After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

When Agu first saw Xiao Hei's true form, his pupils suddenly contracted.

I never expected that the Black Wolf, who usually obediently stayed by Lin Zhixu's side, would be so powerful.

Li Hanshan also narrowed his eyes.

He knew all along that this black wolf was no ordinary creature, but seeing it in this form still shocked him.

How wonderful it would be if we could capture such war beasts and use them for our own purposes.

A fleeting glint of greed flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

Lin Zhixu stood beside Xiao Hei, his expression calm.

"That's fine."

Xiao Hei let out another low hum, like a thunderous drumbeat.

The ferocious beasts all crouched even lower, showing none of their previous arrogance.

Xiao Hei shrunk in size and returned to Lin Zhixu's side.

Li Hanshan clapped his hands, his tone full of praise: "Good. I knew I hadn't misjudged you. I'm at ease entrusting the Northern Wilderness Beast Army to you."

Lin Zhixu smiled outwardly, but thought to himself: You're celebrating too soon.

……

Lin Zhixu stopped in the northern wilderness.

The training of the beast army went more smoothly than he had expected.

Although these ferocious beasts are wild and untamed, they are straightforward and don't have many hidden agendas.

They submit to whoever is strong, and they acknowledge whoever feeds them.

Those who were too naughty would behave themselves after being smacked a couple of times by Xiao Hei.

That day, Lin Zhixu led the beast army out to keep watch and spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

Lin Zhixu almost thought he was seeing things.

He'd been living such a comfortable life these past few years that he'd almost forgotten about time.

Seeing the familiar figure made me realize that we were about to reach a crucial point.

In this northern wilderness, nothing can be hidden from Li Hanshan.

That evening, Li Hanshan came to their door.

He revealed his true form, his voice devoid of emotion: "An old acquaintance of yours has arrived. Don't you want to go see him?"

Lin Zhixu was petting Xiao Hei when he heard this, he paused, then smiled: "Of course I'll see him. After all, I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

Li Hanshan raised an eyebrow, seemingly somewhat surprised: "You're quite frank. It seems you're not as indifferent as you initially claimed."

Lin Zhixu raised his eyes, his expression calm: "If I truly didn't care, why would you have approached me? Why would I have betrayed my sect and joined your ranks?"

Li Hanshan was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

The laughter echoed in the dim tent, sounding particularly grating: "That's right. Your words are truly irrefutable. However, I must remind you, now is not the time to see him. Once I have made the arrangements, there will be a time when I need you."

Lin Zhixu frowned: "Luo Yiyan has already arrived in the Northern Wilderness. If I deliberately avoid seeing him, wouldn't that make me seem guilty and cowardly?"

Li Hanshan's tone turned cold: "What is he? Just a small pawn favored by Heaven. Our enemies are Yan Lingcang and Yu Linzhou."

"When the time is right, I will naturally facilitate your meeting with him. For now, you'd better stay put and not ruin my plans."

Lin Zhixu was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I understand."

Li Hanshan coldly rebuked him a few more times before turning into black mist and leaving.

Lin Zhixu slowly raised his head only after the black mist had completely dissipated.

There was no trace of gentleness left in his eyes, only a chilling coldness.

Who cares about you?

He's waited too long; it's almost time for the final step.

Now, anyone who stands in his way of completing this storyline is his enemy.

[System, locate Luo Yiyan's position.]

The system's voice was filled with excitement: 【Okay!】

……

As night deepened, the sandstorms in the northern wilderness gradually subsided. Lin Zhixu, dressed in black, concealed himself in the darkness.

Little Black followed beside him, its four paws landing silently, like a black shadow.

They made their way through several piles of rocks, heading in the direction where Luo Yiyan had disappeared during the day.

Luo Yiyan came to the Northern Wilderness for training.

Ever since he broke through to the Golden Core stage, his cultivation speed has slowed down.

No matter how much spiritual energy one accumulates, one's cultivation level seems to be blocked by something, making it difficult to break through.

Yan Lingcang said that what he lacked was not spiritual energy, but a sudden enlightenment between life and death.

For those who cultivate immortality, opportunities often lie hidden in desperate situations; unless they are pushed to the limit, they will never be able to reach that threshold.

Luo Yiyan took these words to heart.

I've heard that the Northern Wilderness is teeming with ferocious beasts, making it a great place for training.

After arranging the sect's affairs and leaving a letter for Yan Lingcang, he came to the Northern Wilderness alone.

The northern wilderness is bitterly cold, with sandstorms as sharp as knives.

Luo Yiyan was not afraid; on the contrary, she was secretly looking forward to it.

However, he had been in the Northern Wilderness for more than half a month and had not encountered any powerful ferocious beasts along the way.

Moreover, he always felt that something was watching him from the shadows, like a snake lurking in the shadows.

But every time he turned around, there was only an empty wasteland behind him, nothing at all.

It was getting dark, so he had to find a place to rest for the time being.

He found a sheltered rocky hollow, set up a simple defensive formation around it, and started a fire.

The flames flickered in the wind, casting intermittent light and shadow on half of his face.

He held his sword, leaned against the stone wall, and prepared to rest.

But the moment he closed his eyes, that feeling of being watched returned.

Luo Yiyan suddenly opened her eyes, looked around, and still couldn't see anything.

Only occasionally did a spark pop out from the fire, its crisp sound particularly clear in the night.

"Who?" he asked in a low voice, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword.

The sound of the wind swept past outside the rocky hollow, like the sound of very light footsteps.

He waited for a while, but there was no response.

Luo Yiyan closed her eyes.

The next moment, he sprang up, his long sword flashing like lightning, and thrust it fiercely towards a spot to his rear.

Lin Zhixu felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly dodged to the side, the sword blade grazing past his clothes with a sharp whistle.

He reacted extremely quickly, using the momentum to leap backward and land steadily a few steps away.

His face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of calm eyes.

"Who are you? Why are you following me? Who sent you?" Luo Yiyan stood with his sword in hand, his gaze as sharp as a knife, coldly fixed on him.

Lin Zhixu did not answer.

He slowly drew the sword from his waist.

It was a demonic sword that was entirely black, with faint black energy flowing along its blade.

This is a demonic sword that Li Hanshan specially crafted for him to help him let go of his past.

With a flick of his wrist, he pounced on me like a ghost.

Luo Yiyan was prepared and dodged to the side, then slashed out with her sword.

Instead of retreating, Lin Zhixu advanced, channeling demonic energy into his sword, making its momentum suddenly fierce.

The two swords clashed, the clang exploding in the night and sparking a few dazzling sparks.

The two exchanged blows, their swordplay growing faster and faster.

The sword technique was upright and powerful, carrying the righteous spirit unique to cultivators of the righteous path.

The swordplay was unpredictable and elusive, yet ruthless.

Luo Yiyan became increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed.

The opponent's cultivation was extremely high, his swordsmanship was exquisite, and he had an inexplicable sense of familiarity with him.

He stared at those eyes, which were faintly visible in the night, and his heart clenched.

"Lin Zhixu?" he blurted out, his voice trembling with surprise. "You're Lin Zhixu, aren't you!"

Lin Zhixu's eyes flickered very slightly.

He neither admitted nor denied it, but his sword strikes suddenly became even fiercer.

Forced to retreat, Luo Yiyan had lost all will to fight. He struggled to parry while hissing, "Why aren't you saying anything? Why are you running away? Do you know how long everyone has been looking for you?!"

Lin Zhixu remained silent.

His sword moved faster and faster, more and more ruthlessly, as if he wanted to use this fight to completely sever something.

But just as his sword was about to pierce Luo Yiyan's shoulder, Luo Yiyan did not dodge.

"You want to kill me?" Luo Yiyan stood there, staring straight at him, her eyes red-rimmed. "Then stab me! Stab me here."