Chapter 444:

North State, the far north

Xia Qingshan shouted "Run!" and Lin Jiang immediately started running. Lin Jiang was well-practiced in running away, so he didn’t need any further encouragement.

However, when Lin Jiang ran far ahead, he noticed that Lin Ying hadn’t moved. This made Lin Jiang very angry, almost causing him to stomp his feet. Lin Jiang then turned back.

"Lin Ying, run quickly!"

"Brother, you run."

Lin Ying shook her head, she couldn’t run, she had to see what danger there was, she had to see if Third Sister was here at all.

As they spoke, most of the ice had already melted, revealing a person sealed inside it. Upon seeing this, Lin Jiang stopped running and stared at everything in front of him.

"Bang!"

More of the ice melted away, exploding what was left, and the ice shards shot towards Lin Jiang and Lin Ying like bullets. Both of them used magic to defend themselves.

In the next moment, Lin Jiang smelled a strong foul odor. Before he could react, he was thrown out, suffering a very intense attack.

Fortunately, since the Qing State battle, Lin Jiang had once again put on a high-level magical garment made of seven layers of top-grade treasures. Due to the successive weakening of the garment, Lin Jiang wasn’t seriously injured.

"Tao Achieving?"

"It’s not a living person."

Lin Ying and Xia Qingshan screamed at the same time. The figure was so fast that Lin Ying didn’t react in time. She instinctively thought it was Tao Achieving. Lin Ying almost thought she was in trouble again.

Lin Jiang and Lin Ying stared at the figure. It was a man with a sunken face, giving a sense of being dead. His clothing was strange, not the typical style in the cultivation world. Lin Jiang scanned with his senses but didn’t detect any signs of life.

"Brother Li, be careful. This person is already dead; something in the Ice Stone is controlling him."

"Brother, his attire looks like it’s from tens of thousands of years ago."

"Take it down."

The ancient corpse continued to approach Lin Jiang. With a shout, Lin Jiang showed no fear of the dead.

His Qing Gang Sword struck the ancient corpse with full force, sparking but unable to break through its defense. Lin Jiang quickly dodged the attack.

The ancient corpse couldn’t use magic, relying solely on physical attacks. It was extremely fast and powerful.

"Lamp Burning Technique."

"The Flying Immortal with a Sword"

Lin Jiang immediately used the Burning Life Secret Method, turning the Qing Gang Sword into a white light that flew towards the ancient corpse. The ancient corpse didn’t dodge or evade, only attacking Lin Jiang.

"Boom"

Another strike, but still unable to break through the defense, and Lin Jiang was once again knocked back, luckily Lin Ying intercepted the ancient corpse.

"Brother, continue with the Sagittarius Bow, I will distract it."

Lin Ying threw the Sagittarius Bow to Lin Jiang and went up to confront the ancient corpse.

The ancient corpse must have had high cultivation skills when alive, but now it was just a body, unable to unleash its full power. Lin Jiang had confidence in the battle ahead.

"Lamp Burning Technique"

Lin Jiang continued to unleash powerful moves, combining the Qing Gang Sword with the Sagittarius Bow to shoot at the ancient corpse, sending it flying with a gash in its back, yet the ancient corpse showed no reaction.

Xia Qingshan was panicking on the side, he was not good at fighting, weaker than most early-stage Soul Changers, he couldn’t even participate, how could he be as powerful as Lin Jiang, whose fighting skills were comparable to early-stage Void Achievers.

Lin Jiang kept using Lamp Burning Technique, not afraid of consuming his lifespan at all, while Lin Ying also fought back with all his strength against the ancient corpse.

Lin Jiang’s Lamp Burning Technique could break through defenses, but it didn’t really matter, as the ancient corpse was just a lifeless body, physical injuries meant almost nothing to him.

"Attack his soul!"

Suddenly, Xia Qingshan remembered something and shouted to Lin Jiang and the others.

"Soul Shaking Art!"

Lin Jiang immediately put away his Sagittarius Bow, shouted loudly at the ancient corpse, creating a shockwave to attack it.

The ancient corpse hesitated for a moment, but quickly recovered, showing that Lin Jiang’s power was too weak.

"Thunder Talisman!"

Lin Jiang quickly flipped his hand and several spiritual talismans appeared. To deal with the enemy’s spirit, besides the corresponding secret technique, lightning magic was most effective. Lin Jiang hadn’t practiced powerful lightning magic, but he had a Thunder Talisman with lightning properties.

"Boom"

As the Thunder Talisman was invoked, dozens of lightning bolts appeared in the sky, striking towards the ancient corpse. The ancient corpse trembled and its movements slowed down by three points.

When his movements slowed down, his strength couldn’t keep up. Lin Jiang and the two of them were long-range attackers, not giving him a chance to get close.

With each activation of the Thunder Talisman, the ancient corpse’s speed became slower and slower. Eventually, it was basically passively getting hit.

"Explode for me."

After using the Thunder Talisman, Lin Jiang continued to use the Sagittarius Bow. With this arrow, Lin Jiang hit the ancient corpse’s leg and directly shattered its thigh.

"Go."

Lin Ying then used a rope treasure, layering it around the ancient corpse, trapping it. The ancient corpse struggled continuously but couldn’t break free.

"Li, are you okay?"

Xia Qingshan hurried over, showing a lot of care for Lin Jiang.

"I’m fine."

Lin Jiang shook his head, wearing so many protective garments that most of the damage was neutralized, there was nothing serious.

"Brother, what should we do with this ancient corpse?"

"Brother Xia, what do you think?"

"I think we should run fast."

"Run?"

"Yes, this Ice Stone gives me a bad feeling, maybe this ancient corpse is the weakest existence."

Xia Qingshan said that his uneasy feeling was getting worse, and he advised not to doubt the Divine Forecaster’s intuition.

Lin Jiang and Lin Ying exchanged glances, feeling conflicted. They wondered if they should easily let go of finding the Third Sister, or if it was too difficult to do so.

"*crack*"

Just as the two hesitated, the Ice Stone suddenly made a cracking noise. When they turned back, more ice fell off.

"Li, trust me, run!"

"Run!"

Lin Jiang made up his mind and immediately said to run, pulling Lin Ying along. Lin Ying didn’t forget to take the ancient corpse.

The three of them ran very fast and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye. As they left, the fallen ice pieces instantly flew back into the Ice Stone, merging back into one. The frozen soil and ice chunks excavated around also gradually piled onto the Ice Stone, quickly burying it.

·······

"Stop."

They were approaching the area of the Xiaotian City they were before. Lin Ying shouted, and the two stopped.

"No more movement."

Lin Ying pointed to the ancient corpse she was dragging and said. The ancient corpse is completely still now, truly dead.

"It’s decaying quickly, starting to smell bad."

"I’ll use an Image Saving Talisman to capture his face and then go back to check his identity."

"Taoist Friend Xia, what is inside the Ice Stone? Is my Third Sister really in there?"

"I’m not sure, I can’t figure out what’s inside."

"If my Third Sister is also like this ancient corpse…"

Lin Jiang was too scared to continue speaking, but he had to hold onto hope.

"Big Brother, Third Sister wouldn’t do that. Before I came, I specifically checked and Third Sister’s Soul Lamp is still the same as before. At least she’s not dead."

"By my calculations, Third Sister’s lifespan exceeds her cultivation limits."

Lin Jiang mentioned that Third Sister is older than him by several decades, and Lin Jiang is in his twenties.

"Forget it, for now, Lin Ying, we don’t have the strength to deal with that Ice Stone. Let’s endure it for now."

"I understand."

Lin Ying nodded. As the family head for many years, she wouldn’t act recklessly. She had to consider the bigger picture. If something happened to her, the Lin family would be in trouble.

The three quietly left North State, traveling south until they reached Yun State. Xia Qingshan’s identity had to be kept strictly confidential. Only Lin Jiang and Lin Ying knew.

The Lin family provided Xia Qingshan with shelter and the opportunity to practice cultivation. Xia Qingshan started secretly predicting the fate of the Lin family’s senior members, guiding them to avoid bad luck.

After some time had passed, Lin Ying found Lin Jiang and said. Hey, do you remember what you said before about focusing resources on cultivating a Tao Achieving?

"Yes, I remember. What’s up?"

"It’s about Cao Ying. You have to help Cao Ying."

"How can I help?"

"Have Xia Qingshan guide Cao Ying. Cao Ying has the best chance in Yun State to achieve Tao Achieving."

"Cao Ying’s issue is internal, not external."

Lin Jiang said. Cao Ying has the techniques and resources, but her biggest problem lies in her mindset, which is the most difficult to assist with.

"Then give Cao Ying hope by resolving her Heart Demon issue."

"Lin Ying, don’t be silly."

"Am I making trouble? I can’t understand what Cao Ying lacks that you see in her. At least Cao Ying is loyal, isn’t she?"

"These are not problems. It’s about our relationship. I see her as a daughter, do you understand?"

"I understand. Can’t we give her a white lie? The situation in Yun State and our position now, bringing Xia Qingshan back poses a big threat to Yun State. Once Zhou Huaiying finds out, who can stop him?"

"I can take Xia Qingshan away."

"Where would you take him? Anywhere in the cultivation world, there’s a risk of exposure. That’s why we really need a Tao Achieving expert, along with Li Yuncheng’s Dutian Formation, at least we can ensure our safety."

Lin Ying’s words made Lin Jiang silent. This time, Lin Ying wasn’t causing trouble. He touched Lin Jiang’s heart. Yun State is Lin Jiang’s past. Even though he doesn’t want to return, he doesn’t want to see Yun State destroyed. And Xia Qingshan is truly a ticking time bomb.

"I’ll think about it."

Lin Jiang’s attitude seemed to relent. Maybe he will indeed compromise with life.