“Heavens…”
“Boom…”
A brilliant axe light vanished into the void, and the ancient beast roaring fiercely in front of it, was ultimately reduced to ashes beneath that single strike.
“叮, Congratulations on defeating a high-tier Heavenly Beast.”
“ding, congratulations on defeating a peak Heavenly Beast.”
“ding…”
“Damn, that was close. I actually stumbled into the ancient beast’s den.” Lin Fan strode through the mountains, cutting down beasts without mercy. These ancient beasts were ferocious, and although there were many low-tier ones, the experience gained was limited.
Lin Fan gradually noticed an issue: ancient beasts above the Heavenly realm began to show traces of intelligence. Perhaps due to this, the high-tier ancient beasts, having gained wisdom, had left this borderland for the distant central regions.
People strive for higher ground, while water flows downward. Even ancient beasts have aspirations.
“Absorb…”
All the dense yaoqi were drawn into the “Demon City.”
The half-finished pseudo-divine artifact, the Demon City, had an ancient demon as its core. This ancient demon was the emperor of demons, though it was unclear whether this ancient demon was a type of ancient beast or a transformed being that had evolved from an ancient beast at a certain stage of advancement.
After arriving in the Ancient Holy Realm and seeing so many races, Lin Fan understood that the world was vast and full of wonders. It was hard to say whether the ancient demon emperor wasn’t a transformed ancient beast.
Looking at the ancient beasts’ corpses around him, Lin Fan flicked his sleeve and collected them all into his backpack.
Since he had decided to leave tomorrow, he wanted to kill a few more beasts to provide sufficient food for the village.
The villagers themselves were not weak, but compared to the ancient beasts, they still had some gaps, so every time they hunted the beasts together, there was significant danger.
What concerned Lin Fan most was Xuan’er, a cute little fox girl. She was the most adorable child Lin Fan had met since arriving in the Ancient Holy Realm, and she was also very endearing.
Although she seemed quite tsundere on the surface, Lin Fan found this even cuter.
He even thought that if he could successfully suppress the ancient clans in the future, he would be delighted to bring Xuan’er along and nurture her.
Having such a lively and adorable little fox girl around would surely keep things from getting boring.
“Zhi zhi…”
At that moment, there was a rustling from the bushes ahead. Lin Fan swiftly swung his axe, carving a deep fissure into the earth.
At that moment, an animal resembling a rabbit stood foolishly in place, seemingly frightened by the scene.
“Huh, what is this thing?” Lin Fan picked up the snow-white, palm-sized creature that looked like a white rabbit.
It had two long ears and red eyes—wasn’t this just a rabbit?
“Heh, interesting. There are actually such creatures in the Ancient Holy Realm.” Lin Fan examined it carefully, finding it quite novel.
Harmless, with unsharp claws and short limbs.
“It looks kind of cute. Xuan’er should like it.” Lin Fan thought to himself as he held the creature.
Children tend to forget easily. After he left, having this creature accompany Xuan’er might ease her sense of loss.
“Rabbit, behave yourself, or I’ll roast you.” The snow-white rabbit, being held in someone’s hand, nodded its head, showing a cowardly expression.
Lin Fan slung his Eternal Axe over his shoulder, holding the rabbit in one hand, and walked contentedly back toward the village.
Although it was still early, tomorrow he would be leaving. Lin Fan wanted to play with Xuan’er a bit and also impart some techniques to her.
After all, in the Ancient Holy Realm, danger lurked everywhere, and it was hard to say what might happen in the future.
Three blazing suns shone overhead as Lin Fan hummed a little tune, leisurely walking through the mountains.
…
“How could this be…”
At the village entrance, Lin Fan stared at the scene before him. His relaxed expression suddenly turned deathly pale, and he stood there like a statue at the village gate.
Bloodstains were everywhere, flames rising to the heavens, and simple houses were smeared with blood.
Lin Fan’s expression darkened, and he couldn’t help but quicken his pace as he walked inside.
The village looked as if it had been looted, chaos and turmoil everywhere.
Only piles of corpses lay scattered throughout the village.
Each face was so familiar, but now they were just corpses.
At that moment, Lin Fan saw a body ahead—it was the village chief.
Lin Fan immediately rushed forward, “Chief, what exactly happened…”
Unfortunately, the chief was already dead. His aged face bore a trace of anger, a shocking wound on his chest where the blood had long since dried.
“The ancient clans…”
Lin Fan clenched his fists tightly, his expression hardening instantly, “Xuan’er…”
At that moment, Lin Fan abruptly stood up and began frantically searching around.
“Dammit, please be okay.” Lin Fan screamed inwardly, examining each corpse.
“Not her…”
“There’s still hope…”
“Not here either…”
“Please, give me a little hope.” Lin Fan trembled as his body shook. The rabbit in his hand struggled in pain, but for Lin Fan at that moment, his sole goal was to find Xuan’er.
“No… Xuan’er, where are you?” Lin Fan looked at the empty village and roared.
“They must have been taken by the ancient clans. There’s still hope…”
Lin Fan thought of how adorable Xuan’er was, and he believed the ancient clans wouldn’t have killed her.
As this hope surfaced in Lin Fan’s mind, it grew stronger and stronger, making Lin Fan believe it was the truth.
“No, I must chase after them quickly, or it’ll be too late.” Lin Fan immediately turned to rush toward the distance.
“Lin… Uncle…”
Just as Lin Fan was chasing into the distance, a faint voice suddenly came from a nearby haystack.
“Xuan’er…” At that moment, Lin Fan’s expression suddenly lit up with excitement. He immediately started digging through the haystack.
“This… can’t be…”
At that moment, scarlet blood continuously flowed from the withered haystack.
Lin Fan shook his head violently, but when he cleared away the debris and saw the scene inside, he was instantly numbed.
Half a blade pierced through Xuan’er’s frail body, blood gushing out continuously.
“How could this happen…” Lin Fan looked up at the sky, his eyes tightly shut, unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Lin Uncle…” Xuan’er’s cute and lively little face was now deathly pale, large tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Grandpa told me to hide here and not make a sound, but Xuan’er hurts so much…” Xuan’er bit her lip with her blood-stained teeth, trying to endure the pain.
“How could this happen…” As Lin Fan looked at Xuan’er’s condition, his usually resolute heart was now filled with sorrow. The mighty life force of the Wutong Divine Tree surged into Xuan’er’s body.
However, the life force scattered instantly upon entering Xuan’er’s body, dispersing into the heavens and earth.
“Lin Uncle, Xuan’er is very brave. Even though it hurts, Xuan’er didn’t make a sound… Am I amazing?” Xuan’er’s bright eyes gradually lost their luster, slowly closing.
“Amazing, Xuan’er is the most amazing…” Lin Fan felt an unbearable pain in his heart, a pain he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
For Lin Fan, the very reason he had always wanted to grow stronger was to avoid enduring such pain.
“Lin… Uncle… we are… friends…”
“Thud…”
That frail, weak little hand tried to touch Lin Fan’s face but finally dropped lifelessly, like a broken kite.
At that moment, the last glimmer in Xuan’er’s eyes faded away.
“Xuan’er…” At that moment, Lin Fan was on the verge of exploding.
How could such a lovely little girl have such a fate?
“Damn it, ancient clans! If I don’t wipe out your entire race, I swear I’m no longer human!”
“ding, activating the hidden ultimate mode buff: One Strike Power Surge, time-limited for one day.”
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