immortal Sect.

Some Immortal Sects indeed erased martial artists’ memories.

But some martial artists refused to yield, even if their Martial Arts cultivation was weak—they continued to fight against the Immortal Sect and ended up being killed.

Thus, unknowingly—

The conflict between the Martial Arts faction and the Immortal Sect had become increasingly severe.

Moreover, there were many geniuses among martial artists. Given the current situation, Old Sword God stood as a trailblazer among them, along with others like the Martial King, the Fist King, and other veteran experts who were ahead of the pack.

Even though they couldn’t compete with the Immortal Sect now—

If given time to develop, a day would come when they could cause the Immortal Sect unimaginable trouble.

Immortal Realm.

After slaughtering a group of people, Lin Fan gained quite a bit.

[Acquired Immortal-level Divine Power: Five Burial Fist.]

[Acquired Mana: Ninety Thousand Years.]

[Acquired Great Divine Power: Heavenly Eye Golden Light.]

...

The rest of the loot wasn’t worth mentioning.

However, the Immortal-level Divine Power was the first time he’d acquired such a drop—it came from the Li Family Patriarch. As for the ninety thousand years of mana, he wasn’t sure which Li clan member had dropped that.

All in all, it was a fruitful harvest.

Whoosh!

Lin Fan flew through the void. The Immortal Realm was vast, and finding living beings wasn’t easy. Even a small domain governed by the Li Family stretched tens of thousands of miles, sometimes even up to a hundred thousand miles.

Early morning.

Inside the city, several people stood outside the Li Mansion gates, sensing something unusual had happened last night. They wanted to investigate.

But none of them dared to enter the Li Mansion rashly.

They merely observed from the entrance.

"What do you think this note means? Did the Li Family members actually leave? But last night, something strange clearly occurred."

"Who knows? Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s false. Why don’t one of you go inside and take a look?"

"If anyone’s going in, it should be you."

They only dared to stand outside the gates, not recklessly push their luck.

The Li Mansion had a Heavenly Immortal Realm patriarch. For cultivators with their level of strength, offending the Li Family was as good as asking for death.

To them, someone at the Heavenly Immortal Realm was already an unattainable existence.

At this moment—

A black-robed man slowly stepped out from the crowd.

Those around him felt an overwhelming aura emanating from this man, and none dared to obstruct him.

"Hmm?"

The black-robed man furrowed his brow and looked up to see a layer of dense death qi enveloping the Li Mansion—a clear sign of tragedy.

He ascended the steps, preparing to investigate.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the Li Mansion. Entering recklessly could cause trouble," someone kindly reminded him.

The black-robed man turned back and cast a single look. The kind-hearted person felt paralyzed, as if a mountain had crushed them.

A strong one!

A very strong one.

The kind-hearted person dared not say more, keeping his head bowed and avoiding eye contact.

The black-robed man pushed open the gates of the Li Mansion, and immediately, a lingering murderous air rushed out, evidence of severe events.

Bang!

The man closed the gates behind him and walked straight into the courtyard.

He scrutinized his surroundings.

"The aura of the Great Sun Fire."

From the lingering energy in the air, he sensed the presence of familiar divine power.

The black-robed man raised his hand, summoning a water-like mirror to float in front of him.

This was a peculiar divine skill capable of recreating scenes from recent days based on the surrounding remnants of energy.

However, something was off.

The mirror vibrated, attempting to trace events, but suddenly, with a cracking sound, the mirror shattered—it was impossible to trace anything.

"The aura is shielded."

The black-robed man immediately understood—the enemy had hidden their energy; otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened.

Could it be a Golden Immortal expert?

But that seemed unlikely.

Such a remote place—a Golden Immortal expert wouldn’t deign to come here unless they had pressing business.

Since retracing failed—

Other methods could still work.

"Souls, come forth..."

The black-robed man murmured softly. Instantly, the special Golden Immortal Laws surged out from his body, their golden radiance exuding astounding power as they forcibly gathered the scattering broken souls remaining in the world.

Suddenly—

A figure began to condense slowly.

The figure was ethereal and blurred, hard to make out, and strangely seemed like a mix of various broken souls.

"Such ruthless methods, slaughtering so thoroughly. If not for this secret technique, it would have been impossible to reconstruct anything."

The black-robed man frowned. The enemy had been vicious in their methods, but fortunately, they hadn’t completely obliterated everything—there were still fragmented souls floating in the heavens and earth.

Using his supreme mana and divine skills, he forcibly merged these souls.

Minor issues arose—

"Ah! Help me!"

"Don’t kill me!"

"Damn, how can they be so strong?"

The whispers were chaotic, as though numerous voices were speaking at once.

This was a result of fragmented souls combining.

The black-robed man pinched an Immortal Technique. A beam of immortal light shot into the fused souls.

"Li Daoist, what happened to you and your family? Who did this to you?" the black-robed man inquired.

The souls stabilized.

The Li Family Patriarch regained consciousness. "Lie Daoist, you’ve finally come."

"Alas, this tragedy saddens me deeply. Who could have done this, slaughtering the entire Li Family? If I find them, I vow to avenge you," said the black-robed man.

The Li Family Patriarch recounted Lin Fan’s actions.

The black-robed man frowned. Newly ascended—surely not a Golden Immortal expert. Yet the Li Patriarch was in the Heavenly Immortal Realm; had he not been injured, he’d surely have reached the Golden Immortal stage.

But the enemy, clearly newly ascended—how did they have the capacity to kill the Patriarch?

There must be undisclosed secrets behind this.

The Patriarch pleaded, "Lie Daoist, I now exist as only this broken soul. Could you aid me in rebirth? I’ve heard you practice Ghost Immortal techniques and can help me form a ghostly body. If you assist me, I’ll be forever grateful."

As the patriarch of the Li Mansion, he naturally wouldn’t resign himself to such a fate.

With Lie Daoist using his great power to gather his fragmented soul, even though the path of a Ghost Immortal was difficult, he still wanted to live.

"Alas!"

The black-robed man sighed heavily, opened his hand, and the condensed soul shadow was instantly grasped in his palm. With a burst, flames ignited.

"Ah! Lie Daoist, what is the meaning of this..." The Li Family Patriarch cried out in anguish.

The black-robed man replied, "Li Patriarch, given your current state, recreating a ghostly body would consume far too many precious resources. You might as well contribute to my advancement—it’s proper compensation for avenging you."

In an instant—

The cries ceased.

A gray elixir hovered in his palm.

The black-robed man seemed satisfied, swallowing the elixir. While its benefits were limited, it did augment his mana slightly—better than nothing.

However, finding Lin Fan’s trace seemed impossible.

His aura was hidden.

Even tracking divine techniques failed to capture him—it was no different from finding a needle in an ocean.

Soon after—

A vulgar curse resonated, even in the Immortal Realm:

"Sh*t!"

The black-robed man had reached the Li Patriarch’s secluded cultivation site, only to find the treasury completely emptied. Judging by the mess, the looter had been thorough; only a single Immortal Stone lingered dimly in a corner.

It was proof that treasures had once filled this place.

But he was too late.

The merciless intruder had already taken everything.

Lin Fan traversed the void, searching for traces of life. After the incident with the Li Mansion, he understood now—everything demanded extreme caution; carelessness was not an option.

Too many dangers lurked around him.

In this world, trust among people was basically nonexistent.

No one should trust anyone.

Simultaneously, a thought niggled at him.

Where had those forcibly ascended from the Forbidden Land ended up?

Had they all died?

Of course—

The scenario Lin Fan fantasized most about was running into his mother’s husband. Emotional ties aside, he planned to cling tightly to that big shot’s leg for support—it’d bring him untold joy without a doubt.

"Alas!"

After traveling for who knows how far, he despaired.

Damn.

Not even a ghostly shadow in sight.

It felt like encountering literal ghosts.

He landed in a forest, lit a fire, rounded up some wild beasts, and casually prepared food to satiate his hunger.

Although it was nighttime—

The countless stars above illuminated the surrounding area brightly, creating an atmosphere of peace.

If only a senior expert were to take care of him now—

His current life might be the pinnacle of comfort.

Gradually—

The aroma of roasted wild boar wafted in the air. Although he technically didn’t need to eat, indulging his appetite was still essential.

Only through such indulgence—

Could he remind himself he was still human at this moment in time.