Treasure hunting? Old Lin has never lost a game of acting!

One red, one blue—two completely different heaven and earth spirit fires collided violently in mid-air.

A terrifying heatwave swept outwards in all directions.

Immediately after, under Lin Yuan's control, the Earth Core Nether Fire displayed its highly spiritual and aggressive side; the deep blue flames instantly exploded, transforming into a large net, actually attempting to swallow and wrap the entire crimson fire snake!

A look of obvious surprise appeared on the woman's face.

She was the person with the greatest talent for Fire Control Technique in the Yan Yang Kingdom for hundreds of years; at a young age, she had already displayed astonishing aptitude in the path of fire control, having long surpassed many Seniors and reached the Realm of Level 3 Fire Control Technique.

Otherwise, the seed of this Crimson Sun True Fire could not have fallen into her hands.

However, the Fire Control Technique of the man before her was clearly one Rank higher than her own.

Her Crimson Sun True Fire had been firmly suppressed after just one exchange.

She dared not be negligent and hurriedly pinched a spell gesture.

The crimson fire snake, wrapped by the blue flames, then struggled left and right, barely breaking free from the shackles of the Earth Core Nether Fire and flying back into her hands.

A look of regret appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes.

If he had just a moment more, the Earth Core Nether Fire could have completely suppressed that Crimson Sun True Fire.

By then, he could have tried to use a Secret Technique to forcibly strip away this fire seed and claim it for himself.

"Who are you?"

The look of disdain in the woman's eyes had long since vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

"I am Huang Feihong! And who might Your Excellency be?" Lin Yuan bluffed without changing his expression.

"I am the Thirteenth Prince of the Yan Yang Kingdom, Ji Hanyou."

"Fellow Daoist Huang should have seen the map in the stone tablet just now, right?"

Lin Yuan nodded, his eyes revealing just the right amount of greed and vigilance.

At this point, denying it had no meaning.

Furthermore, if he hadn't misread that map, it depicted the deeper regions of the Demon Falling Valley, perhaps even the core area.

"My Yan Yang Kingdom's royal family learned from an ancient text that a relic of an ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave is hidden deep within the Demon Falling Valley."

Ji Hanyou's gaze swept over Lin Yuan, and deep in her eyes, a trace of hard-to-conceal cunning flashed.

"I see that Fellow Daoist Huang has extraordinary strength, especially your masterful Fire Control Technique. Why don't we form a temporary alliance and go treasure hunting together? How about it?"

Lin Yuan understood clearly in his heart.

An alliance? She probably just wants to find a cannon fodder to scout the path, and once the treasure is found, she'll kill him off.

These two would not trust him. And he, even more so, could not trust these two.

But his face showed a look of being moved; his Adam's apple bobbed once, as if he were weighing the pros and cons.

"For Fellow Daoist Huang to be able to venture alone into such a desperate land, you must be someone possessing heaven-reaching means." Seeing him hesitate, Ji Hanyou continued to up the ante, "What we are looking for is no ordinary object. I wonder if you, Fellow Daoist, have ever heard of a heaven-piercing spirit treasure?"

heaven-piercing spirit treasure!

These four words fell into his ears, and Lin Yuan's heart felt as if it had been gripped by an invisible hand.

Below Core Formation, one uses Magical Artifacts. Above Core Formation, one can wield Magic Treasures.

And above Magic Treasures are the heaven-piercing spirit treasures that only exist in ancient texts and legends. Such supreme treasures, each one possessing the power to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth, are enough to drive all the Nascent Soul old monsters of the entire Eastern Region insane.

He had once obtained an immortals remains from the Upper Realm in an underground cavern.

If a heaven-piercing spirit treasure were truly hidden in this Demon Falling Valley, it didn't seem impossible.

A strand of irrepressible greed and fanaticism appeared precisely in Lin Yuan's eyes—just right; one point more would be fake, one point less would be weak.

"Re... really?" His voice was dry, and his breathing became heavy.

"This treasure was intentionally left here by a great power from the Upper Realm after suppressing an extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon." Seeing his expression, a glimmer of a scheme succeeding flashed in the depths of Ji Hanyou's eyes. "You have seen the map; its location must be extremely dangerous. Only by the three of us joining forces will we have a chance to obtain it. At that time, we will split the treasure equally. How about it?"

A look of intense struggle and contemplation appeared on Lin Yuan's face, while his mind was calculating rapidly.

He remained silent for a full ten breaths before suddenly gritting his teeth, as if making the greatest resolution of his life.

"Fine! Wealth is sought amidst danger! Then this old man will accompany you on this trip!"

"Since we are forming an alliance, words alone are not proof. Let us swear an oath by our Heart Demon. How about it?" Ji Hanyou said with a faint smile, her peripheral vision glancing imperceptibly at the iron-tower-like strong man.

Beneath the strong man's lowered eyelids, a chilling murderous intent flashed and vanished.

Lin Yuan took all of this in, but his face remained calm as he nodded heavily, appearing heroic and straightforward.

"That is excellent!"

"I, Ji Hanyou, swear by my Heart Demon..." Ji Hanyou raised her hand, her voice clear. Halfway through, she looked up, her gaze fixed directly on Lin Yuan, carrying an invisible pressure.

Lin Yuan also slowly raised his hand, his expression solemn, preparing to swear the oath.

"I, Huang Feihong, by my Heart Demon..."

Before the words had even finished.

A sudden change occurred!

Lin Yuan flipped his palm, and the frost sword that he had been holding in his palm suddenly erupted with blinding spiritual light!

Without the slightest warning, the sword blade turned—not toward Ji Hanyou, but at an incredible angle, transforming into a bolt of thunder, striking directly at the seemingly unguarded iron-tower-like strong man beside him!

Almost at the same instant Lin Yuan made his move, the strong man's fists were already clenched, and the Protective Aura around his body exploded, transforming into two fist shadows capable of shattering mountains and breaking peaks, fiercely bombarding toward Lin Yuan!

Bang!

Lin Yuan's body bent to the side in a counter-intuitive posture, narrowly avoiding the fist edge. Even so, the violent fist wind still grazed his cheek, sharp as a knife, sending a burning, stinging pain across his skin.

"Ah!"

A scream, so shrill it didn't sound human, tore through the dead silence.

Lin Yuan's sword strike was angled to the extreme; his target was not the opponent's indestructible Physical Body at all, but his most weakly defended eyes!

The sword light was like lightning, flashing past in an instant!

Two jets of blood sprayed out!

The Body Cultivator's whole body was harder than steel, but his weaknesses were equally fatal. Compared to the cunning Ji Hanyou, this Late Stage Golden Body Realm strong man was the biggest immediate threat! He had to be killed first!

Having succeeded with one strike, Lin Yuan did not pause at all and flipped his palm again.

The Earth Core Nether Fire roared out from his palm, turning into a deep blue arc of death, precisely pouncing onto the strong man's blood-soaked face.

"Ahhh—!"

The strong man let out a second, even more painful wail.

The moment the deep blue flames touched his face, they were like maggots on bones, spreading wildly along his eye sockets, igniting his flesh and blood and Protective Aura together.

In the blink of an eye, he became a man of fire struggling in the raging flames.

Lin Yuan's heart, however, suddenly skipped a beat at this moment.

Not right!

On the strong man's body, a thick layer of golden Protective Aura was frantically lingering, actually firmly resisting the burning of the Earth Core Nether Fire, preventing the flames from completely killing him in a short time.

The distance between the two of them at this moment was too close!

Lin Yuan flicked his wrist, intending to follow up with another sword strike to completely finish the opponent off.

However, a terrifying force suddenly came from behind, causing his whole body to tighten.

The strong man, who had already become a man of fire, actually relied on the final life instinct of the Golden Body Realm and monstrous brute force, his arm muscles knotted like two burning steel pythons, locking him tightly from behind!

The aura of death, like a cold tide, instantly submerged Lin Yuan.

"Die!"

The strong man let out a beast-like roar, every word carrying the burning pain of blood and fire.

All the remaining Protective Aura and blood Qi in his body exploded at this moment, transforming into the purest strangling force, instantly sweeping over Lin Yuan's entire body.

Crack! Crack, crack!

Lin Yuan only heard the sound of his own ribs breaking under the unbearable load, as waves of irresistible, overwhelming force squeezed in from all directions.

The air in his lungs was instantly squeezed out, his vision began to go black, and even circulating his magic power became incredibly difficult.

"Damn, a bear hug kill?"