Seeing Lin Baixi accept the Parent-Child Tracking Stone, Lin Moqin spoke up, "You've already offended the Chen family by doing this. Why not join forces with us to eliminate Elian and put an end to the threat?"
"If you agree to join hands, the Purple Radiance Mirror will be yours once we succeed. What do you think?"
Zhang Yiran's eyes flashed with greed. A second-tier high-grade artifact was incredibly valuable, enough to make even late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators envious.
However, after careful consideration, he suppressed his desire and shook his head.
"That Chen Changxuan is the strongest in Yu County. He once held off thirty Foundation Establishment-level demonic beasts on his own at Tianxu Mountain for two full periods of time."
"Scheming against his kin might still be manageable, but making an irreconcilable enemy of him would be unwise."
"Moreover, to be honest, I don't trust you either."
"Let me give you a piece of advice: if you're going to do this, make sure it's clean. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to flee Bianzhou."
With those words, Zhang Yiran turned and left the courtyard.
Watching him leave, Lin Moqin's heart sank. Turning to Lin Baixi, he tried to dissuade him, "Perhaps we should give up."
"Elian's strength surpasses ours by a small margin, and with the Purple Radiance Mirror in his possession, even if we combine forces and win, we might still fail to kill him."
But Lin Baixi, driven by hatred, was no longer listening. His eyes gleamed with madness, and he grabbed Lin Moqin's hand, trembling as he said, "Uncle Moqin, I can't live peacefully without avenging the loss of my arm."
"That villain is extraordinarily gifted, breaking through to the second level of Foundation Establishment in just a few years. If we don't kill him now, we may never get another chance."
"We've already made enemies of the Chen family. If we don't suppress them now, they'll settle the score with us sooner or later."
"But…" Lin Moqin hesitated, still trying to reason with him.
"With our cultivation levels, we may not be able to kill him outright."
"Don't worry, Uncle," Lin Baixi said with a sinister smile.
"I've already purchased a Earthly Divine Thunder Pearl from Fengyang Pavilion using the spirit stones we brought."
"What?"
Lin Moqin's expression shifted dramatically. The Earthly Divine Thunder Pearl was a single-use explosive divine thunder refined by Purple Mansion cultivators from their divine ability.
While its power was limited compared to the full strength of a Purple Mansion cultivator, it was still sufficient to kill a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator when used effectively.
The pearl's value was on par with the Fiery Sword Talisman created by the Chen family's ancestor at great expense. The Xu Clan was generally unwilling to sell such an item.
This pearl was worth about 4,000 spirit stones, but Lin Baixi had paid a staggering 7,000, showing just how determined he was.
"How could you make such a reckless decision?" Lin Moqin's expression changed multiple times before he sighed.
"If you fail to kill him, this will bring disaster to our family. You'd better ensure success."
Hearing his uncle relent, Lin Baixi breathed a sigh of relief and grinned.
"Don't worry, Uncle. With the Parent-Child Tracking Stone, even if he survives the Earthly Divine Thunder Pearl, he won't escape our grasp."
The next morning, Elian bid farewell to Meng Xinghe and the others and began his journey back toward Qingyuan Mountain in Yu County.
Despite the high price of the Water Essence, obtaining it and 3.4 jin of Golden Silkworm Silk meant his mission was a success.
In addition, he had purchased artifacts for the third and fourth elders, who had only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage and had the weakest strength among their peers.
Now, equipped with several artifacts—including second-tier mid-grade treasures—they were much stronger. Even though their limited spiritual energy allowed them to utilize only 70-80% of the treasures' power, they were no longer pushovers among early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
After three days of flying and covering over ten thousand miles, Elian sensed something was amiss.
While resting, he noticed two streaks of sword light approaching from the distance, attempting to encircle him. Looking up, he immediately recognized the arrivals as Lin Baixi and Lin Moqin.
"They're up to no good," Elian muttered, his eyes growing cold. Confident in his strength, he didn't retreat but instead charged toward Lin Baixi.
Since they came with ill intent, he decided to strike first while they were still approaching from different directions.
Seeing Elian charge at him, Lin Baixi immediately activated his Azure Flying Sword and Heart-Piercing Cone, sending them toward Elian.
As a member of the Lin family, Lin Baixi's arsenal included two second-tier mid-grade artifacts—enough to give even mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators pause.
But Elian was no longer the same as he was five years ago. Since the Qingyuan Mountain duel, his cultivation had advanced another level, significantly enhancing his spiritual power.
More importantly, his Fiery Void Sword had advanced to second-tier mid-grade, making its power vastly superior to before. The sword's six-zhang blade of radiant energy was as lethal as a second-tier high-grade artifact.
With a resonant sword hum, the Fiery Void Sword unleashed dazzling sword energy. The azure sword and Heart-Piercing Cone were both sent flying.
The sword energy continued toward Lin Baixi, its residual force still strong enough to break through his defensive artifact with one strike.
"Not good!"
Seeing Elian's extraordinary skill, Lin Moqin rushed over and hastily deployed a three-inch flying blade.
The blade, known as the Void-Slashing Dagger, was one of Lin Moqin's prized artifacts and ranked among the finest second-tier mid-grade treasures. It successfully intercepted the residual force of the Fiery Void Sword.
Without hesitation, Lin Moqin summoned another artifact—a Golden Glazed Spear—and hurled it directly at Elian's brow.
With a hum, Elian activated the Nine Deflection Bell, ignoring Lin Moqin's attack as he launched a counterstrike.
A brilliant white light shot forth—it was the Whiteblade Dustbreaker Saber.
This second-tier high-grade artifact, even at only 70% of its potential due to Elian's spiritual energy limitations, was enough to kill mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and make late-stage ones cautious.
"The Whiteblade Dustbreaker Saber?!"
Seeing the saber in action, Lin Baixi's expression changed drastically, realizing they had miscalculated.
He hadn't anticipated that Elian's sword would be upgraded and that he would also possess Qingyang Sect's famed artifact.
With no other choice, Lin Baixi gritted his teeth and summoned one of the Lin family's heritage treasures, the Purple Sun Furnace. The furnace unleashed a torrent of Purple Sun True Fire, attempting to engulf and refine the Dustbreaker Saber.
"Using the Purple Sun Furnace against me?" Elian sneered as he activated the Purple Radiance Mirror.
A beam of light shot out, pinning the Purple Sun Furnace to the ground.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D