Chapter Seventy-One: Ling’er Takes the Stage

"Boss, how much does this Divine Strike Technique cost?" Lin Yanghao automatically ignored the Earth Tunneling Technique; with an Earth Tunneling Talisman as a substitute, why waste time cultivating another earth escape method? Without a second thought, he chose the Divine Strike Technique.

"Fellow cultivator, this Divine Strike Technique is not cheap. It requires one thousand mid-grade spirit stones. The Earth Tunneling Technique, on the other hand, costs only five hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Which one do you need?" The shopkeeper spoke as if he hardly believed a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Lin Yanghao could produce so many spirit stones.

"I'll take the Divine Strike Technique," Lin Yanghao replied, fully understanding the shopkeeper’s implications. He reached into the Chaos Ring and drew out one thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

"Ah, I must have underestimated you, fellow cultivator. Here is the Divine Strike Technique—please keep it safe."

"Boss, how much do you charge for a Core Formation Pill here?" Now that Lin Yanghao had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, it was time to prepare for the next step.

"Fellow cultivator, as you can see, a humble shop like ours could hardly stock such a high-grade pill as the Core Formation Pill. Even in the largest merchant houses of North Capital City, a single Core Formation Pill is a priceless treasure, fetching tens of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones."

Just then, the deep, rhythmic sound of drums echoed through the air—the city’s warning drums. Lin Yanghao knew at once that something significant had happened; such drums would never sound without cause.

"Fellow cultivator, something must have happened in North Capital City. The City Lord’s summons—let’s be on our way."

All cultivators, great and small, were drawn to the City Lord’s residence by the resounding call of the drums.

"My friends," the City Lord announced, "I bring grave news. The Seven Luminaries Sect, the mightiest sect in all of Jade North Prefecture, has been annihilated by those accursed spirit beasts. The lesser sects have fared no better. Now, those damned spirit beasts are marching upon North Capital City itself. We must not let these fiends succeed! We swear to defend North Capital City to the death!"

The gathering of cultivators responded in passionate unison.

"Thankfully, I've broken through to late Foundation Establishment and gained another chance to enter the Chaos Ring," Lin Yanghao thought to himself. "If anything goes wrong, I can retreat there again."

Back at the inn, Lin Yanghao took out the Divine Strike Technique and was about to study it when the voice of Ling’er, the artifact spirit, suddenly sounded in his mind.

"Lin Yanghao, I’ve examined this Divine Strike Technique. It’s a fragment of an immortal art. Though incomplete, it will serve you well enough for now. The spirit beast invasion is a rare opportunity. Cultivating this technique requires the blood essence of many spirit beasts to strengthen your body."

...

"Moonshadow Illusion Wolf, if you do this, the Immortal Lord will never spare you!" In just a few days, the spirit beasts of the Beast Realm had surrounded North Capital City in an impenetrable siege. At their head was none other than Moonshadow Illusion Wolf, an old acquaintance of Lin Yanghao.

"Haha! We in the Beast Realm have received certain news—your so-called Immortal Lord perished miserably more than ten thousand years ago. The old agreement is null and void," Moonshadow Illusion Wolf laughed, his voice chilling and sinister.