Chapter 101: Ling'er Awakens

“By the way, you said you obtained a piece of Star Emperor Purple Iron in the Thousand Saints Swamp? Bring it here for your father to see.” Naturally, Le Hao knew about Star Emperor Purple Iron. Upon hearing that his son had acquired such a precious item, he was overjoyed beyond measure.

“Father, please take a look.” With that, Le Dong revealed the piece of Star Emperor Purple Iron in his hand.

However, unlike before, the Star Emperor Purple Iron in Le Dong’s hand had long since lost its luster and appeared dull.

“That’s not Star Emperor Purple Iron at all; it’s clearly just a broken stone.” Hearing his father’s words, Le Dong hurriedly examined the piece closely.

Upon inspection, Le Dong realized that although it was indeed the same piece he had once possessed, it had changed drastically from before.

The Star Emperor Purple Iron now seemed lifeless, as if its very soul had been drained.

“Yes! It must be! It’s him!” Recalling the journey, only Lin Yanghao had touched the Star Emperor Purple Iron. If it wasn’t him tampering with it, then who else could it be?

“Who is it?” Le Hao quickly asked, curiosity piqued. For a piece of Star Emperor Purple Iron—so difficult even for advanced artificers to melt—to be reduced to this state, something extraordinary must be involved. If he could get his hands on it, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

“It’s Lin Yanghao. He’s the only one who touched my Star Emperor Purple Iron throughout the journey,” Le Dong said through gritted teeth, clearly infuriated by Lin Yanghao.

This was something he had risked his life to acquire, even sacrificing over a dozen elite disciples from the sect for it.

Now that Lin Yanghao had ruined it, how could Le Dong not be enraged? His anger flared uncontrollably.

Filled with fury, Le Dong glared at Le Hao and said, “Father, Lin Yanghao is utterly shameless! We must go and deal with that treacherous dog right now!”

“Report, Sect Leader! There’s a serious problem!” Just as Le Hao and Le Dong were boiling with rage, a loud shout came from outside, one of the sect disciples calling out urgently.

“What’s going on? To shout like that is utterly unreasonable! If you don’t explain yourself properly today, don’t blame me for being harsh!” Seeing such unruly behavior, Le Hao was displeased.

Combined with the Star Emperor Purple Iron incident, his anger now focused on the disciple who had just entered.

Even if their sect was not powerful, their disciples shouldn’t be so cowardly. What was the difference between them and timid turtles?

“Report, Sect Leader. The Gu Zhen Sect just sent a challenge letter,” the disciple said cautiously, fearing to provoke Le Hao further. It seemed the Sect Leader was in a foul mood today—if he became a vent for Le Hao’s temper, that wouldn’t be good.

***

“What! They’re simply being outrageous!” After reading the letter, Le Hao roared in anger and tore it to shreds on the spot.

Combined with the earlier Star Emperor Purple Iron incident, Le Hao was nearly driven to a fiery rage.

...

“Lin Yanghao, where exactly are we? When will I be able to leave?” The voice was that of Bing Xiao, who had long been trapped inside the Spirit Beast Bag by Lin Yanghao.

He had already spent over half a month inside the bag and was nearly driven mad by the confinement.

“We’re currently in a small sect in the Northern Domain. Don’t worry, it won’t be long before we leave. Then I’ll release you.” Lin Yanghao actually admired Bing Xiao’s temperament—he had managed to endure over half a month alone in the Spirit Beast Bag. That was no small feat.

Before, Bing Xiao wouldn’t have lasted even a moment in such a place.

“Alright then, I’ll hold on a few more days. Why am I so unfortunate? I might be the most miserable immortal beast in the world!” Inside the bag, Bing Xiao wailed in frustration.

Lin Yanghao smiled softly and ignored him. He had already decided to leave Tianwu Sect tomorrow.

He truly didn’t want any further entanglements with Tianwu Sect.

“Lin... Yang... Hao...” A faint, broken voice shattered the silence in Lin Yanghao’s heart.

“Ling’er? Ling’er? Is that you? How are you now?” Lin Yanghao’s emotions surged, and the heavy burden that had weighed on his heart finally dropped.

“Because I absorbed the extreme cold energy within the Star Emperor Purple Iron, I’m feeling much better. That freezing energy came just in time; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have survived.”

“What? How are you now? Should I find more pieces of Star Emperor Purple Iron for you to absorb?” If the Star Emperor Purple Iron could heal Ling’er, he would travel to the ends of the earth to find more.

If not for Ling’er, he wouldn’t be in such a state now.

And if it weren’t for Ling’er, he might not even be alive to stand here.

No matter the difficulty, no matter the hardship, he would find the Star Emperor Purple Iron for Ling’er.

“Don’t say foolish things. Star Emperor Purple Iron is incredibly precious. For you to have obtained even one piece is a great fortune. Do you think it’s a common vegetable by the roadside?” Ling’er remained weak, as if a mere breeze could scatter her.

“Isn’t Star Emperor Purple Iron a material for forging? It should still be findable, right? Though precious, it’s not unattainable.” Lin Yanghao thought, “Anything that exists in this world can be found!”

Even if it were like searching for a needle in a haystack, he would cure Ling’er. Now that her life was no longer in danger, Lin Yanghao was relieved.

“Who said Star Emperor Purple Iron is just a forging material! It contains extreme cold power and is a miraculous medicine for healing wounds. It’s treasured wherever it’s found.” Ling’er’s voice grew weaker as she spoke.

“I’m about to fall asleep again. Don’t worry about me...” After a moment, Lin Yanghao’s mind returned to its usual calm.

“Set out for the Thousand Saints Swamp!” Since Le Dong’s Star Emperor Purple Iron was found there, and he also needed to find the purple vine there, it seemed he had no choice but to go.

He resolved to bid farewell to Le Hao and his son tomorrow and then depart.

After a night of silence, Lin Yanghao’s cultivation had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. His next step was to break through to the Core Formation stage.

Before entering the Thousand Saints Swamp, he must advance to Core Formation.

The stronger he became, the greater his chances of finding both Star Emperor Purple Iron and the purple vine.

With Wang Shaohui’s Core Formation pill, he believed it wouldn’t be long before he successfully broke through.

Once he became a Core Formation cultivator, combined with his Divine Strike technique, even ordinary Nascent Soul practitioners would find it difficult to gain the upper hand against him.

As long as he avoided provoking the cultivation sects and powerful figures, his strength alone would allow him to assert himself in the cultivation world.