657: Chapter 657 Senichi (22)

Qin Yun landed steadily.

The ground beneath his feet felt hard, and gravel scattered.

He did not stand up immediately, choosing first to forcefully suppress the surging Qi and blood within his body.

He quickly confirmed one thing.

This place was no longer the Yaochi Immortal Sect.

In the surrounding air, there was no immortal mist, only the smell of dust.

Qin Yun pushed himself up from the ground and looked around.

Several broken Dragon pillars were slanted in the dark brown earth, their surfaces covered in claw marks.

Not far away, there was a collapsed altar on the ground, with half a corpse wearing ancient armor protruding from the soil, the armor long since rusted.

The sky was grayish-yellow, with neither sun nor moon visible; only a few rays of light filtered through gaps in the clouds, making the ruins appear even more desolate.

Just then, the half-piece of bronze token in his embrace suddenly grew hot.

It was not the steady resonance from before, but a rapid pulling sensation.

Qin Yun took out the token and saw that the Dragon patterns on it were glowing faintly, as if actively guiding him in a certain direction.

Qin Yun did not hesitate; he immediately concealed all his aura, wrapped the token in Immortal Qi, and suppressed the restlessness.

He followed the direction the token was pulling him, moving forward cautiously.

Along the way, signs of ruins became increasingly frequent.

New traces of battle began to appear on the ground: fragments of severed Magical Artifacts, scorched soil, and a few pools of immortal blood that had not yet fully dried.

Up ahead, a chase had just broken out.

Qin Yun flickered, hiding behind a broken Dragon pillar, and looked toward the distance.

Below a slope of scattered stones, a small squad of over a dozen people was fleeing for their lives.

They were all injured and their auras were chaotic; they had clearly been pursued for a long time, and only a few in the group were still holding on.

Leading them was a young girl dressed in a cyan martial outfit, her long hair disheveled in the wind, with a trace of blood still hanging from the corner of her mouth.

Her expression was calm, and even though she was trapped in a desperate situation, her gaze remained firm.

In her hand, she was clutching another object tightly.

A half-piece of bronze token.

It was the other half of the token Qin Yun had on him.

The moment Qin Yun saw her, the half-token in his embrace grew scorching hot again, creating a distinct resonance with the half-piece in the girl's hand.

The girl also sensed it; she turned her head abruptly, her gaze sweeping across the surroundings, yet she discovered nothing.

Just then, two groups of people converged from behind, completely blocking their path of retreat.

The first group was dressed in various styles, looking like a bunch of Cultivators from the Immortal Domain who had been cobbled together temporarily; they looked at the girl with eyes full of greed.

"Fairy Lingchan, stop running."

The man in the lead chuckled.

"The Huangling Clan is no longer the Immortal Clan it once was. Now that only you old, weak, sick, and crippled ones remain, why bother holding onto that mysterious Dragon Burial Secret Token?"

"Hand it over, and we might still leave your corpse intact."

The other group was much more silent.

There were only five of them, all wearing black and masked, with gloomy auras; the moment they appeared, they scattered to block all paths of retreat.

They did not speak, only staring coldly at Lingchan.

Qin Yun hid in the shadows, his heart chilling slightly.

This second group was not just after the token.

"Young Miss, run!"

Beside Lingchan, the last clan elder protecting her let out a roar and turned to rush toward the pursuers.

The Bloodline Power on his body ignited with a boom, turning into a ray of blood-colored light that temporarily forced back those Cultivators.

However, among those men in black, one simply raised his hand and pointed a finger lightly.

The blood-colored light dissipated on the spot.

The clan elder's body stiffened, a blood hole appeared in his chest, and he fell straight down.

"Third Uncle!"

Lingchan's eyes turned red, but she did not stop.

She was forced to the edge of an ancient cliff.

Ahead was an abyss, and the pursuers had arrived from behind.

She knew she could not escape.

Lingchan looked down at the half-piece of token in her hand, her expression resolute.

Even if the token is destroyed, it cannot fall into the hands of these people.

She raised her hand, gathering Immortal Qi, about to crush the token.

Qin Yun, watching this scene from the shadows, felt his heart stir.

He quickly made a judgment.

The other half of the token was indeed in Lingchan's hands; if they could be combined, the value would be extremely high.

But his current strength was only at the Late Stage of the True Immortal realm, while the men in black in the field were at least at the Peak of the True Immortal realm, and some were even Spirit Immortals.

Rushing out would not be picking up a bargain; it would be suicide.

Qin Yun did not hesitate at all and immediately decided to retreat.

But just as he was about to leave quietly, a sudden change occurred.

The half-token in his embrace, which had been forcefully suppressed, suddenly went out of control.

Hum.

A ray of Dragon-patterned light shot into the sky, breaking free from his Immortal Qi wrapping and transforming into a stream of light that hovered in mid-air.

Almost at the same time, the half-token in Lingchan's hand that was about to be crushed erupted with the same light and flew out of her hand on its own.

The two streams of light converged in the air.

A low Dragon roar resounded throughout the entire ruins.

On the ancient cliff, everyone's movements stopped at this moment, and they all looked in unison toward the direction where Qin Yun was hiding.

Qin Yun's expression darkened.

From a bystander, he instantly became the focus of the entire scene.

"It seems there is another secret token!"

The group of Loose Cultivators was first shocked, then overjoyed.

As for those few men in black, their expressions changed completely, and the killing intent in their eyes grew even stronger.

Under everyone's gaze, the two half-tokens slowly approached each other in the air, eventually fitting together perfectly.

The bronze-colored cracks closed instantly, and a complete Dragon-shaped pattern flowed upon it, emitting an ancient aura.

The surrounding broken Dragon pillars actually emitted a slight humming sound at this moment, as if in response.

The leader of the men in black stared fixedly at the complete token, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Heavenly Dragon Token!"

"It really is the legendary Heavenly Dragon Token!"

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere of the entire scene changed abruptly.

Although most people present did not know what the Heavenly Dragon Token meant, they could understand that it was definitely an extraordinary treasure.

"Kill him! Seize the token!"

The group of Loose Cultivators reacted first and immediately rushed toward Qin Yun.

As for the few men in black, two of them split off, one to the left and one to the right, silently cutting between Qin Yun and Lingchan, clearly intending to silence both of them.

Lingchan was also stunned; she had not expected that the clan secret treasure she would rather die than let fall into others' hands would reappear complete before her eyes in this manner.

She looked at Qin Yun, her eyes filled with both wariness and shock.

"Hand over the token!"

She said coldly.

Qin Yun did not look at her, only staring at the increasingly close enemies, and replied.

"Do you think, right now, who is calling the shots?"

He knew that he had already been dragged into this situation by this "Heavenly Dragon Token."

Seeing that several attacks were about to land.

Just then, a pressure far exceeding that of everyone present slowly descended from the edge of the ancient world.

The spatial blockade set up by one of the men in black was shattered on the spot by a gentle tap of invisible finger force.

The Divine Abilities unleashed by several Loose Cultivators disintegrated on their own like smoke and dust while still halfway there.

The sky above the entire ancient cliff seemed to be suppressed by an invisible force for an instant.

Everyone froze.

The next moment, a figure appeared silently beneath the Heavenly Dragon Token.

Still in that slovenly and mad appearance, with hair as messy as a chicken coop and tattered robes.

Yet the moment he stepped out, no one in the entire scene dared to move again.

It was none other than the Old Madman from the abandoned Peak.

He first took a look at the Heavenly Dragon Token hovering in the air, a trace of reminiscence and sorrow flashing in his eyes.

Then, he looked toward Qin Yun, as if seeing the past through him.

The Old Madman spoke slowly, his voice hoarse yet landing clearly in everyone's ears.

"The Heavenly Dragon Token has emerged."

He paused, as if talking to himself, or perhaps as if speaking to some unseen departed soul.

"Long'er... this time, you can rest in peace."

Finally, he turned his head, his mad eyes sweeping across all the Cultivators present, his expression carrying a hint of coldness.

"Kid, since it is the Heavenly Dragon Token that chose you."

"Then I, this old man, would like to see who dares to lay a hand on you today."