Chapter 160: A Surprising Encounter with an Old Acquaintance

The speakers were two Core Formation stage cultivators, and judging from their conversation, a major event seemed to have shaken the cultivation world.

Lin Yanghao stopped in his tracks and listened as they continued.

"If this goes on, the entire cultivation world will plunge into a massive war, and when that happens, we low-level cultivators will be the ones to suffer," one of them sighed.

Huh? Why did they stop?

Lin Yanghao was left completely bewildered.

Unable to curb his curiosity, Lin Yanghao stepped forward and asked the two men, "I happened to hear you both mention that the cultivation world is in chaos. Might I ask what is going on?"

"You actually don't know about this? It's common knowledge throughout the cultivation world right now."

"To be frank with the two of you, I only just came out of secluded cultivation today, so I am unaware of what has transpired in the cultivation world. I hope you can enlighten me." Lin Yanghao pulled out his old excuse once again.

This excuse proved effective time and time again.

"So that's how it is. Fellow daoist, you have no idea. The Pill Sect has broken out into a massive war with the Artifact Sect and the Talisman Sect. Even the minor and medium-sized sects affiliated with these three major sects have been dragged into the conflict."

"What? Why would something like this happen?" No matter how hard Lin Yanghao tried to imagine it, he never expected the three major sects to go to war with one another.

No wonder True Monarch Royal Cauldron and the others had retreated from the Thousand Saints Marsh; it turned out this was why.

"Did you know that some time ago, someone caused a massive uproar at the Pill Sect?"

"I am aware of that." Nonsense, that uproar was caused by Lin Yanghao himself, so naturally, he knew the details better than anyone else.

"Precisely because of that, the vast majority of the Pill Sect's experts left to hunt down the culprit who wreaked havoc there, which created the perfect opportunity for the Talisman Sect and the Artifact Sect."

"Aren't the three major sects all righteous factions that stand together like lips and teeth?" Lin Yanghao asked, puzzled.

With external enemies around, how could they still resort to infighting?

"If you ask me, the Talisman Sect and the Artifact Sect did this simply to annex the Pill Sect. The Pill Sect is the premier sect in the cultivation world, far wealthier than the Talisman Sect and the Artifact Sect combined, so their actions are hardly surprising."

Lin Yanghao nodded upon hearing this. What the man said made sense; how rare was it for the cultivation world to go to war over resources?

They were truly unworthy of being called righteous cultivators; so hypocritical, often proving themselves even worse than demonic cultivators.

However, what did their war have to do with him? He couldn't be bothered to care about such matters, nor did he have the ability to intervene.

Bidding farewell to the two men, Lin Yanghao headed straight toward an unnamed mountain range.

By now, the night had already fallen.

"There is a cave over there." Lin Yanghao's eyes lit up as he spotted a cave on a nearby hilltop.

Naturally, that cave became Lin Yanghao's prime choice for secluded cultivation, which he undertook to prepare himself for the journey to the Demon Sealing Continent.

"Brat, did nobody ever teach you that trespassing into someone else's dwelling is impolite?" Just as Lin Yanghao stepped into the cave, a cold voice suddenly rang out.

Clearly, the occupant was displeased by Lin Yanghao's intrusion.

"Senior, please calm your anger. I was unaware that this was your dwelling and thus entered presumptuously. I hope you can forgive me," Lin Yanghao said awkwardly. He never expected to encounter someone in such a desolate, barren wilderness where birds supposedly refused to lay eggs.

Furthermore, the spiritual energy here was extremely thin, making it a terribly poor place for secluded cultivation.

Who would be bored enough to come here to meditate and cultivate?

Lin Yanghao's purpose for seclusion this time was not to cultivate, but simply to refine some talismans.

That was why he had chosen this place, believing nobody would disturb him—it should have been the optimal choice.

Yet, he never imagined that even a place like this would be occupied.

"Little brat, why is it you?" Just as Lin Yanghao was deep in thought, a somewhat familiar voice reached his ears.

"Why is it you?" Lin Yanghao was equally shocked when he saw the person inside the cave.

The person in the cave was none other than Dan Chen, whom he had previously encountered in the Southern Domain.

Shortly after, Dan Chen welcomed Lin Yanghao into the cave.

As the old saying goes, meeting an acquaintance in a foreign land brings a special sense of warmth, and seeing someone from his homeland filled Dan Chen with a profound fondness.

"You're no simple brat, managing to reach the Northern Domain safely with your meager strength," Dan Chen praised sincerely.

One had to remember that even he had required a great deal of effort to arrive in the Northern Domain back then.

"I only reached the Northern Domain by sheer luck. I nearly lost my life in the Beast Domain back then." Even now, a shiver ran down Lin Yanghao's spine, and lingering fear gripped him whenever he recalled it.

He only had himself to blame for insisting on visiting the Beast Sovereign Palace in the first place.

Fortunately, everything was in the past, and as long as he was alive, that was all that mattered.

"Even so, it was no easy feat." Dan Chen nodded.

"What brings you here? Given your strength, coming here might be a mistake, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it have been better to evacuate with the others toward the Dragon Martial Continent?" In Dan Chen's view, Lin Yanghao's arrival in the Northern Domain was extremely unwise.

"The more dangerous a place is, the more challenging it becomes, wouldn't you agree?" Lin Yanghao smiled.

"Then what brings you to the Northern Domain?" Lin Yanghao asked in turn.

"The same as you," Dan Chen replied.

And so, Lin Yanghao and Dan Chen chatted away for the better part of the night until dawn was just about to break.

Lin Yanghao still needed to find a place to refine talismans, and he could delay no longer. Any further delay might cost Zeng Quan his life.

Though Lin Yanghao could not be entirely certain whether Zeng Quan was still breathing.

Still, there was always hope, wasn't there?

With that, Lin Yanghao bid his farewells: "I still have matters to attend to, so I must take my leave."

"Since that's the case, I won't press you to stay. There isn't much I can do to help, but if you ever need pills refined, feel free to look for me in Luosha City. As long as you have the ingredients, what harm is there in me refining them for you?" Dan Chen said.

He spoke thus because he found Lin Yanghao agreeable and enjoyed their conversation; otherwise, why would he offer to refine pills for him?

"Then I thank you in advance," Lin Yanghao said excitedly. This was the promise of an alchemist! With this pledge, whenever he needed pills refined in the future, he would always have a reliable place to turn to.

"This looks like the place." Lin Yanghao soon found another cave nearby.

He thought to himself that surely there wouldn't be anyone here as well.

If there was someone here too, he might as well go buy a lottery ticket, because he would undoubtedly win.

Fortunately, there were no surprises this time; the cave was completely uninhabited.

"Lin Yanghao, given your current strength, you really shouldn't go to the Demon Sealing Continent," Ling'er finally couldn't help but chime in with advice.

"No, I must go. If I don't save him, that simply isn't my style," Lin Yanghao firmly declared.

"Can you be rational for once? You aren't going to save him; you're marching to your death!" Ling'er grew somewhat angry.

"I am being completely rational. If I don't do this, my conscience will never be at peace. With a troubled conscience, how can I even begin to speak of cultivating immortality?" Lin Yanghao refused to be swayed by Ling'er's words.

For a long time, Ling'er remained silent, clearly furious with Lin Yanghao.