Chapter 342: Gift of Treasures, The Hunt Begins!
After the auction concluded, Lin Fan led Lin Dong and Mu Lingshan to Tianshang Pavilion to retrieve the items they had won. Once the handover was complete, the trio began making their way back to their residence in Tianshang City.
Just as they reached the Pavilion's grand entrance, they found the area crowded with people. All eyes were drawn toward a particular group making their entrance—the delegation from Evil Wind Cave, headed by none other than Xie Yan, the "Little Underworld King."
Xie Yan spotted Lin Fan immediately. His eyes flashed with cold light as he stepped forward and sneered, "You've got guts, still daring to appear in front of me."
Lin Fan chuckled lightly. "You should worry more about your own troubles. I wonder how many of you from Evil Wind Cave will make it back alive."
With that, Lin Fan turned, leading Lin Dong and Mu Lingshan away from the Pavilion without so much as a backward glance.
"Bastard!"
Xie Yan's face turned dark as he watched the trio disappear into the crowd, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked.
If not for the presence of the silver tower and the need to avoid drawing attention, he might've already launched an attack.
"Let it go for now, Young Lord. First, we secure the item. Then we plan how to escape. There'll be plenty of time to deal with him," the black-robed elder beside him whispered.
Xie Yan took a deep breath and nodded slowly, forcing himself to put aside his rising rage—for now.
Lin Fan, of course, didn't care about Xie Yan's reaction. Even if Xie Yan did attack now, Lin Fan was more than capable of crushing him on the spot.
Before long, Lin Fan's group arrived back at their residence.
There, Lin Fan brought out two treasures from his storage: the Devouring Heaven Corpse and the Burning Heaven Cauldron.
"These two are for you," he said to Lin Dong. "Get used to using them. Once you've mastered them, it'll be time to go after that silver tower."
"Brother Lin Fan… You're giving them both to me?" Lin Dong hesitated.
With a simple thought, Lin Fan pulled out another Devouring Heaven Corpse—this one intact and undamaged.
"What?! Another Devouring Heaven Corpse?!" Lin Dong was shaken.
Even the Ancestral Stone's spirit, Yan, sounded surprised. "This one is complete… it's comparable to a human Revolving Wheel Stage expert."
"As for defense," Lin Fan added with a smile, pulling out the upgraded Black Tortoise Sky-Suppressing Bell, "I've got this."
The Devouring Heaven Corpse and the Burning Heaven Cauldron were originally Lin Dong's opportunities. Lin Fan was simply returning them to their rightful owner. Besides, Lin Fan himself already had a complete set of powerful equipment:
Offense: Sky Phoenix Void Shattering BowDefense: Black Tortoise Sky-Suppressing BellSonic weapon: Exquisite Jade FluteUtility: Stillness Divine Plate
All of them were Pure Yuan Treasures—he lacked for nothing.
"Thank you, Brother Lin Fan," Lin Dong finally said, accepting the treasures with gratitude.
He already knew he owed Lin Fan more than he could ever repay.
"No need to thank me," Lin Fan said with a smile. "We're brothers."
As Lin Dong began familiarizing himself with the new items, Lin Fan also took time to fully master the Sky Phoenix Bow.
…
Over the next few days, even though the auction had ended, the city remained lively.
Most of the lingering cultivators had one thing in common—they were all watching Evil Wind Cave's group.
More accurately, they were watching the silver tower they now possessed.
Naturally, Xie Yan and his people were aware of this.
To their credit, they were resourceful. Within a single day, they spent a small fortune hiring a number of powerful mercenaries to serve as guards.
But the other major factions in the city were unconcerned. Hired muscle meant little when the real fights began.
In a high pavilion elsewhere in the city, Lin Fan, Lin Dong, and Mu Lingshan stood silently, gazing northwest—toward the location of Evil Wind Cave's residence.
Inside that compound, Xie Yan stood up, scanning the room full of Evil Wind Cave elites. His gaze paused briefly on a shriveled figure in the corner.
"Everything's ready. We move this afternoon."
Afternoon came quickly.
As the sun dipped westward, the energy in the city shifted.
Lin Fan's eyes glinted. "Looks like they're finally making their move."
Lin Dong nodded, and Mu Lingshan clenched her fists in anticipation. "Do we attack now?"
Lin Fan shook his head. "Not yet." He turned to Lin Dong. "You should be able to sense where it is now, right?"
"Don't worry, Brother Lin Fan—they can't escape," Lin Dong replied confidently. "Those three groups they're sending out are decoys. None of them has the silver tower."
Mu Lingshan narrowed her eyes. "Cunning bastards."
She concentrated, and sure enough, none of the decoy groups carried the tower's aura.
The city erupted into chaos as dozens of cultivators launched into the sky, chasing after the fleeing groups.
Half an hour later, things finally calmed down.
Lin Dong turned to Lin Fan and said quietly, "The tower's heading north."
"Let's go," Lin Fan said, already in motion. Lin Dong and Mu Lingshan followed.
They caught up quickly with the real group—Xie Yan and his protectors.
But they didn't strike yet.
Because others had found them too.
Zhou Qian of Kuankun Cave and Chen Ying of Phantom Demon Sect had both caught on—and decided to join forces to take the silver tower from Xie Yan.
The two surged forward, unleashing powerful attacks aimed directly at him.
But Xie Yan didn't panic. In fact, he smirked.
Just as their attacks neared him, a shadowy figure in a black cloak stepped forward from behind him.
With a single skeletal hand, the figure reached out. Black energy curled around its fingers.
CRACK!
The hand grabbed both incoming energy waves—and crushed them like glass.
Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a black shockwave surged out like lightning, blasting toward Zhou Qian and Chen Ying.
"Death Qi?! A Death Xuan expert?!" Lin Dong exclaimed, watching from the shadows.
His face grew serious.
This just got a lot more complicated.
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