CHAPTER 653: CHAPTER 652: GUARDIAN OF THE HOLY SOUL DOMAIN

Lin Zizai and his group halted their attacks, for the Dark Venerate was on the brink of defeat, rendering their further actions unnecessary.

The Dark Venerate, unwilling to accept this, coldly spoke to Lin Zizai, "Lin Zizai, to speak the truth, I am very unwilling. Had it not been for this youngling’s schemes, how could you have possibly injured me?"

Lin Zizai sneered in response, "Do you know the saying ’evil cannot overcome good’? You are hell-bent on destroying the entire Holy Soul Domain, and this is precisely why heaven has decreed your doom!"

"Ha ha!"

The next moment, the Dark Venerate burst into a loud laugh, saying, "What a joke, heaven damning me? Do you really think you can kill me? Let me tell you, this is just one of my avatars. Once my true self breaks free... Heh heh, the entire Holy Soul Domain will belong to our Dark Clan!"

"What? Your avatar?"

Lin Zizai was taken aback.

"Just you wait, it won’t be long before I come for you, ha ha!"

The Dark Venerate laughed arrogantly once again.

And after his laughter and words, his body gradually began to dissipate.

The faces of Lin Zizai and the other ascetics darkened even further; after a while, Lin Zizai muttered to himself, "Damn, it was really just an avatar? It seems the Holy Soul Domain is destined to face great calamities!"

Lin Fan asked, "Uncle Lin, is this Dark Venerate a member of the Dark Clan?"

Lin Zizai nodded and answered, "Yes, not only is he part of the Dark Clan, but he is also a Venerate of the Dark Clan. Countless years ago, he sought to destroy the Holy Soul Domain, but ultimately, he and others of the Dark Clan were sealed by a Great Power of our Holy Soul Domain. Over the years, they’ve continuously struggled to return, and from the looks of it, they’re almost ready to emerge any moment now."

Lin Fan remained silent.

He knew about the sealing of the Dark Clan.

According to Lin Fan’s understanding, all the experts of the Dark Clan were supposed to be dead or severely injured.

It seems the rumors are not entirely true; at least the Dark Venerate is still alive.

At this point, one of the ascetics sighed, "Ah, had the Dark Venerate been killed back in those days, wouldn’t that have been much better?"

Lin Zizai shook his head and said, "Actually, the Great Power back then did intend to kill the Dark Venerate. However, the Dark Venerate’s strength was too formidable, and he simply could not be slain. In the end, with no other options left, all we could do was seal him."

No one spoke thereafter.

Everyone remained silent.

It was as if everyone could see, an invisible calamity was enveloping the entire Holy Soul Domain.

After a while, Lin Zizai said, "Alright, we should leave now. This trip to the Life Divine Mountain has at least temporarily thwarted the Dark Venerate!"

Lin Fan asked, "Uncle Lin, did you come to the Life Divine Mountain to stop the Dark Venerate?"

Lin Zizai nodded and replied, "Yes, we received news that the Dark Venerate, for his own selfish desires, planned to destroy the entire Life Divine Mountain. You must know, the Life Divine Mountain is the foundation of the Holy Soul Domain. If it were destroyed, the entire Holy Soul Domain would be ruined as well, so we rushed here!"

Lin Fan nodded, saying, "So that’s how it is!"

At this moment, Lin Fan was somewhat surprised. Previously, he always thought that what the ascetics did was continually cultivate.

But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Lin Fan couldn’t help but say, "I always thought you ascetics were unconcerned about world affairs, focusing only on cultivation."

Lin Zizai glanced at Lin Fan, a hint of hesitancy crossing his face, as if considering whether to share certain matters with Lin Fan.

Soon after, Lin Zizai decided and said, "Nephew, what you said isn’t wrong. Normally, we indeed don’t concern ourselves with worldly affairs, but... if we encounter matters that concern the life and death of the entire Holy Soul Domain, we must intervene!"

Pausing for a moment, Lin Zizai then continued asking Lin Fan, "Nephew, do you know, besides being called ascetics, what else we are known as?"

Lin Fan shook his head, "I do not know!"

Lin Zizai solemnly said, "Our other title is the Holy Soul Domain Guardian Corps!"

Lin Fan asked, "Holy Soul Domain Guardian Corps?"

Lin Zizai nodded and explained, "Yes, the Holy Soul Domain Guardian Corps. That is to say, we ascetics are actually the Guardians of the Holy Soul Domain. Normally, we dedicate ourselves to cultivation relentlessly so that one day, should the Holy Soul Domain face a crisis, we can save it from peril."

Lin Fan stayed silent.

In that moment, the stature of these ascetics in Lin Fan’s heart suddenly grew immensely.

Lin Zizai added, "Alright, we must leave now!"

The Starry Sky Channel that appeared earlier hadn’t closed yet.

Thus, Lin Fan, Lin Zizai, and the others quickly entered the Starry Sky Channel and vanished.

When they appeared again, everyone had already arrived at the Life Divine Mountain.

Lin Zizai looked towards Lin Fan and said, "Nephew, are you alright? If you are feeling the strain, we won’t rest now—instead, we’ll leave the Life Divine Mountain and head back to Ten Thousand Mountains?"

Lin Fan responded, "I’m fine!"

Pausing a moment, Lin Fan added, "But wasn’t it said that the Life Divine Mountain could only be entered on the night of a full moon?"

Lin Zizai explained, "Under normal circumstances, the Life Divine Mountain indeed can only be accessed on the night of a full moon, but... because of the Life Origin of the Life Divine Mountain, which was previously damaged by the Dark Venerate, the seal surrounding it is extremely unstable right now, so naturally, we can tear through the Seal and leave!"

"Actually, under the current circumstances, leaving the Life Divine Mountain is safer for us. Because of the damage to the Life Origin which has caused instability in the Life Divine Mountain, unpredictable events can occur here at any moment. Should we encounter such uncontrollable events, all of us might perish, so it’s better to leave!"

Throughout the conversation, Lin Zizai was looking at Lin Fan.

Clearly, Lin Zizai’s words were meant for Lin Fan.

Lin Fan said, "Uncle Lin, then let’s leave!"

"Okay!"

Lin Zizai nodded, then said to everyone around, "Everyone get ready. I will count down from three, and on one, we take action..."

"Okay!"

The others didn’t chat needlessly, simply responding with an acknowledgment.

They also prepared themselves to act.

"Three, two, one!"

Lin Zizai roared the count.

Instantly, all the ascetics began to act.

Their hands moved continuously, casting out strange seals.

Soon, these seals merged together, coalescing into a gigantic hand, which directly tore through a spot in space.