"Such incredible speed."
Cen Xiuer watched the battle between Lin Yun and Qiu Tianming, surprised to see that Lin Yun was already injured, yet still refused to give up.
"Hmph. It looks like Lin Yun was injured in a previous battle. No wonder he can't even deal with a mere Origin Sea Realm cultivator," Chen Shiming scoffed loudly.
Cen Xiuer remained silent. She believed Lin Yun would win.
Qiu Tianming had obviously realized this as well. He was no match for an injured Lin Yun, let alone one at full strength. He stared at the bone nail that was relentlessly attacking Lin Yun, each strike hoping to break through his defenses, only to fail every time. The bone nail was fast, but Lin Yun was faster.
After effortlessly dodging several attacks, Qiu Tianming began to worry.
"Pfft!"
Qiu Tianming spat out a mouthful of essence blood. The bone nail, as if completely stimulated, instantly erupted with a power several times greater than before.
Faced with such an onslaught, Lin Yun remained composed. He brandished his Firmament Sword.
Great River Sword Style. Azure Profound Sword Style. He unleashed them one after another, a continuous flow like a surging river.
"Hmph. This thing is no threat. It only took a few tries to see through its attacks. You thought you could defeat me with just this? You're thinking too simply." Lin Yun executed his Ghostly Void Steps and rushed forward.
Qiu Tianming's expression changed. Impossible! How can he be faster than the bone nail?
Almost on instinct, Qiu Tianming directed the bone nail to attack Lin Yun. It flew from behind Lin Yun at an incredible speed. It was about to hit its mark.
But at that critical moment, Lin Yun's left hand shot out behind him. Before everyone's astonished eyes, he caught the bone nail with ease.
"I told you. This thing is no threat to me."
Lin Yun was, in the end, far stronger than the man before him. His performance in this battle was on a completely different level. The bone nail struggled, but it could not break free from his grasp.
By now, Lin Yun was already in front of Qiu Tianming.
"The Crimson Ghost Sect has committed countless evil deeds and killed so many people. With new hatred and old grudges, we can settle things cleanly this time!"
Qiu Tianming stared, dumbfounded, at Lin Yun, who looked like a god of slaughter. Then, with a heart full of resentment, he closed his eyes for the last time.
After Lin Yun landed, Zhou Damao immediately rushed forward. The fight had looked simple, but he knew Lin Yun was injured and had been worried. He never expected that even in a wounded state, Lin Yun could so easily dispatch these men from the Crimson Ghost Sect.
"Junior Brother Lin, are you alright?"
Lin Yun shook his head. "Senior Brother Zhou, these injuries are nothing to me. But we shouldn't stay here for long. Let's have everyone leave as soon as possible."
He glanced in the direction of the blood-colored tomb. Although the Blood Demon showed no signs of emerging yet, Lin Yun couldn't afford to wait. The group nodded and followed Lin Yun away.
On the road, Cen Xiuer approached Lin Yun. "Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Lin, I am here on behalf of everyone to apologize to you!"
The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had all been dissatisfied with Lin Yun, especially given the clear favoritism Jiang Zhengqing had shown him. But after having their lives saved by him this time, they understood that there was indeed something special about this man. Many of them had a change of perspective regarding Lin Yun and no longer disliked him as they had before.
"Hehe, you don't need to thank me for this. In the end, it was all arranged by Lin Yun," Zhou Damao said with a sigh. "If it were just us, saving you all would have been too difficult." He felt a pang of regret thinking of Fei Yuming who had betrayed them.
Lin Yun also shook his head. "Don't dwell on these things. We have more important matters to think about now."
The Crimson Ghost Sect had come with menacing momentum this time. And Lin Yun believed that many other people from the evil path had gotten involved as well. These people would not be easy to deal with.
"Something like this has never happened in the Grand Tournament before. How did the Crimson Ghost Sect manage to sneak in?" Zhou Damao asked in a low voice.
Lin Yun didn't answer, but a thought formed in his mind. "They are capturing disciples from every sect. There must be a greater purpose for it."
Cen Xiuer suddenly spoke up. "I heard Qi Desheng say before… that we were to be used as sacrificial offerings. It seems the Crimson Ghost Sect and several other sects want to use this Grand Tournament to summon something."
Lin Yun asked the Chongqing Bird about this in his mind, but the bird was also completely unaware.
After a moment of silence, Lin Yun said, "If that's the case, then our next move is to disrupt their plan. First, let's go capture some of their scouts."
Over the next few days, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect began to round up all the Crimson Ghost Sect members in the vicinity. Through a series of interrogations, they gradually pieced together the truth.
The Crimson Ghost Sect was indeed preparing to summon something, and they planned to use the powerful captured disciples as a catalyst for the sacrifice. They just hadn't expected Lin Yun to uncover their conspiracy ahead of time and successfully ruin their plans.
Disciples from other sects had fallen into their trap, but fortunately, the situation wasn't completely dire. The captured disciples weren't being held in one central location, but were scattered at specific points across the Spirit Realm. On the day of the sacrifice, these locations would act as formation eyes, allowing the array to unleash immense power.
"So, we are facing the elites of the Crimson Ghost Sect. On top of that, many other sects have defected to their side. We can't win with just our own strength," Zhou Damao sighed. Even if they gathered all the remaining righteous disciples in the Spirit Realm, it still wouldn't be enough.
Just then, Lin Yun spoke up. "I obtained maps from the other sects I defeated earlier. I happened to find a location—it's a very remote corner. It might be possible to establish a connection to the Hidden Dragon Continent from there."
A look of delight flashed across Zhou Damao's face. "Really?"
The entire Spirit Realm was now almost completely under the control of the Crimson Ghost Sect. Finding a way out was incredibly difficult.
Lin Yun nodded. "It's absolutely true. However, going there is also very dangerous, and we cannot bet all our hopes on it."
That passage had been abandoned long ago. It was the original connection the Four Great Sects had used to enter the Spirit Realm, so it was a secret the Crimson Ghost Sect certainly didn't know about.
Zhou Damao thought for a moment and bravely volunteered. "Junior Brother Lin, you should go! Find this passage, and then bring back…"
Lin Yun shook his head. "Senior Brother Zhou, for this task, you are the only one who is most suitable."