Vol 5 Chapter 70: Going for the Big Score

The battle for the Premium Immortal Source had concluded, leaving all parties sighing in realization. The older generation indeed proved wiser in the end. After Li Tianyi and Sheng Kun departed, the Premium Immortal Source ultimately fell into the hands of the spirit beasts.

Though dazzling talents of the new generation like Lin Jing had shone brightly, their lack of experience became their downfall. While their strength might have sufficed, their overconfidence in strategy proved fatal.

"Lin Jing, you owe me an explanation for this."

Upon Lin Jing's return to Nether Earth, Yang Lin, who had been waiting there all along, couldn't contain his anger: "I told you to stay put here, but you insisted on intercepting those two spirit beasts! And look what happened!"

Covered in battle scars, Lin Jing fired back without courtesy: "That's exactly what I want to ask you."

"I went to stop the two spirit beasts while your only job was to deal with the Heavenly Demon Sect."

"With terrain and timing advantage, as long as the alliance cultivators held off the Heavenly Demon Sect, victory was assured."

"Yet from what I know, when the Premium Immortal Source appeared, not a single Heavenly Demon Sect member came to contest it—not even Mo Yu showed up. They must have abandoned the source to deal with that demon instead, leaving Mo Yu too occupied to break free."

"Without the Heavenly Demon Sect's threat, you had more than enough strength to protect the source."

"I successfully intercepted the Sea Spirit Beast. Though I failed to stop the Meteor Spirit Beast from breaking through unexpectedly, what were you all doing? Couldn't even handle one spirit beast?"

"If the Premium Immortal Source was stolen, how is that my fault? As Xianlin City's lord, do you even possess one-tenth of Senior Brother Li's capability?"

"You—" Yang Lin's attempt to shift blame backfired spectacularly, leaving him furious yet suddenly aware that Lin Jing had truly fought two spirit beasts single-handedly. He dared not provoke further conflict.

"Had I known you'd be this useless, I wouldn't have bothered intercepting those spirit beasts at all." With Lin Jing's dismissal, Lady Nethersoil promptly expelled the Cultivation Alliance members. Meanwhile, Lin Jing's secret message reached the Tianyuan Realm cultivators in Xianlin City, prompting their departure toward his territory.

Along the way, they learned about Lin Jing and the Cultivation Alliance's failure to secure the Premium Immortal Source.

"It's alright. We've only recently arrived in the Origin Realm—our foundation remains weak. We couldn't offer much help anyway..."

"With your Longevity Body, you'll never face cultivation stagnation. If you wish, you could stay here for tens of thousands of years like those spirit creatures. There will be other chances in the next millennium—you'll definitely claim a Premium Immortal Source then."

Senior Sister Xu Qingyao offered comfort.

"Exactly. Having cultivated in the Origin Realm for merely twenty years, you already fought two spirit beasts simultaneously without defeat. Not even the ancient immortal-body cultivators of Tianyuan Realm could achieve such a feat if reborn." Though Gu Xinghe disliked Lin Jing, even he couldn't deny the man's monstrous talent.

He'd heard the details—Lin Jing and his beast companion split up, each intercepting one spirit beast. The Sea Spirit Beast was completely blocked, with Lin Jing only suffering partial damage to his celestial beast corpse. Though the Meteor Spirit Beast broke through, its subordinates were successfully stopped.

Frankly, even if Sheng Kun and Li Tianyi returned, achieving such results would be difficult for anyone in the Origin Realm.

Faced with his fellow cultivators' consolation, Lin Jing chuckled and said, "Look what I have here."

He produced the Premium Immortal Source, waving it before Xu Qingyao, Gu Xinghe and others, whose eyes immediately widened in shock.

"The Premium Immortal Source?! But how?!" Gu Youran gasped in disbelief. Hadn't the Meteor Spirit Beast taken it?

"What's going on?!" Wan Renzong looked utterly confused.

"He probably subdued the Meteor Spirit Beast long ago. This whole contest was just an act he orchestrated." Feng Ning calmly interjected, "I thought Lady Nethersoil seemed unusually weak when the Meteor Spirit Beast came for the source. Having been captured by her personally and serving as her Nether Maiden, I know her true strength far exceeds what she showed."

"What?! Grandpa Lin even tamed the Meteor Spirit Beast?! Seriously?!" Ta Wu, the Holy Son of Wu God Hall, expressed mild surprise. Among the Tianyuan cultivators, he was the only one who'd died unexpectedly after meeting everyone. After Lin Jing had Lady Nethersoil resurrect him, the grateful holy son tearfully acknowledged his past arrogance, now treating Lin Jing as his literal grandfather.

"More or less. Consider it an alliance." Lin Jing explained, "I gathered everyone because I've decided Tianyuan Realm won't be joining the Cultivation Alliance so soon."

"I plan to ally with Origin Realm's spirit creatures first, snatching resources from under the noses of both the Heavenly Demon Sect and Cultivation Alliance to monopolize the Origin Realm's immortal sources temporarily. What do you think?"

Silence fell upon the group. Though some had suspected Lin Jing might consider this, hearing it stated outright still felt overwhelmingly audacious.

"Are you... truly going through with this?" Xu Qingyao hesitated.

"You've seen the Origin Realm's situation. With my current strength, this is entirely feasible. Or do you think Tianyuan Realm joining the Cultivation Alliance now would be better?"

"The Cultivation Alliance isn't charitable. After assisting Tianyuan Realm, they'd inevitably demand substantial returns. Unless Tianyuan Realm possesses absolute power to become core members immediately upon joining—which we clearly don't, lacking even a single immortal-body cultivator at the Seeking the Way realm—we'd remain insignificant."

"Conversely, if we withstand initial pressures to monopolize resources temporarily, the Seeking the Way ancestors behind each of your sects could advance further using Origin Realm's bounty. Tianyuan Realm's overall strength would then become formidable across all higher realms, benefiting our future development tremendously."

Having explained the stakes, Lin Jing faced these elites who understood that true power came from strength. Gu Xinghe frowned, "Then what do you need from us?"

Lin Jing smiled. "After cultivating here for over twenty years, you've accomplished everything except acquiring immortal energy and sources—like strengthening your foundations using the realm's abundant natural energy."

"Therefore, I want you to return to Tianyuan Realm early. Use your experiences to persuade your Seeking the Way ancestors to mobilize Tianyuan's full strength in supporting my grand endeavor here. As compensation, I'll gift you strands of immortal energy before departure."

"If you agree, I'll disclose my alliance plan with the Origin Realm's spirit creatures."