I am cautiously cultivating immortals in a strange world

He ignored Bai Lingyu's temptation.

Chen Lin shook his head again, "No matter how great the benefits are, you have to be alive to take them. I think it's better to finish exploring this place first before considering anything else."

"Ok."

Bai Lingyu did not insist any further.

Looking at the two remaining guardians besides Chen Lin, he said with a somber expression, "If you manage to get out of here alive, I will compensate you. The Qingding Heavenly Palace will also take care of the families of the deceased guardians."

These words softened the expressions of the two women in black robes.

In fact, as worshippers, accepting tasks is their duty. Even if Bai Lingyu doesn't make any promises or say anything, it makes her seem less cold and easier for people to accept.

but.

During the rest of the journey, the woman in black robes and the old man with the white beard followed closely behind Chen Lin, never getting any closer to Bai Lingyu.

This made Bai Lingyu very depressed.

But it's strange.

After following Chen Lin, the two were not attacked again and smoothly arrived at the nearest ruins, where they found two invisible objects.

This situation made Chen Lin suspicious.

Unable to resist asking Bai Lingyu, "Elder Bai, where did you get that route map from? Is it reliable?"

"how?"

Bai Lingyu glanced at Chen Lin.

"Do you think I was set up, which is why I've encountered all these setbacks?"

"Humph."

She snorted coldly.

"It's not so easy to scheme against me, Bai Lingyu, and leave me completely unaware."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lin did not press the matter further.

He also thought it was unlikely, after all, the other party was a mid-level ruler and had extremely strong supernatural powers. Even if a high-level ruler wanted to scheme against such a strong person, it would be difficult to do so silently.

not to mention.

The other party is Bai Yujing's sister, and also an elder of Qingding Heavenly Palace. The consequences of plotting against her are unimaginable. No one would do it without absolute certainty.

"I was just asking casually."

Chen Lin chuckled dryly.

Bai Lingyu frowned, seemingly affected by Chen Lin's words, and was trying to think of something.

a long time.

She shook her head.

"No one should be able to influence me with supernatural powers. The Nameless Secret Realm is inherently dangerous, and it's common for exploration teams to be wiped out. Although our journey has been bumpy, it's within a reasonable range. Don't overthink it."

"Elder Bai is wrong."

The woman in black immediately retorted.

She said in a deep voice, "From the moment you entered the secret realm, Elder, you have been targeted at every turn, and those who followed you have also been affected. Just now, for example, I was with Elder Chen and was not attacked by the spider's silk, but Qu Mingyuan died because he was behind you."

"There is also Lian Zizhang as an offering."

"She must have realized this, which is why she asked to leave the group."

Chen Lin's eyes flickered.

This Zhou Gongfeng was really impolite, directly stating his point without fear of Bai Lingyu's anger.

Despite not displaying any particularly formidable skills along the way, this elder was not harmed by the strange creatures of this place and even managed to fight back.

That's all.

It is already much stronger than a normal Overlord.

Qu Mingyuan was also a ruler, but he was no match for that spider silk, and he didn't even have a chance to escape.

and so.

It's not that Bai Lingyu isn't powerful, but rather that the rules clash, preventing the opponent from unleashing its normal power. However, if the opponent wanted to attack them, including him, they probably wouldn't be able to withstand even a casual strike.

"Then let's call it a day."

Bai Lingyu's expression changed for a moment, and then she suddenly made a suggestion that surprised the three of them.

Her expression was indifferent.

He casually said, "Since we couldn't get to that abandoned town, the mission is over. From now on, let's all be well, find our own way out, and keep any treasures we find for ourselves. There's no need to hand them over to me."

"in addition."

Bai Lingyu glanced at the three of them.

"Just like Lian Zizhang, the agreed-upon reward for the mission remains unchanged. As long as we can get out, we will not lose anything we promised before, and we will even pay double."

Done.

He ignored everyone and slipped away.

Chen Lin was stunned.

He never said he wanted to act alone, so it was really inexplicable that the other party would even leave him behind.

Was it just because of his probing question?
That's too stingy.

Chen Lin pondered to himself.

Given the other party's cultivation level and status, this is unlikely to be the reason. More likely, the other party knows some information about this place and wants to retrieve the treasure alone.

Because the other party had previously promised that if they obtained the treasure together, he would be the one to choose first.

Using this as a pretext to separate would avoid fulfilling the promise, and the other party clearly still had trump cards up their sleeve, while their own pride wouldn't allow them to be looked down upon.

I've figured this out.

Chen Lin was both amused and exasperated.

But they didn't chase after them. Since the other party had chosen to travel alone, continuing to follow would only be annoying and could even lead to them being killed to silence them.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, where are we going?"

The white-bearded old man's voice interrupted Chen Lin's thoughts.

He glanced at the other person.

"Go wherever you want, let's split up and each of us rely on our own luck."

Then he took out the two intangible objects he had just obtained.

Leave one.

The other one was placed on the ground between the two.

"As agreed, I can choose the treasure first. Now there's no need to wait for the treasure. I'll take an intangible object, and the agreement will be over. Even if I can't take it out, I won't go back on my word."

"Fellow Daoist Chen..."

The white-bearded old man and the woman in black robes both changed their expressions at the same time.

Chen Lin raised his hand to stop him.

“We are all offerings, I have no obligation to help you, and besides, I am too busy to help you.”

"As for Fellow Daoist Zhou..."

He looked at the woman in the black robe.

"I took your rune spirit, but I also just saved your life, which is enough to settle this debt. You don't need to pay any more rewards. Let's all go our separate ways."

Before the two could respond.

Chen Lin spread his soul wings, transformed into a streak of black light, and disappeared into the dim space.

The remaining two looked at each other, their faces extremely grim.

They didn't want to follow Bai Lingyu because they had Chen Lin to rely on. Along the way, Chen Lin's methods had been very effective against the creatures here, and following Chen Lin would give them a better chance of survival.

But I never expected it to end like this.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou..."

Just as the white-bearded old man was about to speak, a flash of white light appeared in the crack, and a spider the size of a fist flew out from it. It had six spots on its back that formed an abstract human face.

"run!"

The two men's expressions changed drastically, and without the slightest hesitation, they fled in different directions.

But it was too late.

The face behind the white jade spider revealed a mocking expression. It raised its two claws in front, and two shiny, thin threads shot out, instantly wrapping around the two people.

"open!"

The woman in black robes roared, and a cloud of black mist burst forth from her body. Her entire being twisted and transformed, merging with the black mist and spreading in all directions.

The white-bearded old man was not negligent either.

He opened his mouth and spat out a dark red bead with strange symbols on it. As it flickered, it formed a red light curtain that enveloped him.

"They have some tricks up their sleeves, but not many."

The white jade spider suddenly spoke human language. Two of the six spots on its back lit up, transforming into two beams of starlight that flashed and landed on the two people.

The black mist that the woman in black robes had transformed into had just dissipated when it was invaded by starlight, as if time had reversed, and it transformed back into the woman in black robes.

The spider silk immediately tightened.

In the blink of an eye, her body turned into a dried-up corpse, all life force swallowed up by the starlight.

The white-bearded old man was not spared either.

Despite trying several methods, it was unable to escape the entanglement of the spider silk, and was completely swallowed up after the starlight fell.

The white jade spider smacked its lips, satisfied, and put away its silk.

The two points of starlight turned back into spots, flashed back onto the back, and seemed to become a little brighter as they flickered.

immediately.

The six spots moved quickly, rearranged, and outlined a girl's face.

If Chen Lin were here, he would be shocked to see this face, because the face belonged to none other than Gu Siming from the villa yesterday!
"Didn't I tell you not to devour cultivators?"

Gu Siming's voice rang out from behind the screen.

The spider shrank its neck.

"Miss, I'm hungry."

He offered a sophistry.

Then he added, "I haven't eaten for so long that I'm too weak to even vomit spider silk. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to be cut by that guy. I need to eat my fill before I go get my revenge."

"Humph!"

Gu Siming gave a soft snort.

"Don't make excuses. I think you've grown too big for your britches and don't want to obey my orders."

"Miss, I'm innocent!"

The white jade spider immediately cried out that it was innocent.

"I'm so hungry. This godforsaken place hasn't seen any living creatures in ages. I've been trapped here, crying out to heaven and earth in vain. If it weren't for my extraordinary talent, the ability to absorb the power of the earth's veins, I wouldn't have been able to wait for Miss's summons."

"okay."

Gu Siming interrupted Bai Yuzhu's complaints.

His tone became erratic.

"It'll be soon, very soon. Once we pass this trial to heaven, we'll both be free. It's time to settle all the grudges we've accumulated over the years."

immediately.

Her tone turned cold again.

"Ignore the person who cut your spider silk. I have a use for him. Whether we can pass this great trial and obtain that treasure depends on him. He is also an important pawn. Don't let him affect the grand plan."

"I understand, I will definitely listen."

The white jade spider hurriedly assured him.

Gu Siming's face gradually blurred, and the spots on the spider's back moved again, returning to their original abstract form.

Then he leaped into the crevice.

Chen Lin fled all the way.

Without encountering any danger, after about half a cup of tea's time, they arrived at a dilapidated building.

This building is very large.

Moreover, this is the only one within a radius of dozens of miles, and its degree of ruin is less than that of the ones we encountered before; the main outline of the structure is clearly visible.

After a moment's hesitation, he entered and carefully probed the area with his black gold spear.

However, after walking around for a while, they found nothing and disappointedly headed to the next building.

Two hours later.

Because of the badge, Chen Lin felt somewhat confident and explored quickly, having already explored more than a dozen ruins in half a day.

There were some gains, but not many.

A total of five strange items were obtained, but none of them were considered rare treasures. At least for now, these strange items did not exhibit any characteristics of rare treasures.

Of the five strange objects, four are intangible, and the other is tangible, containing the energy of the purple heart aperture. Tangible objects can also be collected.

However, not all of them are acceptable.

Among these dozen or so ruins, several tangible supernatural objects were encountered, but only a broken dagger was successfully grabbed; the rest could not be touched.

Chen Lin had a sudden thought.

He took out the short knife that was placed on the giant rock in the cave and examined it closely.

The knife is only a little over a foot long, with an antique bronze color, simple and heavy, without any patterns on it, and a huge notch on the blade.

I watched for a while.

Chen Lin enveloped his palm with the energy of the Purple Heart Aperture, reached out and grabbed the hilt of the short knife.

He waved it twice.

He then infused the blade with purple light, and the short sword immediately vibrated slightly, emanating a subtle yet powerful aura that distorted the surrounding space.

But Chen Lin wasn't particularly surprised.

As energy was injected, a crack appeared faintly at the notch, almost running through the entire blade, causing the energy flow to stagnate and preventing the short sword from unleashing much of its power.

Moreover, it consumes more energy than the badge, making its use somewhat counterproductive.

Shake his head.

Chen Lin put the short knife into the cave.

It doesn't matter if we don't need it. As long as we can take it out, plenty of people will be willing to buy it, which can be used to exchange for a Dominator-level spirit body.

then.

He then examined several intangible objects.

Through exploration and judgment, the four items were identified as a bottle, a jade flute, a triangular dart, and a book made of a special material.

The bottle was over three inches long and the belly was about two inches long. It looked like a pill bottle, but there were no pills inside.

The jade flute is similar to an ordinary flute, and it feels cool to the touch. With the blessing of the Purple Heart Aperture energy, it can show a hazy outline. The material is emerald green jade.

The darts were nothing special.

These three things are all difficult to activate, and their power is generally weak. They are unlikely to pose a fatal threat to ordinary rulers.

Chen Lin touched it and then put it away.

Finally, I picked up the book.

This was the item he was most looking forward to.

If it's about cultivating techniques, then he'll make a fortune. As far as he knows, no one has obtained the complete techniques within the secret realm so far. If he comes out on top, the benefits he gains will be immense.

I flipped through it.

The book has eighteen pages in total, and is in perfect condition with no damage whatsoever.

Chen Lin took the book in his hand, first took a big gulp of the colorful crystal marrow, and then activated the energy of the Purple Heart Aperture, injecting it into the book.

The outline of the book gradually emerged, becoming clearer and clearer, until finally revealing its true form.

The Sea-Suppressing Sword Technique!

The cover displays four large characters.

With just one glance, Chen Lin felt the space darken, as if heaven and earth were pressing down on him at the same time, making it difficult for him to circulate all his energy. Even his Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart began to beat slower and slower, each beat extremely difficult.

So strong!

Chen Lin was surprised, delighted, and somewhat helpless.

The name alone is so imposing; the techniques recorded within must be extraordinary. It's more precious than any rare treasure.

But a pity.

He didn't have the technique to utilize the energy of this place, so even if the technique was excellent, he couldn't cultivate it.

I flipped through it briefly.

The contents were obscure and difficult to understand, all written in mysterious characters. It was impossible to decipher them in a short time, so they were stored in the gourd cave.

He shook out his robes.

Chen Lin spread his soul wings and took to the air, flying towards a more distant building. His immediate priority was not to find as many treasures as possible, but to find a way out.

Shake.

Three months have passed.

Although Chen Lin was slow, he still managed to explore the entire space but couldn't find an exit.

Just then.

A figure quickly approached, arriving close and saying, "What a coincidence, Elder Chen. You've also been exploring alone?" (End of Chapter)