Chapter 419: Lord Lin Fan, Let Me Serve You
Lin Fan felt the soft sensation against his back, and his heartbeat involuntarily quickened.
Taking a deep breath to calm the restlessness in his heart, he turned around, gently resting his hands on Xinqing's shoulders. "Didn't I already tell you? You don't need to do this. I'll help the Nine-Tails Clan regardless."
"I know," Xinqing replied softly, her cheeks flushed red. "But I still want to stay. This time… it's my own decision. It has nothing to do with my mother or the clan."
With that, she threw herself into Lin Fan's arms, burying her head in his chest. Her delicate ears had flushed a deep crimson.
"Xinqing, don't do anything impulsive that you might regret," Lin Fan said, his voice slightly dry as he felt the warmth of the young woman in his embrace.
"I won't regret it. Lord Lin Fan… let me serve you…" she whispered, her voice firm as she raised her head slightly. Then, a bit shy but resolute, she reached out to wrap her arms around his neck and leaned forward to press her lips gently against his.
Faced with Xinqing's initiative, Lin Fan no longer held back and responded.
As time passed, simple touches were no longer enough. Bit by bit, the barriers between them were removed…
The night breeze whispered past the trees, rustling their branches under the silver moonlight. A faint creaking sound echoed softly in the quiet night.
A drifting cloud slowly veiled the moon, as if shyly turning its face away…
…
Over the next few days, Lin Fan and Lin Dong remained in the Nine-Tails Village, waiting for the upcoming assembly at Thunder Abyss Mountain.
Lin Dong focused on his cultivation every day within his residence, while Lin Fan spent most of his time by Xinqing's side. Occasionally, a few bold Nine-Tails girls would tease them with giggles and whispered jokes.
They strolled together during the day, and at night, Lin Fan enjoyed the tender care of his fox-spirit companion—days of comfort and peace.
One day, as they wandered around the village, they passed by a solemn and ancient-looking temple. Lin Fan suddenly felt an uneasy sensation.
"What's that place?" he asked, his brows furrowing slightly.
"That's the Ancestral Soul Hall," Xinqing replied after a brief hesitation.
"Ancestral Soul Hall?" Lin Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. He instantly understood where that discomfort had come from, but he kept his expression calm. "Is it a place for worshiping the ancestors of your clan?"
Xinqing lowered her head and bit her lip, clearly hesitant and conflicted about whether to speak.
Seeing this, Lin Fan gently rubbed her head and smiled. "Just curious. If it's inconvenient to explain, it's fine. Let's go somewhere else."
"It's not that I can't tell you…" Xinqing hesitated briefly, then decided to explain everything about the Ancestral Soul Hall.
After listening quietly, Lin Fan fell into thought. "It sounds like something is wrong in that hall."
"Something wrong?" Xinqing blinked, confused.
Lin Fan said, "You saw the battle back in Flame God Temple, right? I've fought with the Yimo a few times—not just that one time—and I've gotten pretty familiar with their presence."
"Earlier, I felt a strange discomfort coming from the Ancestral Soul Hall. At first, I didn't pay much attention, but after hearing your explanation and thinking back carefully… I'm certain the source of that discomfort is Yimo energy."
"Though it's not exactly the same as the Yimo aura I've encountered before, it's close. That's why I didn't recognize it immediately."
"You mean… there's a Yimo in the Ancestral Soul Hall? The clanspeople who went in… they were killed by it?" Xinqing's face turned pale, her voice trembling.
"Most likely," Lin Fan replied calmly.
"I have to tell my mother—this is too important!" Xinqing exclaimed, her expression tense.
Lin Fan nodded. "Definitely. The Yimo are notoriously difficult to kill. They can even absorb blood to reconstruct their physical forms."
"If we don't deal with it now, and that Yimo fully recovers, the Nine-Tails Clan could face complete annihilation."
Xinqing's face grew even more serious at his words.
Soon, they found Xinqing's mother and informed her of Lin Fan's suspicions.
"Lin Fan, how certain are you of this?" Aunt Xin asked anxiously, her expression grim.
"Ninety percent sure," Lin Fan replied solemnly. "Lin Dong and I both have some abilities that are especially effective against Yimo. For the sake of the Nine-Tails Clan's safety, the best choice is to enter the hall now and eliminate it."
Aunt Xin's voice trembled slightly. "If it really is a Yimo, are you confident you can defeat it?"
Lin Fan smiled. "Don't worry. If it's hiding in the Ancestral Soul Hall, it means it's severely weakened. I'm confident we can deal with it."
As he spoke, Lin Fan waved his hand, and the Devour Sky Corpse appeared beside him.
Seeing the sudden emergence of such a terrifying being, Aunt Xin's face turned pale.
"Don't be alarmed. He's my partner," Lin Fan explained gently. "He has strength on par with a Reincarnation-stage expert. Back in the Chaotic Demon Sea, he was the one who killed a Reincarnation-stage Yimo. Xinqing can vouch for it."
Xinqing nodded quickly. "It's true, Mother. Many people saw it at the Flame God Temple."
After a brief pause, Aunt Xin bowed deeply to Lin Fan. "Lin Fan, the lives of our entire clan… we entrust them to you."
Lin Fan gently lifted her up with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, Aunt Xin. Everything will be fine."
Soon after, Aunt Xin gathered the elders of the Nine-Tails Clan and made the decision to open the Ancestral Soul Hall.
Following Lin Fan's suggestion, they publicly stated that the reason for opening the hall was to allow Xinqing to inherit the power of their ancestors.
The clan's elders had no objections.
Although they harbored some unease in their hearts, they still chose to place their hopes on Xinqing's shoulders—for the sake of their clan's future.
Led by Aunt Xin, the group proceeded toward the Ancestral Soul Hall.
There, a grand altar stood.
Aunt Xin led everyone onto the altar. At its center was a stone pedestal. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a small, blood-red copper statue of a fox with nine swirling tails. Though it wasn't a real artifact, Lin Fan could still sense a powerful demonic aura from it.
Clearly, the true key to the Ancestral Soul Hall wasn't the altar, but the copper statue itself. The altar was merely a supporting mechanism.
Aunt Xin placed the statue on the pedestal and flicked her finger. A sphere of blood emerged, thick with the scent of iron.
"That's the blood of all our clan members. Only this can open the Ancestral Soul Hall," Xinqing whispered with a complicated expression. "But each time we open it, the statue loses some of its power. After this time, it will likely crumble and be lost forever…"
Lin Fan nodded. "Then let's make sure this time… we put an end to this."
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