"Charge!"
Just as Ding Chunqiu and others were dejected, rows of cavalry appeared on the cliff of the first level. It was the Star River Guild. Su Xinghe and Feng Bingcao Jia led the team, overlooking the group of villains below. Su Xinghe frowned, drew his long sword, and leaped down the cliff, saying solemnly, "Kill them all, leave none behind!"
"Su Xinghe!"
Ding Chunqiu suddenly stood up and roared, "Why are you, Star River, fixated on us? Are you like a shadow that won't leave?!"
Su Xinghe brought down his sword, "People like you can talk after you're lying down!"
Thus, the players of the Star River Guild charged in. In less than three minutes, all the players of the All Villains Guild were lying on the ground as corpses. It was unavoidable, their strength was far inferior to Star River, and now, without the protection of the demon race faction, they had become truly homeless dogs. Let alone Su Xinghe leading the team personally, even any ordinary team from the Star River Guild could have wiped out the All Villains Guild.
"Swish swish swish~~~"
In the distance, in a forest graveyard, Ding Chunqiu and the others resurrected one by one.
"Hoo..."
The vice-leader, Kumārajīva, sat down on a tombstone, frowning and said, "I really want a cigarette to calm down. This kind of play is not sustainable..."
"Mm."
Ding Chunqiu frowned and said, "It's indeed not sustainable. Let's all retreat westward. We don't need to get entangled with the people of Baidi City anymore. Everyone, share your ideas. This is a low point for All Villains, so let's brainstorm together."
A female Templar Knight weakly said, "How about... returning to Snow Region Heavenly Pool? We are currently players with blank identities, but our bloodline is at least human. Those human NPCs shouldn't make things difficult for us. Once we enter any human main city, we should have a chance to regain our human player status."
"Indeed."
A young archer frowned and said, "A prodigal son turning back is also an option."
"Go back, my ass!"
Ding Chunqiu said calmly, "Do you really think guilds like Star River, Azure Dragon, Wu Wang, and Seeking Immortals are easy to deal with? We have already defected from the human faction. If we go back now, it'll be no surprise if they beat us while we're down. In my opinion, there's no turning back once the arrow leaves the bow. We have no other choice but to keep moving forward."
"Mm."
Qiu Qianren nodded, "How about going north again and trying our luck with the demon race?"
"Difficult."
Ding Chunqiu said, "We joined Lu Xiuyuan's sect, and later Lu Xiuyuan was killed by players, but none of us showed up. How do you think the big shots of the demon race will perceive us? They might think we're a bunch of cowards. Perhaps if we really went to the Demon Ancestral Mountain, we wouldn't be accepted as disciples, and we'd be killed again. Our equipment durability, potions, and so on are almost at their limit. If we continue like this, we might really not be able to play anymore."
"Guild Leader."
At this moment, a young swordsman frowned, "As the saying goes, a timely help is more precious than gold. The demon race is already strong enough, they can even challenge the entire human race. Our chances of being welcomed by the demon race are extremely slim. I saw someone on the forum organizing the recent plot of the Snow Region Heavenly Pool chapter. It is said that a lineage of the Ghost Race, the Coffin Bearers, once had a fierce fight with Snow Region Heavenly Pool. In the end, their ancestor was killed, and the new ancestor is a Star River realm Coffin Bearer, named Tan Xin. Currently, this Tan Xin is living in seclusion in a mountain forest southwest of Snow Region Heavenly Pool. This group of Coffin Bearers was beaten into submission by the human race, which is why they are in hiding."
He raised his eyebrows and said, "Instead of joining the demon race, it's better to join this lineage of Coffin Bearers. They are the ones who need strong reinforcements the most right now. Once our group appears, it shouldn't be difficult to become disciples. After becoming disciples, we will have a place to obtain magic treasures, repair equipment, and buy potions. It's much better than being homeless dogs wherever we go."
"Oh?"
Ding Chunqiu's eyes lit up, "This is indeed a path. What do you all think?"
Qiu Qianren smiled, "You are the Guild Leader, so if you think it's okay, it's okay. We'll follow you."
"Alright!"
Ding Chunqiu held his sword, raised his eyebrows, and smiled, "Gather everyone immediately. We will cross the Snow Ridge and seek to become disciples of the Coffin Bearers. Ghost cultivators... they are also good. Anyway, as long as they are bad guys, I like them."
The crowd burst into laughter.
...
The next day, dusk.
Inside Tianran Ju, Lin Zhao walked out looking exhausted. He had drawn another large batch of "Illusionary Sword Talismans." Including the blank ones he had saved, he had over 600. Without Illusionary Sword Talismans that possessed the power of a twelfth-realm sword intent, he felt uneasy. As dusk approached, Lin Zhao took a lot of ingredients from Tianran Ju: a carp weighing at least ten pounds, a cured deer leg, and two plump pheasants brought by Mu Ya. All of these, along with a pile of vegetables tidied up by Dongcang, were placed into his storage bag.
"Swish!"
After teleporting to Shanhaiguan, Lin Zhao willed it, and the flying sword Hongye from his storage bag floated by his side. He ascended into the sky and landed on the flying sword. With his hands behind his back, he rose into the air like a sword immortal. The aura of this Golden Core sword cultivator was indeed impressive, attracting envious glances from many iron cavalry of the Vermillion Bird Camp. They wondered which noble young master of the human race had achieved Golden Core sword cultivation at such a young age; his future was bright!
Leaving Shanhaiguan, the sky was vast and boundless.
Lin Zhao soared through the heavens and earth on his sword, feeling extremely exhilarated. Breathing in the air with the scent of the Great Wilderness, he couldn't help but feel a sense of ambition. Everything was just right. On Snow Region Heavenly Pool, nearly twenty thousand soldiers trained daily, and the reclamation efforts south of Snow Region Heavenly Pool had already begun. At the Villa on the Summit, Zhi Nu's cultivation was infinitely close to the twelfth realm, Chu Yu's fist intent grew stronger with each passing day, and Chen Ben, a young tenth-realm martial artist, was the most anticipated. A single War God's Gall could make his cultivation twice as effective. When Chen Ben underwent a complete transformation and entered the Celestial Origin realm as a martial artist, his Celestial Origin realm would be incredibly formidable, by no means comparable to Mu Ya's eleventh realm.
Furthermore, Tong Yu's swordsmanship was becoming increasingly powerful. Perhaps soon she would be among the mid-fifth-realm sword cultivators. She was so young, only ten years old after the New Year. Who had ever seen such a young mid-fifth-realm sword cultivator?
As for Wang Yue, his fist practice was going smoothly. Although there was still some distance to the mid-fifth realm, overall, he was getting stronger.
The entire Snow Region Heavenly Pool was flourishing!
If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have been in the mood for a leisurely stroll.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at Fusu Great Wall!
"Swish!"
As Lin Zhao flew over the southern city wall on his sword, Liu Xilong, a Celestial Origin realm martial artist, suddenly opened his eyes and quickly got up, clasped his fists, and said with a smile, "Liu Xilong greets Marshal Lin!"
The higher-ups of Fusu Great Wall all knew about his situation.
Lin Zhao smiled slightly and didn't hide anything, saying, "Don't call me Marshal Lin. We are old acquaintances. Brother Liu Xilong can just call me Brother Lin Zhao. I'm going to find Lin Wanhua now. Let's have a drink together later!"
"Ah?!"
When Liu Xilong heard about drinking, his smile immediately broadened, "Great! Do you know where Lin Wanhua lives? I'll take you?"
"That would be best. Let's go!"
"Alright!"
Liu Xilong took to the air and flew north with Lin Zhao. However, Lin Wanhua's residence was not actually within Fusu Great Wall. Under Liu Xilong's guidance, they arrived at a place with green mountains and clear waters a few miles east of Fusu Great Wall. In the mountains, a simple yet elegant courtyard was located. It was not a grand mansion, but it exuded a different aura, precisely where Lin Wanhua forged swords.
"Miss Lin, Lin Zhao pays his respects!"
Lin Zhao stood outside the door, clasped his fists, and said softly.
Liu Xilong, meanwhile, marveled inwardly. Look at the etiquette of this person, and then look at those scoundrels in our Fusu Great Wall, all crude and unrefined. No wonder their cultivation and character could never reach that of Lin Zhao.
"Creak~~~"
The door opened, and Lin Wanhua opened it herself, with a smile on her lips. This large house had no servants, only Lin Wanhua.
"You're here?" Lin Wanhua asked with a smile.
"Mm."
Lin Zhao scratched his head and said with a smile, "For a long time, Snow Region Heavenly Pool has received much care from Fusu Great Wall, but it's really inexcusable not to visit. Most importantly... I ran out of Illusionary Sword Talismans when I killed Lu Xiuyuan, so I've come to ask Miss Lin for some help."
Lin Wanhua couldn't help but chuckle, "You're quite sincere..."
Lin Zhao laughed heartily and said, "The matter of talismans isn't urgent. Let's first have a good drink with Miss Lin. How about... we invite all our old acquaintances from back then?"
"Mm."
Lin Wanhua asked, "You mean... invite everyone you beat up back then?"
"Yes!"
Lin Zhao felt even more embarrassed and said with a smile, "Is that okay?"
"It's possible."
Lin Wanhua smiled slightly, "It's just that my place is very simple, and there's no food or drink."
"It's okay, I brought it. I can cook myself."
"Alright..."
Lin Zhao directly entered the kitchen and took out the ingredients he had brought one by one, then began to busily prepare them. Lin Wanhua, with a smile on her lips, thought that when he traveled to Baidi City in the past, he must have traveled like this all the way, cooking for himself and solving all the difficulties on the road. It was actually not easy.
Liu Xilong felt a bit awkward and took the ten-pound carp Lin Zhao brought to clean it.
A moment later, a figure gracefully descended into the courtyard. It was Qin Yu, one of the eleventh-realm sword immortals of Fusu Great Wall, a natural sword seed from a hundred years ago. Qin Yu glanced at Lin Wanhua and asked, "Sister, where is he?"
"Stoking the fire..."
Lin Wanhua said with a smile.
"Ah?"
Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle and immediately walked into the kitchen, saying with a smile, "I am Qin Yu, greeting Marshal Lin!"
"Don't be so polite."
Lin Zhao said, "I'm stoking the fire, so I won't return the greeting."
Qin Yu felt a little embarrassed, "It's probably not appropriate for the dignified Lord of Snow Region Heavenly Pool, the dignified Lin Baiyi, to be stoking the fire here."
"How about you do it?"
"I..."
A few seconds later, the Great Sword Immortal of Fusu Great Wall was sitting behind the stove, diligently stoking the fire.
A while later, a dignified and handsome eleventh-realm spirit cultivator stepped into the courtyard. He respectfully approached the kitchen and, seeing Lin Zhao cutting vegetables, was almost stunned, "Marshal Lin, you're cooking? I am Ye Lin, greeting Marshal Lin!"
"Too polite."
Lin Zhao looked up at Ye Lin while cutting vegetables and said with a smile, "If you have nothing to do, go cut the cured deer leg. I remember your 'plucking leaves and flying flowers' technique was very impressive back then, it's best used for cutting meat."
Ye Lin was stunned, then smiled, "I obey your command!"
Lin Wanhua leaned against the door with her arms crossed, a smile on her face. The master chef of Snow Region Heavenly Pool, Lin Baiyi, and a group of top-fifth-realm experts from Fusu Great Wall helping with the cooking. This meal was truly worth looking forward to.