BOOM!
Accompanied by a tremor that shook the earth, a thick, jagged earth spike erupted from the ground exactly where the little monk was standing.
"Did I say I was running?" Lin Haoming laughed as he watched the monk get launched into the sky by the spike.
In this godforsaken place, Lin Haoming never felt safe—even with Xie Ruolan nearby. Whenever he suspected an ambush, he would secretly plant a Ground Spike Talisman near himself. As a high-grade, low-rank talisman, its power was immense, effectively catapulting the monk into the air.
Lin had never used this move before because Xie Ruolan was always there to handle things. But today, for some reason, she had refused to show herself, forcing him into a desperate struggle.
Knowing the monk's body-refining techniques were top-notch, Lin didn't assume this would kill him. He immediately merged three of his Five Elements Swords into a massive greatsword—the limit of his current capabilities at the 9th level—and hacked down at the mid-air target.
Clang!
The greatsword was deflected. To Lin's horror, the figure falling from the sky was now even larger than before. Standing nearly ten feet tall with bulging muscles and popping veins, the monk looked less like a human and more like a primordial Fiendgod.
Against the monk's previous form, Lin had a fighting chance. Against this beast with blood-red eyes and overwhelming pressure, Lin felt the same suffocating dread he had felt when Xie Ruolan first killed a disciple in front of him.
---
Discovery in the Depths
The monk let out a beastly roar. Instead of charging Lin, he grabbed the massive stone spike that had launched him. With a heave of his pincer-like hands, he ripped the spike out of the earth.
The ground beneath them instantly collapsed.
Lin Haoming felt the earth vanish under his feet and plummeted dozens of yards into the dark. However, the fall saved him from the monk's immediate follow-up.
As he landed, he was hit by a wave of incredibly dense spiritual qi. He looked around and gasped. He was in a massive cavern where the walls were studded with countless spirit stones, glowing with a mesmerizing radiance.
"A Spirit Stone Mine! There's actually a mine beneath Red Leaf Mountain!" A long-awaited voice finally rang out.
Lin saw Xie Ruolan standing nearby. He grumbled, "Senior Sister Xie, what took you so long?"
"Your cultivation improved; I wanted to see how much you've grown," she replied nonchalantly. Lin knew that if the ground hadn't collapsed, he'd be dead or crippled, yet she spoke so lightly of it.
The monk, having reverted to his original size, shouted with glee, "This humble monk's dharma name is truly Fayuan—Dharma Fate—as soon as I come out, I encounter a Great Fate!"
"Fate? You need to be alive to enjoy it!" Xie Ruolan sneered, summoning her now-upgraded Yin Soul Banner.
The monk frowned at the banner, but when his eyes landed on Xie Ruolan, they lit up with a lewd glint. "Female Benefactor, put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha. I see you have a fate with Buddhism. If you abandon the demonic path, I am willing to tie a Fate with you."
"Oh? And what kind of Buddha would that be?" Xie Ruolan mocked.
"The Hevajra Buddha—the Joyful Buddha—of course! I've admired his teachings for a long time," the monk smirked.
"Die!" Xie Ruolan snarled, waving her banner.
---
The Great Escape
But before she could strike, the monk crushed a jade slip. A massive pillar of light shot straight into the heavens.
Xie Ruolan's face paled. She instantly retracted her banner and grabbed Lin Haoming. "This monk has a serious background! If his sect elders arrive, we're dead!"
Lin had never seen her this panicked. He swallowed a pill to replenish his qi and fled with her at top speed.
The monk didn't pursue them. The two of them flew toward the sect, ignoring their mounting exhaustion. When two groups of cultivators tried to block their path, Xie Ruolan didn't hold back, slaughtering them instantly and grabbing their bags without even stopping to check the bodies.
Two hours later, they reached the sect's teleportation hall. Only after they stepped onto the array did Xie Ruolan finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Senior Sister, what was that thing the monk activated?" Lin asked.
"A Ten-Thousand-Mile Talisman," she explained. "A single slip costs over ten thousand spirit stones. Not even Ancestor Ling would give you one of those. It signals a Nascent Soul ancestor. If one was nearby, we would have been trapped."
Lin marveled at her decisiveness. However, a smile soon spread across Xie Ruolan's face. "Though it was dangerous, this is a massive opportunity. Reporting a spirit stone mine—even a small one—is a monumental contribution to the sect!"
Lin's heart leaped. Disciples who discovered mines were almost always rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill. He could finally see a path to the next realm.
Xie Ruolan, thinking ahead, pulled out two message jade slips and crushed them to summon her contacts.