I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

The newcomer realized that he had been firmly locked onto by Lin Che's divine sense, so he simply stopped concealing his presence.

A delicate fragrance wafted by, accompanied by a soft, alluring female voice that rang out from behind:

"Oh dear~ Fellow Daoist, why be so wary? I went to great lengths to wound and bring this demon beast here. Please, have mercy and let me have it!"

Her voice was sweet and alluring, as if it had a hook that could tug at one's heartstrings.

Lin Che slowly turned around and saw a graceful female cultivator, dressed rather scantily and boldly, emerging from a shadow.

She was beautiful, with a captivating charm in her eyes, and her cultivation level was clearly at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

However, as an expert who was equally skilled at concealment and extremely sensitive to aura, Lin Che detected a very subtle discord and darkness in the other party's seemingly harmonious aura.

Those were traces that had been deliberately disguised and were tainted with heavy blood and malevolent energy.

This woman is definitely not a kind person.

The most compelling evidence was the golden lion beast in the cave behind her, its aura weakened yet still exuding a fierce power.

A powerful demon beast in the late Foundation Establishment stage was forced to hide in a cave, bearing injuries. This is something that no ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator could do.

Either she possesses extremely strong trump cards or special methods, or she has been hiding her true strength, or she has accomplices assisting her.

Seeing Lin Che remain silent, only looking at her calmly, the female cultivator named Xu Meng's face showed an even more pitiful expression, her red lips slightly pouting, her eyes filled with autumn water:

"Good brother~ Please let me have it! I went to great lengths to hurt it, and I want to use its pelt to make a nice piece of protective leather armor~"

She took a light step forward, her clothes fluttering and carrying a fragrant breeze, her voice growing softer and more melodious:

"Or... how about we make a deal? I'll keep the leather armor, and you can have the rest of the bone and muscle materials, okay? I definitely won't take advantage of you~"

Faced with this verbal temptation, Lin Che's expression remained unchanged: "No, I came here to subdue this demonic beast."

Xu Meng's pitiful expression froze slightly, then she took a small step forward.

She almost leaned close to Lin Che, tilting her head back, her eyes seemingly red-rimmed, her voice trembling with grievance: "Really... is there absolutely no room for negotiation? Why must you be so heartless, fellow Daoist..."

Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred!

The pitiful look in her eyes instantly turned into a cold killing intent, and her slender hand, which had been hanging by her side, flicked slightly with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

laugh--!

A faint, almost imperceptible, dark red light shot out from her sleeve without warning, moving with lightning speed, aiming straight for Lin Che's throat!

The sweet fragrance that filled the air was suddenly mixed with a very faint hint of bloody sharpness.

All those charming words and feigned weakness were just a pretext for this moment of relaxation and a close-range surprise attack!

The moment the dark red blood needle appeared, it pierced through a short distance and struck Lin Che's face!

However, Lin Che appeared calm, but in reality, he was already on guard.

The instant the killing intent flashed in the other's eyes, the second-tier mid-grade longsword magic weapon he held in his hand was already horizontally in front of him like lightning.

At the same time, he urged his thoughts, and the Myriad Transformations Golden Scale Armor was activated instantly, with faint golden scale phantoms flashing and disappearing in front of his chest.

Ding! Poof!

Two soft sounds that almost came together.

The first sound was the crisp crack of the blood needle striking the blade.

The longsword, which was of decent quality, was pierced easily by the blood needle as if it were made of paper, and the needle tip continued forward without any hindrance!

The second sound was the muffled thud of the blood needle striking the golden scale phantom on Lin Che's chest.

The golden scales trembled violently, flashing with spiritual light, and were actually pierced half an inch, leaving a clear crack!

At the same time, a cold and foul blood aura spread along the damaged blade, and the long sword magic weapon instantly lost its spiritual light, becoming gray and mottled, and was directly corrupted and ruined!

"Wow, not bad reaction! You actually blocked it!"

Xu Meng's attack was incomplete, but her tone still carried that flippant smile, as if she had just made a trivial joke.

But her actions were completely opposite to her tone, without the slightest pause!

With a flick of his wrists, he held two strange short daggers, no more than a foot long, shaped like willow leaves, dark red in color, and with blades that gleamed with an eerie light.

The short spikes have a unique shape, and as soon as they appear, they exude a chilling aura of blood and venom.

The weapon's unique shape immediately triggered Lin Che's memories. His eyes narrowed, and he coldly shouted, "Blood-Transforming Willow Leaf Thorn! You're from the Blood Shadow Hall!"

Xu Meng's smile grew even brighter and more alluring, but her eyes flashed with a cold light: "Blood Shadow Hall? What's that? I've never heard of it~"

As she denied it, her aura suddenly changed.

The two willow-leaf thorns blazed with intense blood light, instantly extending into two translucent, blood-red energy blades as thin as cicada wings, yet exuding a chilling sharpness.

It is "Shadow Blood Blade", one of the signature killing moves of the Blood Shadow Hall!

Not only that, with a flicker of her figure, the surrounding air was filled with blood mist, and seven or eight blood-red clones, identical to her original body and indistinguishable from the real thing, were created!

All the clones, along with the main body, simultaneously unleashed a layer of viscous, blood-red aura, emitting a sharp, piercing sound as they attacked Lin Che from different angles, like blood-red phantoms!

Even more troublesome was that a strong sense of dizziness and weakness suddenly struck Lin Che's mind and body, and the flow of his internal magic power suddenly became sluggish and heavy, as if he were sinking into a swamp.

Poison! And it's an extremely sophisticated mixed poison, colorless and odorless, yet it managed to seep in silently through the air and from that close contact just now!

All the nonsense and advances the other party had before were actually aimed at poisoning him!

"What a vicious method!" Lin Che thought with a chill, but remained calm.

His feigned compliance with the other party was also a way to buy time.

Secretly, the Azure Profound Realm Spirit had already stealthily moved back the way it came.

Faced with the encircling and murderous figures and the toxins within his body, Lin Che's mind raced.

First, summon a meat shield!

hum!

A burst of earthy yellow spiritual light erupted, and the enormous body of the River-Overturning Crocodile Turtle, as large as a moving small mountain, suddenly appeared in front of Lin Che, completely blocking most of the attack routes.

The moment it appeared, it received Lin Che's command through the soul contract and activated the "Mysterious Water Heavy Armor" divine power without hesitation.

A deep blue liquid armor instantly covered its thick back armor and body, flowing slowly like water.

Puff puff puff...!

Several blood-red clones and Xu Meng's main body's shadow-like blood blades struck the dark blue armor first.

The sharp blood blade sliced ​​into the flowing water armor with a dull thud, leaving streaks of bloody wounds. But the next second, those wounds were quickly repaired and healed by the continuous surge of blue water-attribute energy.

The alligator snapping turtle remained as steady as a mountain, only swaying slightly.

Immediately afterwards, they blocked off all escape routes!

hold head high--!

A high-pitched and majestic dragon roar resounded from the direction of the cave entrance!

A giant dragon, four zhang long with prominent horns, suddenly appeared as if breaking through the void.

Its enormous body almost completely blocked the not-so-wide cave entrance, its icy blue dragon eyes coldly locking onto the battlefield, and azure water was already condensing in its mouth.

At the same time, Lin Che activated the Phoenix Blood True Fire.

A fleeting crimson-gold flame flickered across his body, rapidly burning away and purifying the toxins that had invaded his system.

Until this moment, Xu Meng's meticulously planned surprise attack, poisoning, and combined attack with her clones were easily neutralized by Lin Che's timely appearance of two late-stage Foundation Establishment spirit beasts!

The balance of power was reversed in an instant!

"What?!" Xu Meng's charming smile finally vanished completely, replaced by astonishment and gloom.

She certainly didn't underestimate this opponent who only had the cultivation of the early Foundation Establishment stage. Being able to venture deep into this place alone meant he was no ordinary person.

Therefore, they immediately used high-level mixed poisons and deadly moves, striving for a quick victory.

But to her utter surprise, the other party was actually a beast taming cultivator, and the spirit beasts he possessed were so powerful, all of them being at the late Foundation Establishment stage!

This completely disrupted all her plans.

Seeing that the combined attack was blocked and the poison did not seem to have fully taken effect, Xu Meng's eyes sharpened.

"A Hundred Shadows Vanish into the Sky!"

She let out a sharp cry and activated her secret technique with all her might.

In an instant, hundreds and thousands of blood-red afterimages, indistinguishable from real ones, shot out in all directions from her center!

Some lunged at the River-Overturning Crocodile Turtle, some rushed towards the Cangming Dragon blocking the entrance, and many more darted towards the depths of the cave, the crevices in the rock walls, and other possible escape routes.

Each afterimage carried a portion of her true form's aura, moving at incredible speeds, making it impossible for ordinary cultivators to discern her true identity in an instant.

In the past, Lin Che might have had to put in a lot of effort to escape such a strange and unpredictable technique, and might even have been able to escape.

But at this moment, the golden light in his eyes shone brightly, as the "Phoenix Blood True Fire" divine power originating from the Burning Heaven Sacred Sparrow was pushed to its limit!

The fiery, sacred, and exorcising flames erupted with a deafening roar.

"Since we can't tell the difference, let's keep them all!"

Lin Che let out a low shout, combining the "Blazing Dragon Binding Rope" spell model that he had already memorized, and poured out his powerful true essence.

call--!

Hundreds of incredibly agile fire serpents, formed from crimson-gold flames, were born out of thin air.

Like living chains, they hissed and pierced the air, shooting towards every blood-red afterimage that darted through the cave, centered on Lin Che!

Wherever the flames passed, the blood mist evaporated, and the afterimages emitted a sizzling sound as they melted away.

His immense true essence, far exceeding that of others at the late Foundation Establishment stage, was sufficient to support him in unleashing such a wide-ranging yet precisely controlled fire spell!

The crimson fire serpents and the blood-red afterimages intertwined and collided, emitting a dense barrage of explosions.

The natural restraint of flames on bloodlust was evident at this moment, and a large number of afterimages were instantly incinerated.

"Found it!" Lin Che's lips curled into a cold smile.

Under the burning and sensing power of the Phoenix Blood True Fire, a blood shadow with the most solid aura and the fastest escape speed experienced an extremely slight delay as it lunged toward a rock wall crack behind the Azure Sea Flood Dragon.

That was a sign that the body's true essence was being burned by the Phoenix Blood!

Lin Che immediately activated the Phoenix Blood True Fire with all his might, and fire dragons rose up around her, tightly coiling around her.

The crimson protective aura crackled and melted away.

"Overturning River Crocodile Turtle, six o'clock position, use gravity suppression! Azure Sea Dragon, entangle her!"

The command was instantly transmitted through the Soul Pact.

The River-Overturning Crocodile Turtle let out a low growl and activated its "Immovable as a Mountain" supernatural power at full strength!

An invisible yet heavy gravitational field suddenly enveloped the blood-red figure that Lin Che had pointed to.

Blood Shadow's speed suddenly faltered, as if he had sunk into an invisible quagmire.

Almost simultaneously, the massive body of the Cangming Jiao swept over like a streak of azure lightning.

The long, powerful dragon tail, carrying immense force and chilling moisture, lashed fiercely at the blood shadow that was bound by gravity and controlled by Lin Che!

Boom!!!

The rock face shook violently, and loose rocks fell down in a flurry.

The blood-red figure was struck as if by a heavy hammer, its blood energy exploding and revealing Xu Meng's horrified, pale face.

Her petite body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily against the hard rock wall. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and her breath instantly weakened.

Before she could struggle to her feet, the alligator snapping turtle's gravitational field followed her closely, enveloping her even more tightly and pressing her firmly to the ground.

The sharp claws of the Azure Sea Dragon followed closely, precisely pressing down on her shoulder and dantian, its water elemental power penetrating her body and sealing her meridians and magical power.

In the blink of an eye, this unexpected encounter ended with Xu Meng being captured alive.

The reason Lin Che went to such lengths, using two spirit beasts to capture the opponent instead of killing him directly, was because of his identity as a "Blood Shadow Hall assassin."

Yin Jiuyou had indeed prepared a backup plan, and the Blood Shadow Hall's arrangements here probably involved more than just this one person.

Capturing her might yield valuable information through interrogation.

It can also serve as a warning to others.

After dealing with the assassin, Lin Che turned his attention back to the golden lion beast that had been lying quietly deep in the cave, seemingly detached from the situation.

Throughout the fierce battle with the Blood Shadow Hall assassins, this wounded late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast was surprisingly restrained.

Instead of taking the opportunity to launch an attack or flee, it simply concealed its presence, silently lying on the spot, licking its wounds and recovering its strength, its pair of golden vertical pupils calmly observing the battle.

Lin Che's mind stirred, and the Heart of Ten Thousand Beasts quietly activated, transmitting a peaceful and clear intention towards the Golden Lion Beast:

"You saw the fight just now. The woman who injured you was no match for me. And you are no match for me either."

Lin Che's thoughts were calm and resolute, carrying an undeniable strength.

When dealing with wild monsters, especially naturally proud and powerful beasts like the Golden Lion Beast, one must never be weak and must establish a strong dominant position from the very first contact.

This is the experience Lin Che has gained through years of taming beasts.

The golden lion beast's thoughts immediately returned in a somewhat exasperated manner:

"Roar! If I hadn't been injured in the previous battle and exhausted, how could I have been ambushed by this treacherous woman? Once I'm healed, I can kill her with a single claw!"

This thought carried a clear sense of resentment and pride, but also a hint of weakness.

Immediately, it seemed to realize that this "hypothesis" was meaningless, and looked at Lin Che with complicated emotions, as well as the two powerful and menacing spirit beasts behind him.

Lin Che's thoughts came again, clear and direct:

"I'm giving you only one choice. Surrender to me, and I can heal your wounds, provide resources, and show you a wider world. Or die immediately."

There is no third way.

A combination of kindness and severity should be applied, but severity should come first, followed by kindness.

The Golden Lion Beast, still arrogant despite its severe injuries, must have its unrealistic fantasies utterly crushed.

The golden lion beast lowered its massive head, its golden mane seemed to have dimmed somewhat, and its eyes flashed with struggle and resentment, which ultimately turned into a deep sense of helplessness and sorrow.

It remained silent for a moment, then a heavy, hoarse thought slowly came through:

"Very well... I can submit to you. But there's one condition: if you help me fulfill it, I will willingly serve you as my master, without any disloyalty!"