Chapter 155: A Conspiracy Between Two Sects

"Lin Yanghao, what on earth are you?" Gushi couldn't help asking.

"I am merely an ordinary cultivator." Lin Yanghao spoke the truth. Whether Gushi believed it or not was up to him.

"Keep it to yourself, then." Even if it killed him, Gushi would never believe that Lin Yanghao was an ordinary cultivator.

Everything Lin Yanghao had displayed pointed to his extraordinary nature.

Therefore, Gushi simply assumed that he was unwilling to tell the truth.

Looking at Bingxiao, he was currently utterly speechless, to the extent that he even had the urge to run away.

His own current strength was merely that of a mid-rank spirit beast, whereas almost all of their opponents were mid-rank spirit beasts.

How was he supposed to fight this? It was practically like an egg hitting a rock.

"Uh, brothers all, I am just passing by with no intention of disturbing you. I'll be leaving right now, right now." After saying this, Bingxiao genuinely prepared to leave.

Bingxiao thought to himself: "Since you dragged me into this mess, let me drag you down once as well."

Damn it!

Lin Yanghao widened his eyes in disbelief.

"What is going on here?" Gushi also doubted whether his ears were playing tricks on him. He simply could not believe what Bingxiao had just said.

"Bingxiao, you... at least try communicating with them. I didn't ask you to fight them, and even if you tried, you couldn't beat them anyway." What Lin Yanghao said was true; he had indeed not asked Bingxiao to fight them.

Bingxiao's current strength was no match for them. Dealing with even one of them would likely be difficult, let alone a whole horde of them.

"You look down on me," Bingxiao said unhappily.

"Then go ahead and fight them." Lin Yanghao looked at Bingxiao playfully.

He could tell that Bingxiao was just putting on a brave front despite suffering inside.

"Forget it, I'd better go up and communicate with them instead." Upon hearing this, Bingxiao immediately backed down; he had no desire to throw his life away.

Fight? Just the thought of communicating with them already made his heart race with anxiety.

To be honest, the very first time Bingxiao saw these spirit beasts, he had been terrified, especially with the overwhelming killing intent radiating from them.

It was almost too terrifying to look at.

"We will leave immediately. Could you please spare us and not make things difficult for us? Let's mind our own business, how about that?" Bingxiao began speaking to the spirit beasts.

He only wanted to leave now.

As it turned out, Bingxiao was just a single step away from breaking through to become a high-rank spirit beast, and he had been cultivating inside the spirit beast pouch all along to prepare for that breakthrough.

He never expected to run into a situation like this.

"Roar, roar, roar!" Hearing this, the opponents also let out a series of beast roars.

Naturally, Lin Yanghao could not understand what they were saying, so he could only look at Bingxiao in confusion.

"He says you took their belongings." A glimmer of realization dawned upon Bingxiao.

It seemed Lin Yanghao must have taken a liking to their treasures and stolen them, which was why these creatures were pursuing them so relentlessly.

It appeared that Lin Yanghao was in the wrong here.

"Uh." Lin Yanghao gave an awkward smile. As expected, this was still because of the purple vine affair. However, asking him to hand over the purple vine was something Lin Yanghao still could not bring himself to do.

This was an essential material for his talisman crafting. Without it, would he no longer be able to refine talismans in the future?

If he really handed it over, after this lesson, acquiring another purple vine would become even more difficult. Therefore, Lin Yanghao was resolved not to give it up.

"Well done, kid. So the entire horde of spirit beasts in the Thousand Saints Marsh came because of you. What on earth did you take from them? You'd better return it to them quickly." Gushi truly admired Lin Yanghao now.

It was a pity this guy wasn't an actor; he had played innocent so convincingly earlier...

Those spirit beasts had clearly been lured over by him, yet he had worn an expression of complete innocence.

"I merely took a few blades of grass from them. They don't need to make such a big fuss over it, do they?" Of course, Lin Yanghao could not reveal the true utility of the purple vine, so he dismissed it as mere grass.

"Only a ghost would believe you." Gushi was no longer going to fall for Lin Yanghao's words. He had finally learned that not a single word Lin Yanghao uttered was true.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Talisman Sect:

"Report to the Sect Master, important news has just arrived from the front lines," an anxiously spoken disciple reported.

"What is it? Speak quickly," said True Immortal Maocheng.

"The experts of the Pill Sect have mobilized completely and gone to the Thousand Saints Marsh to encircle and suppress Lin Yanghao and Bingxiao," the disciple said.

"And what is the outcome?" True Immortal Maocheng asked impatiently.

Only by knowing how things unfolded could he begin plotting his next move.

"The result is that Gushi was killed, and Lin Yanghao's whereabouts remain unknown to this day."

"What about the casualties on the Pill Sect's side?" True Immortal Maocheng continued to ask.

"The Pill Sect suffered almost no casualties."

"Is that so..." True Immortal Maocheng lowered his head in deep thought upon hearing this. To be honest, the current turn of events had completely disrupted his original plans.

"Brother Luoheng, what do you think we should do about this?" True Immortal Maocheng asked True Immortal Luoheng.

"In my view, we should not give up. This is an excellent opportunity," True Immortal Luoheng said, unwilling to let their previous plotting go to waste, and thus decided to take a calculated risk.

"What do you mean by that?" True Immortal Maocheng asked, puzzled.

"Think about it. The Pill Sect is currently an empty shell. We could take it over without the slightest effort. The only things that could threaten us are those old monsters currently residing in the Thousand Saints Marsh," True Immortal Luoheng said.

"I know that as well. It is precisely because of those old freaks that I dare not make a move. Even if we secure the Pill Sect, we will not escape their retaliation." This was precisely True Immortal Maocheng's greatest concern.

"A single sect naturally would not be their match, but what if we combined the forces of our two sects?" True Immortal Luoheng said with a face full of confidence.

He had absolute faith in this plan. No matter what, they were among the three major sects of equal renown to the Pill Sect, and their foundational strength went without saying.

"Brother Luoheng, what you say makes sense. Since that is the case, let us waste no time and quickly unite the forces of our two sects. We shall certainly be invincible and victorious in every battle." With that, he departed.

...

Meanwhile, Lin Yanghao continued to remain in a stalemate with those spirit beasts while desperately seeking a way to escape.

Yet all his attempts proved difficult to succeed.

Lin Yanghao thought to himself: "It seems this matter is inseparable from the purple vine. I must figure out a solution starting from the purple vine itself."

"Lin Yanghao, they say that as long as you hand over the item, they will spare your life." Gushi had now been reduced to a messenger.

"Roar-woo~"

"Roar-woo~ Roar-woo~"

Suddenly at that moment, a strange, echoing cry emanated from an unknown direction.

"Lin Yanghao, what is that sound?" Even the knowledgeable Gushi had never heard such a noise before, and he was momentarily baffled.

At this moment, the sound grew increasingly bizarre.