258: The Law of Refining the Void, the Treasure of Protecting the Mountain

That single phrase, "We're going home," was light as a feather, yet heavy as a mountain.

The excitement on Fatty Zhang's face froze instantly. He subconsciously grabbed Lin Fan's sleeve and stammered, "Go... home? Brother Lin, aren't we already home?"

Zhao Linger's heart, however, sank abruptly.

She was more perceptive than Fatty Zhang.

From Lin Fan's calm tone, she heard a hint of detachment that didn't belong here.

This place was no longer his home.

Lin Fan looked at the confusion and reluctance on their faces but didn't offer much explanation.

He simply raised his hand slowly.

In the next moment, the Storage Ring shimmered with a faint light.

Clatter—

The inside of the hall was instantly flooded with an indescribable treasure light!

A small mountain piled with Top-Grade Spirit Stones appeared out of thin air. The Spiritual Qi was so dense it was nearly liquefied, making the air in the entire hall feel viscous.

Beside it was a mountain of jade bottles, each one flowing with an astonishing pill rhythm.

"This... is this... the legendary 'Foundation Establishment Pill'? No, that's not right. This medicinal potency... is a hundred times stronger than a Foundation Establishment Pill!" Fatty Zhang picked up a bottle at random and just by uncorking it to take a sniff, he felt the Bottleneck he had been stuck at for years actually show signs of loosening.

"Those are 'Realm-Breaking Pills'," Lin Fan introduced plainly. "For anyone below the Golden Core Stage, consuming one allows them to ignore their Bottleneck and directly Breakthrough a major Realm."

Fatty Zhang's hand trembled, and the jade bottle almost fell to the floor.

Below the Golden Core Stage... ignore Bottlenecks... direct Breakthrough?!

What... what kind of divine medicine was this? Taking just one out would be enough to make the cultivation Sects of the entire Lower Realm fight until their heads bled for it!

And here, this divine medicine was piled up like a small mountain of candy.

His gaze turned dully toward another pile of Jade Slips and beast-skin scrolls that exuded an ancient aura.

"Those are Cultivation Techniques," Lin Fan continued. "From Qi Condensation to Mahayana, there are techniques for every stage. Pick any one, and it will be thousands of times stronger than the Sect-protecting techniques you currently Cultivate."

Fatty Zhang was already speechless.

He felt as if his brain had been struck by a hundred heavenly thunders simultaneously, turning it completely into mush.

Zhao Linger stared blankly at everything before her.

She wasn't as shocked by the value of these treasures as Fatty Zhang was.

She only felt a tightness in her chest.

Why was he taking out so many things?

This felt like... a grand farewell.

Lin Fan paid no mind to the two people who were now completely petrified.

He just looked at the items before him and shook his head slightly.

Not enough.

It was still far from enough.

These things could make the Qingyun Sect invincible in the Lower Realm, but if someone from the Spirit Realm came again... these would be nothing more than death warrants.

Better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

Moreover, what he wanted to give was not the fishing skill, but an entire ocean that would never run dry and could protect itself.

He extended his right hand and forced a drop of deep red blood with hints of purple-gold luster from his index finger.

As soon as this drop of Essence Blood appeared, the space in the entire hall began to distort slightly, as if unable to withstand the terrifying power contained within it.

"Lin Fan!" Zhao Linger's face turned pale as she cried out in alarm.

She could feel that Lin Fan's aura had weakened imperceptibly after forcing out this drop of Essence Blood.

Lin Fan gave her a reassuring smile, indicating he was fine.

He flicked his finger.

That drop of purple-gold Essence Blood didn't fly toward anyone; instead, it turned into a streak of light, pierced through the hall's dome, and silently merged into the mountain body of the Qingyun main peak.

Buzz—

The entire Qingyun Mountains trembled violently at that moment.

No, it wasn't trembling.

It was awakening!

As if a giant beast that had slept for eons had opened its eyes at this very moment.

On the plaza, all the Qingyun Sect Disciples discovered to their horror that the ground beneath their feet was glowing.

Golden patterns, so profound and complex they were beyond comprehension, spread out from the summit of the main peak like living things, flowing along the mountain terrain to every corner of the Qingyun Mountains.

Rocks were restructuring, and plants were growing wildly.

The dense Spiritual Qi in the air began to liquefy, gathering into streams of spiritual power that gurgled through the mountains.

The statue of Lin Fan on the back mountain suddenly erupted with ten thousand rays of golden light. A vast Sword Intent soared into the sky, condensing into the phantom of a giant sword that spanned heaven and earth above the Qingyun Sect.

The entire Qingyun Mountain seemed to come alive at this moment!

It had turned into a Magic Treasure.

A living Sect-protecting treasure created with the entire mountain range as its foundation, Lin Fan's Void Refining Essence Blood as its core, and a sliver of eternal Law as the formation eye!

Inside the hall, Fatty Zhang and Zhao Linger had already rushed out. They watched this miraculous scene before them with dropped jaws, completely losing the ability to think.

"From this day forward, this mountain shall be named the 'Qingyun Realm'."

Lin Fan's voice echoed leisurely behind them.

"Within the Sect, the Spiritual Qi shall never run dry. The cultivation speed of the Sect's Disciples shall be increased tenfold."

"Should foreign enemies invade, the mountain range's grand array will activate automatically. Anyone below the Nascent Soul stage will die upon contact. Even if a Soul Transformation Cultivator arrives in person, they can forget about stepping a single foot into the Sect."

After finishing all this, Lin Fan's face turned a shade paler.

The force of rejection from the world was growing stronger and stronger.

However, an even bigger trouble followed.

Rumble!

In the cloudless clear sky, a dull roll of thunder sounded without warning.

The sky darkened.

One, two, three... countless Tribulation Clouds gathered from all directions, forming a massive black vortex above the Qingyun Sect.

In the center of the vortex, purple lightning flashed. The destructive aura contained within was ten thousand times more terrifying than the demon god summoned by that Netherworld Hall Envoy earlier!

A Heavenly Dao warning!

The items Lin Fan left behind, especially that living "Sect-protecting treasure," contained Law power that far exceeded the limits of what this Lower Realm could withstand.

The Heavenly Dao Laws instinctively wanted to completely erase this "foreign object" that shouldn't exist here!

"Hea... Heavenly Tribulation?" Fatty Zhang's legs went weak, and he slumped to the ground, the color draining from his face.

He could feel it clearly—just a trace of the aura leaking from those thunderclouds was enough to grind him, the entire Qingyun Sect, and all living beings within ten thousand miles into fly ash!

Zhao Linger's beautiful face was also deathly pale. She gripped Lin Fan's arm tightly, her eyes filled with terror.

Under this majestic heavenly might, all living beings were but ants.

However, facing these Heavenly Dao thunderclouds that were enough to destroy everything,

Lin Fan only frowned slightly with a hint of impatience.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward the roaring vortex of thunderclouds.

Then, he raised his hand and waved it casually toward the sky.

As if shooing away an annoying fly.

"Begone."

A single word.

Utterly nonchalant.

In the next instant.

The Heavenly Dao thunderclouds, which were enough to make the entire world tremble and contained supreme Law power, acted like subjects receiving an Imperial Edict.

The roaring lightning was extinguished.

The spinning vortex came to a standstill.

Then, under the gaze of Fatty Zhang and Zhao Linger's nearly bursting eyes, the sky-blotting Tribulation Clouds just... silently and obediently dispersed on their own.

The wind stopped.

The clouds vanished.

Warm sunlight spilled down once more.

It was as if the apocalyptic scene from just now was merely an illusion.

Fatty Zhang's mouth hung open in a giant "O" shape, a strange "clucking" sound came from his throat, his eyes rolled back, and he actually fainted directly from the shock.

Lin Fan didn't mind him.

He turned around and looked at Zhao Linger, who was gazing at him with eyes that saw him as a monster, a deity, and everything beyond comprehension.

The divine indifference on his face finally faded completely.

He let out a somewhat helpless sigh and reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair that had been ruffled by the wind behind her ear.

"Silly girl, I said to leave the rest to me."

His gaze was so gentle it could melt ten thousand years of ice and snow.

"Wait for me."

"I will build a true home in the Spirit Realm."

"And then, I will come to get you."