In the depths of a mountain with unknown origin.
Dark caves with shallow corridors and broken stone walls are what you will find from the bottom to the top of it.
The core of one of these caves is filled with the corpses of pythons , of course they aren't ordinary snake species but a beast with the ability to cultivate and have high proficiency in fire laws , Blazing pythons.
From the inside of which crawl out hundreds of thousands of small ants and other insects , eating and dragging the carcass out of it. In the midst of the process some different species occasionally battle with each other making the situation more and more chaotic as the large number of 'people' will eventually lead to both confusion and discord.
But no matter who wins today , the whole batch deployed for collecting the monster corpse is doomed to be destroyed within a few hours.
Infighting?? Massacre??
Obviously Not.
Their doom bringer is their own food , the corpses of blazing python clan.
With the toxicity that is as transparent as a fire wall but will burn the target when coming in contacts it becomes one of the most lethal poison in the entire mountain ranges even if the others have built up poison immunity they will not survive for much time after making an enemy out of him . As a matter of fact , Blazing python is the most dangerous hunter of the dark caves , not something anyone can stew and eat.
Within a few hours at most , what left here will be the corpses of the top hunter in the food chain and the lowest carnivore food.
Though it will be questionable if anyone else other than a lowly insect species will dare to eat all of these corpses with highly concentrated toxins and poison.
But even if they did , the only thing that changed would be the very corpses not the numbers , at least it won't decrease.
At the very centre of all these , lies the body of the biggest blazing python you could see in this and any nearby cave , probably their leader.
In the eyes of this corpse , you could see the fear, awe, surprise, and a vague shadow.
Obviously , he didn't expect a monkey to suddenly come into his home and kill all of his family members including him and now sitting on top of his head is the very person reflected in the eyes of the prey that was hunted not long ago.
The figure has a slightly tall stature, handsome facial features and a very upright aura.
Despite that he was covered in an indefinite amount of blood belonging to the blazing pythons, all of whom were personally hunted by him.
His robes has soaked so much blood that they were more scarlet than the blazing python's own blood.
For some reasons , His hands are clenched but deep within he hides marble sized red ball and a lot of them.
Some of similar looking crystals are even shattered and scattered on the ground, maybe because he put too much force when clenching his fists that they were broken.
" Damn it.Taking me to a safe place ?? Is this place safe ?? A white lie and so smooth at that. Other than some monster and beast clan there is nothing at all. I don't know if any human will dare to enter this kind of place that is almost equivalent to forbidden. "
Glancing at the ground his eyes were full of bloodthirst, he seems to be talking to himself but he was also talking to the air.
"Brat , why are you destroying Blazing python's core ?? It is hard to come by as commodities and even a few sects will pay some heavy price in exchange for it but now you spoiled so many of them. This is a big loss for us. "
Appearing out of nowhere was an Oldman with white beard and a sacred face, his purple robe flutters against the flow and a deep halo spread within the vicinity scaring away the rest of wild and miscellaneous species that were trying to peep at them.
" Ugh....Loss this is , Loss that ..... My whole life has been a lose ever since I met you. Sitting in this ghostly place with no one else but a ghost to talk is probably the only thing you gave me as an 'experience'. "
Lin Tian has ten thousand complaints in his heart when looking at this master of him.
Since the time he lost consciousness, the world around him has changed a lot.
From losing dignity and respect to having his precious sword stolen and even the cultivation resources with immediate effect are also missing , made his mood damaged by a lot so much that he has started to show disdain for his master.
Even if the resources missing are what they stole from Su family, in his impression they still belong to him and will definitely seek revenge on whoever take his property without any permission.
Not helping him against Su Yang was one thing but to think he would lose so many things at once during the short period he was put to sleep by others.
He was also a dignified Sage in the not too distant past , at least be responsible like that ?? Is this a bit too much of an expectation??
Now he would also bring him to a place where birds don't even shit or simply they dare not to , isn't it asking for his life.
Ever since teleporting here, for the past two days he has been forced to fight a horde of blazing python sleeping and resting in this dark and dim cave.
During these two days , he was also shot by their poisonous fangs by several times , almost opening the gateway to the underworld.
Fortunately, the pythons weren't that strong, he also find out the core of these beastly python is a great tonic against the poisons and can even heal a series of injuries in a short period of time.
But if he was too forced to be a fighting machine whether he is Protagonist or not , his mentality will be definitely damaged and he will definitely look for a 'human' to vent out his dissatisfaction.
His master being aware of his current state didn't say anything but silently sighed, the mistake is also by his part. He didn't know if it was because of acting in a hurry, the coordinates he actually wanted to teleport were slightly misplaced and they end up a few thousand miles far away from the original destination.
Though this can't be told to his disciples who have high dissatisfaction with him in the last two days , their relationship might not reach an end point but discord will definitely happen between them.
And this is the last case scenario he wants to see before gaining a new and more stronger body. So , he is also enduring Lin Tian with a helpless face.
" Brat Calm down. You can't be thinking I bring you here at random but there is a chance waiting for you to pick it. Fate is like that to get something you must lose something else"
" Chance ? Fate ? Didn't you said I have a special fate and can no longer be stopped by anyone in this world and others aren't nothing but my stepping stone to rise. But why did I lost to that Su Yang and why I am forced to run for my life like this. In the end , the so-called fate is nothing but an illusory concept that people used to fool others "
The Oldman was suddenly speechless when listening to Lin Tian's words but thinking it was also right.
After all, a saint can more or less calculate a person's fate. Though not to the extent of telling his life script but can generally gave an idea depending on the level of karma and luck one possess.
And it cost him a lot of background and resources to calculate Lin Tian's destiny that was brighter than any Saint cultivator alive almost reaching the level of a Quasi-Emperor and it was only when he was in the Foundation building stage. So, when he was looking for a suitable vessel he decided to follow this person expecting if he could cast a new body with the help of him, seeing the miracle and some sightseeing can be considered a bonus on top of that.
But after losing against Su Yang his part of fate was snatched away by him by a large margin and even accidents one after another happened making doubtful if his calculation were right or not. Does fate and luck really exist?
In the end , he can only blame if they have messed with the wrong person that something abnormal happened.
**Puffff
Just when Oldman was about to think of a way to bring Lin Tian's destiny back on the right track, an accident happened.
Lin Tian who was just sitting fine , suddenly coughed a small amount of blood, mix of black and red in colour.
" What happened ? Is he poisoned ?? No, it shouldn't be he has eaten dozens of blazing python core , the poison should not work on him even if he were to soak in it for several days and night then what could be the reason ?? " The Oldman muttered and spoke puzzley.
" I seems to have lost something..." Wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth with the sleeve , Lin said in a bewildered tone. How could it be possible to lose when almost all of the belonging they have carried with them.
"Maybe , I am thinking too much..." Since his condition became normal in a few seconds he didn't think too much of it and retrieving the sword thrust in the blazing python's head , jumped off the corpse and head out to the cave next door , looking for a way out.
It can't be helped since his master has consumed too much of his original strength to reach this ghostly place and the same technique can't be used to frequently lacking a proper medium to cast , leaving Lin Tian no choice but to look for the exit and the 'chance' that his master speaks of.
Since the incident wasn't a big one , The Oldman also chose to ignore it and after going back inside the ring on Lin Tian's finger, he decided to regain as much as strength possible to leave this place as the fastest as he could. A place he is completely unfamiliar with is definitely not a place that their lives can be guaranteed with. After all who knows if there is a big taboo sleeping under the mountains or not ?
He has a very simple philosophy, be afriad of unknown not what is in front of your eyes.
....
A few hours ago.
Su Yang's palace.
In the middle of the hall.
The atmosphere was of utter silence with nothing but the faint sounds of breathing could be heard in the hall.
Sitting on the wooden chair that looks like a throne for the people standing below , Su Yang's eyes sweep past these people with a sneer in his heart.
Did they really think sending a beauty will quell down his 'anger' ?
Is Su Yang the kind of person who can't walk when he sees a female or rather it is always women who loses their footing when passing past by him.
" I don't know what kind of business does Patriarch Lin has with me ? "
Thinking of something, he said in a playful tone.
The rest of people suddenly felt being cheated.
Didn't he indirectly acquainted to take Lin Xiaoxiao's under him ??
Why is he performing this old sixth behaviour now ??
Even the silent Lin Xiaoxiao behind him, thought this was too much for troubling her family.
Is her sacrifice going to be in vain??
" This..."
Lin Xiaoting felt a little dazed and don't know what to speak for a while.
Should he beg to leave his clan alone after banishing that bastard Lin Tian ?
or directly sold his daughter to him ?
But this is something his daughter has already done.
what to do now ?
" Could it be that Patriarch Lin has nothing to do but walk here and there , to disturb other people's precious time or is there any conspiracy behind it ?"
Su Yang pretended to guess , of course it was a lie that everyone present knows.
The last words made everyone confused but with Su Yang's identity it is impossible to refute his guesses, even if it was a white lie.
**Thud **Thud
Suddenly , a person falls on his knees with both hands pressed against the ground.
" What ..."
" Second Elder , what happened? Why are you kneeling? "
Lin Xiaoting looked at the person who was his biggest supporter in the family and his face turned ugly.
" Stop !! Just stay at where you are. "
Suddenly, a few guards appeared beside the rest of Lin family members, pressing a dagger on their neck tightly with as much force as possible.
" Xiaoting , this senior of yours has failed you thoroughly. What I didn't expect was for Prince Su to find it out so easily. "
" Second Elder , what do you mean ? "
Not understanding the situation, Lin Xiaoting shouted anxiously.
" Let me explain what does he mean."
Standing beside Su Yang, Wang Wu said in a calm and indifferent tone.
" The second Elder of your family didn't come here to make amends with young master Su but his goal was Young master Su's very own life. "
" To put it in simple words, an assassination attempt with no back-up but you guys as the companion of the culprit. "
" What ?????? "
" That's a lie. Why would Second Elder would be willing to harm Prince Su ? "
" Yes , there must be some kind of misunderstanding. "
The people closer to Second Elder roared one after another, finding themselves treated as a clown with pure nonsense.
" You didn't tell a single person about your plans ? "
Su Yang asked with his eyebrows raised.
" ugh.. No "
" What's the reason ? "
Lin Xiaoting asked slowly with a bitter face. He has already figure out the strange expression on Second Elder's face, must have something he was ignorant of this all time.
" Because other than the Great Elder , this second Elder of yours is also a person standing in your opposite, It's just he concealed himself too well that he managed to fool you. But the moment 'the preparator' thought of assassinating Young master Su , his thoughts were already known by all of us."
" However, he made a grave mistake thinking if he could actually harm our master right in front of our eyes. "
Wang Wu didn't speak anything after that but it was enough for others to get the key information.
Second Elder is the hidden card of a certain someone.
Great Elder wants to protect both family's honour and Lin Tian at the same time.
And what is the root of their problems?
Isn't it Su Yang ? Just kill him and all of the problems are solved.
But to achieve this , he needs someone to kill Su Yang in the Su manor , pushing all the blame on the people present on the scene.
If the dots were to be arranged in a straight line like this then , Second Elder is a person of Great Elder's team from the start and the person who instigated him to assassinate is also the Great Elder who was unusually silent for the last two days.
Thinking what would happen after the assassination was successful, Lin Xiaoting let out a deep sigh.
Even the wind of it's planning is enough as a valid reason for the extermination of the entire clan , including the past friends and acquaintances of Lin Clan will be drawn into this mess all of this regardless of fault, suffering the same fate as them.
And if on top of that they actually dares to Assassinate Su Yang and even get successful then , the entire Human realm will definitely go through dark turmoil.
And what did Great Elder and Second Elder wanted to do it for?? an orphan Lin Tian.
This is ridiculous.
Even Lin Xiaoxiao who still unknowingly harbors little love regarding Lin Tian in the depths of her heart can't help but boil in rage and taking unhurried steps, move towards the second Elder with indifference in her eyes.
As she was the closest person standing to Su Yang she was not restrained by others. Maybe they want to check her determination and loyalty to follow Su Yang or she was definitely not put by them in their eyes with the weak cultivation base of her's.
In the midst of everyone's attention, she pulled a long sword from her spatial ring and without a moment of hesitation, attacked the traitor who sold his own family for a white eyed wolf.