Chapter 520: Waiting for Rescue

“Kill him!”
As the Tianpeng Bird flew away, Chi Yufeng gritted his teeth in fury and waved his hand sharply.
Behind him, several elders moved simultaneously.
With blood at the corner of his mouth, Lin Dong dashed into a thicket in a corner before those elders from the Golden Vision Sect could get close.
At the center of the thicket stood a gray tree less than a meter tall, unremarkable among the surrounding bushes, with no energy emanating from it. Yet Lin Dong was certain this was the Menghui Tree.
The reason was simple: Since Yun Cangqiong hadn’t destroyed or taken the Menghui Tree, it must still be at the end of this valley, which was nothing but bushes. And within those bushes, there was only this one tree.
The Ruyi Stool reformed in his palm, turning into a large sword whose blade was aimed straight at the Menghui Tree.
This swift action made the elders of the Golden Vision Sect hesitate, turning to look at Chi Yufeng behind them.
“Whoever dares come, I’ll destroy this Menghui Tree—no one else will get it,” Lin Dong snarled.
“Destroy the tree? That trick has already been used,” Chi Yufeng said coldly. “If the tree is destroyed, I’ll sever his limbs, gouge out his eyes, and leave him alive to suffer for twenty years. If the tree remains intact, I’ll wound him severely but spare his life.”
The elders of the Golden Vision Sect prepared to attack.
Lin Dong was stunned. He had thought Yun Cangqiong, as a peak-level powerhouse, wouldn’t resort to that tactic, but it seemed he didn’t play by those rules either.
How ruthless!
Chi Yufeng was fierce, but Lin Dong wasn’t easy to deal with either. He suddenly reached out and grabbed the trunk of the Menghui Tree, pulling hard.
With a sound, the Menghui Tree was pulled out. The dozen or so unripe fruits hanging on it began to wither rapidly under everyone’s horrified gazes.
“Kill! Kill! Kill…”
Chi Yufeng felt as if a boulder was pressing down on his chest, preventing him from breathing. He was furious—he never expected the other party to be this ruthless.
By pulling it out, the fruits were lost, and enmity was formed. Even if there were any benefits, they would belong to future generations. If the tree also died, it would be all in vain.
Chi Yufeng was furious beyond measure. He never imagined that aside from his own disciples or apprentices, even peak-level powerhouses who had reached a state of utter detachment could be intimidated, yet this young man couldn’t be scared.
This was the Menghui Tree—a ninth-tier spirit material used for cultivation!

At that moment, Chi Yufeng was truly insane. He had initially intended to scare Lin Dong into being cautious, but now he was determined to kill him at all costs. No matter how strong the Tianjian Sect was, no matter what consequences it might bring to the Jinsi Sect, he had made up his mind to kill Lin Dong.

The four elders sent forward were certainly more sober than Chi Yufeng. After all, they were just elders, and this time they might lose everything. Though they felt pain, it wasn’t as agonizing as Chi Yufeng’s. After leaping forward together, they sent out palm winds but didn’t use their full strength.

Lin Dong moved swiftly, dodging the four of them and hiding in a corner of the valley. With a cold smile, he gently grasped the root of a branch with his right hand.

“Come on, try again!”

The four elders immediately stopped their advance and turned back to look at Chi Yufeng.

“Kill him!” Chi Yufeng roared fiercely, no longer caring about anything, determined to reduce Lin Dong to ashes.

The four elders remained silent. Although Chi Yufeng held great influence in the Jinsi Sect, the Dream Wisdom Tree was too important. This time, not only them but also other elders turned their attention to a young man in his thirties standing behind Chi Yufeng.

This time, most of the Jinsi Sect’s members were involved—all the elders were tasked with surrounding Yun Cangqiong and Bai Yuhu, while the elite disciples were responsible for defense within the formation. The only exception was this young man.

The young man’s name was Liu Cangju. He was the heir to the next sect leader of the Jinsi Sect and Chi Yufeng’s pride. In the sect, his status was even higher than that of most elders. This was because, given his talent, he might become the third peak warrior in the history of the Jinsi Sect. It was precisely for this reason that, upon seeing the Dream Wisdom Tree uprooted and its fruits withering rapidly, Chi Yufeng became so enraged that he no longer cared even about the tree itself.

With the fruits of the Dream Wisdom Tree, Liu Cangju’s chances of becoming the third peak warrior in the sect’s history would increase significantly. And as the master of this third peak warrior, Chi Yufeng could also leave a significant mark in the sect’s history.

Obtaining the Dream Wisdom Tree was indeed a great achievement, but it paled in comparison to nurturing a peak warrior. That’s why, in his fury, Chi Yufeng vowed to kill Lin Dong to vent his anger.

Seeing that all the elders were focusing on him, Liu Cangju stepped forward lightly and said calmly, “I am willing to tear him to pieces to relieve my master’s hatred.”

“Remember, tear him to pieces!” Chi Yufeng ordered.

The elders gritted their teeth in anger. The eldest couldn’t hold back and spoke up, “Cangju, it’s a fact now that the Menghui Fruit has been destroyed. This man is ruthless and decisive; his actions are too extreme. They will only force him to destroy the Menghui Tree. All the sacrifices made by our Jinshi Sect will be in vain. Moreover, the Tianjian Sect is extremely powerful and even has a longer history than our Jinshi Sect. Their heir is said to be a natural genius, and with top-tier warriors at their side, killing him will bring endless troubles.”

“Who destroyed my Menghui Fruit deserves to die!”

Liu Cangju replied indifferently, stepping forward with a fierce gaze, sending waves of coldness toward Lin Dong.

The elders were displeased but no one spoke up to stop him. Chi Yufeng was just hot-tempered, but usually got along well with his peers. As for Liu Cangju, he was a cruel man. Though a cruel heir wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for a sect, those who disagreed had to be extremely careful, otherwise, they might not even know how they died.

In a corner of the valley, Lin Dong put the small porcelain bottle containing the Fengyue Pill back. The elders were displeased with Liu Cangju, but he was very grateful to him. If he had to face four powerful elders at once, especially if they were ranked higher, he would definitely need to take the Fengyue Pill to stand a chance. It was better to take it early rather than late. Although the Fengyue Pill could quickly raise him to the ninth level of the Xinni Phase and temporarily relieve any injuries, who could guarantee that the four elders would give him time to take it after he was injured?

Since Liu Cangju was willing to fight alone, Lin Dong didn’t have such concerns. His speed wasn’t slow enough that he wouldn’t have time to take out and consume the Fengyue Pill if someone attacked from over ten meters away while his strength remained unchanged.

There were only twelve Fengyue Pills left, each one extremely precious. Since Yunlan couldn’t produce such a powerful pill, it was better not to use one unless necessary. Although Lin Dong valued his life far more than the Fengyue Pill, he still wouldn’t waste it recklessly. As long as he could buy some time with Liu Cangju, he believed Yunlan could surely bring Old Ding and Feng Yue to rescue him.

“It seems you think I can’t kill you.”

Liu Cangju stared coldly at Lin Dong. As the distance between them shortened, his steps slowed down, while his killing intent grew stronger. It was his habit, and also a way to put pressure on his opponent.

Lin Dong was naturally happy to play along. He stepped back slightly in a coordinated manner, as if unable to withstand the pressure exerted by Liu Cangju. He could handle the killing intent of a peak warrior like Feng Yue with ease, so Liu Cangju’s killing intent seemed insignificant to him. Such cooperation was obviously meant to buy time, and also to confuse the elders of the Jinshi Sect watching the fight. Only if these elders believed his strength was no match for Liu Cangju’s would no one waste much spiritual energy to probe his true strength.

Lin Dong’s retreat made the murderous intent in Liu Cangju’s eyes even stronger. In return, Liu Cangju slowed down as well. He enjoyed the feeling of controlling others’ lives and deaths at will, believing it to be the right of the greatest genius in Hongtu Commandery.

As for Lin Dong’s actual strength, he wasn’t interested and didn’t bother to care. With a fourth level of the Heart Reversal Phase at the age of thirty, such talent was rare even throughout the Great Han Kingdom. Those with such talent, as long as they didn’t consume too many auxiliary cultivation materials, had the potential to become the next generation of peak warriors in the Great Han Kingdom.

Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters…

When the distance was less than five meters, Lin Dong placed the Menghui Tree inside the mobile counter and swung his Ruyi Stool, launching an attack at Liu Cangju first.

“Cangju, spare his life!” The eldest elder of the Jinshi Sect couldn’t help but shout.

But Liu Cangju ignored him. When Lin Dong swung the stool at his head, he waved his right hand, sending the ninth-level spiritual technique of the Jinshi Sect, Wind Dispel Palm, along with a surge of energy, toward Lin Dong.

Bang!

Lin Dong was sent flying backward, causing the cliff wall to tremble.

Seeing Lin Dong quickly get back on his feet, Liu Cangju snorted coldly. His strength might be weak, but his resistance was quite good. He was confident that this palm strike would instantly kill a warrior at the ninth level of the Heart Resistance Phase who tried to resist head-on. Those below the second level of the Heart Reversal Phase would surely be severely injured as well.

With slow movements and extremely weak spiritual energy, Liu Cangju didn’t doubt that Lin Dong had already reached the realm of a strong warrior. The only possibility was that Lin Dong had extraordinary resistance.

As for the truth, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t tell Liu Cangju—it was an act he was putting on. He had just reached the eighth level of the Heart Reversal Phase that day. To be honest, he really wanted to have a good fight. But under the current circumstances, he had to seize this rare opportunity to buy time. Once the elders of the Jinshi Sect rushed at him, even if he took the Wind and Moon Pill and his strength rose to the peak of the ninth level of the Heart Reversal Phase, he might be able to hold out for a while. But who could guarantee that the Jinshi Sect wouldn’t push him into a spiritual array to minimize losses during the siege?

If forced to confront an eighth-order spirit array with the support of a large group of powerful fighters, even if Yun Lan brought two peak-level experts, it would still take a considerable amount of time to break through the array. It’s very likely that by then, he would have died young. Therefore, Lin Dong had to suppress his frustration and try his best to buy time. “In one move, I’ll cripple one of your arms!” Liu Cangju coldly pressured Lin Dong, believing that Lin Dong would surely focus on his arms because of these words. Once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back—Liu Cangju had always dismissed such notions. Lower-ranked individuals didn’t deserve the trust of those above them.