Ch216 –

　　Lin Xuanzhi swept Yan Tianhen a glance. He wanted to explain, but his words took a wild turn just as he was about to speak, and so he finally swallowed those words.

　　Lin Xuanzhi lightly said, “You’re right. Keep your stuff. There’s no need to return them to me. However, in the future, think before you speak. Don’t say whatever comes to your mind.”

　　Some matters were more suitable for discussion behind closed doors. Making such a disturbance in front of all these people was sure to have a negative impact.

　　Yan Tianhen seemed as though he’d been slapped twice. His face burnt fiercely. He felt that every raindrop falling on his face was like a sharp needle, bringing pain to every inch of his skin.

　　Was this still his Dage?

　　He felt the need to argue with him over a single piece of clothing and didn’t allow him any leeway in front of so many people. Could it be that in Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes, his dignity wasn’t worth any money and could be freely trampled upon by anyone?

　　Yan Tianhen’s entire heart was full of grievances. He lowered his head and threw the clothes at Lin Xuanzhi, then took out his original clothes from his storage bag and wore them.

　　Not only that, but he also threw all the items hanging from his wrists and waist onto the ground.

　　Originally, Yan Tianhen had even wanted to remove the cultivation-disguising ring from his ear, but on second thought — this thing was a life-saver. He had looked after Lin Xuanzhi for such a long time, even if he didn’t have any merits, he still spent all that effort. Taking away one item could be regarded as both sides wiping the slate clean.

　　Nursing such a tragic thought, Yan Tianhen loosened his hand and didn’t spare Lin Xuanzhi another glance. He turned to another direction and walked away.

　　Duan Yuyang fiercely dug a glance at Lin Xuanzhi and scolded, “What’s wrong with you, you’ll regret this,” then hurried to catch up with Yan Tianhen. “Henhen darling, let’s not mind that abnormal lunatic, Yuyang Gege will stay with you!”

　　Yuan Tianwen gave Lin Xuanzhi a deep glance. “We’ll take our leave first.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi nodded, but his gaze remained on Yan Tianhen’s figure.

　　Quite confident and free, he thought.

　　He still knew better than to throw the most important cultivation-disguising ring at Lin Xuanzhi, so he still had some intelligence.

　　Lin Xuanzhi sighed in his heart and bent down to pick up the magic treasures that had been thrown onto the ground one-by-one.

　　This was the first time that he had been publicly degraded like this in front of so many people, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t bear to be vicious to Ah Hen, so he could only bear it — although this feeling wasn’t pleasant and made him lose all face, who let the person throwing a temper tantrum be Ah Hen?

　　He really couldn’t do anything about Ah Hen.

　　Shen Rubing saw this good play and couldn’t help but think, Lin Yaer clearly said that Yan Tianhen had used some kind of unknown witchcraft to enchant his soul and make Lin Xuanzhi hang onto his every word in complete devotion, but now it seems that Lin Yaer was deliberately exaggerating.

　　According to Shen Rubing’s experience, Yan Tianhen, this brat with a murky background, must have done something to provoke Lin Yaer and make her develop a grudge against him, so she had intended to wait for a chance to use Shen Rubing to retaliate against him.

　　This Lin Yaer actually dared to use her!

　　Shen Rubing was not a generous person. In her heart, she had already secretly marked down Lin Yaer’s name and planned to make her suffer a bit once the opportunity presented itself.

　　“How come it’s raining heavier and heavier.” Nobody knew who spoke that sentence.

　　The female cultivators from Cloud Jade Sect all expressed their views that this weather was too harmful; it gave them headaches and dizziness, and they were deeply worried that their skin was about to be punctured by the rain, so much so that several couldn’t bear it any longer. They crushed the transportation talismans in their hands and ended their exploration of Pill Limit Mysterious Land early.

　　Shen Rubing wanted to share an umbrella with Lin Xuanzhi and deliberately leaned close to him, but Lin Xuanzhi generously handed the umbrella to Shen Rubing and voluntarily left the umbrella. He said lightly, “Young Sect Master Shen may use this umbrella.”

　　Shen Rubing was satisfied yet still somewhat disappointed. She blinked at Lin Xuanzhi charmingly. “You are clearly the owner of this umbrella but lent it out for me to use. Why don’t we share it, so that I can lessen the guilt and unease in my heart.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi lightly responded, “It’s merely an umbrella. If you feel guilty, then you are free to pay rent.”

　　Shen Rubing was immediately flabbergasted — rent?

　　Lin Xuanzhi was asking her for rent?

　　However, Shen Rubing’s brain soon processed it. Lin Xuanzhi was probably joking with her.

　　Thus, she smiled. “I can’t afford the rent, it’s better to share the umbrella.”

　　“Men and women shouldn’t accept gifts from each other.”

　　Shen Rubing, “…”

　　Several of Cloud Jade Sect’s disciples looked at each other in dismay and communicated with their eyes — this Lin Xuanzhi was really dense. Shen Rubing’s intention was so obvious, yet he didn’t pounce on the opening and express himself.

　　Shen Rubing felt somewhat embarrassed after being rejected in succession, but after thinking about it, she felt that Lin Xuanzhi was different from all the men she had seen before. Every frown and smile of his, every action and everything about him, from head to toe, all made her feel that he was incomparably fresh and fascinating.

　　The feeling of love in the gaze that Shen Rubing cast towards Lin Xuanzhi deepened.

　　Lin Xuanzhi didn’t care what other people thought. He looked at the indistinct outline of a mountain looming ahead. “Let’s search for a cave first.”

　　“Alright.” Shen Rubing held the umbrella as she stood beside Lin Xuanzhi. “Let’s go together.”

　　Other people witnessed this scene with their own eyes and couldn’t help whispering as they walked.

　　“Who would have thought that Lin Xuanzhi actually had the ability to make the Shen family’s only di daughter favor and respect him so.”

　　“So what if she’s Shen family’s di daughter? Didn’t you see the talent that Lin Xuanzhi displayed during the craftsmen competition? In this world, there are tens of thousands of elemental cultivators, but craftsmen are few and far in between. Being able to reach this stage, Lin Xuanzhi could be said to be a giant among men.”

　　“That’s also true. I remember the first time Lin Xuanzhi revealed his outstanding talent in Sky Peak City was in front of the city gate. He could be considered someone who has both courage and strength.”

　　“During the Bai family’s Treasure Appraisal Convention, I heard that if not for his old friend Bai family young master’s appearance, he probably would have been able to take all of the Bai family’s treasures.”

　　“It seems that Lin Xuanzhi and Shen Rubing are quite a match. They’re an ideal couple that complement each other’s strengths.”

　　“Ha, it may not be long before news of the marriage between the Lin and Shen families appear.”

　　Of course, there were also some of Shen Rubing admirers who felt very uncomfortable. One of them sneered, “Lin Xuanzhi is nothing but a pretty face. Young Sect Master Shen is already a Hardened Body Stage cultivator. She couldn’t possibly have a crush on a mere pretty boy.”

　　“Young Miss Shen’s sights are so high, how could she marry a person from a third-class family?”

　　“Being too high-profile of a person doesn’t bode well for him. I hear the words ‘Lin Xuanzhi’ the most these days, but in fact, the greater a wave you cause, the worse your end will be.”

　　“Wasn’t Lin Xuanzhi also the center of everyone’s attention and the pride of the heavens back when he was still in Profound Sky Sect? Look at what happened to him afterward – didn’t he become a cripple in the end? Anyways, Lin Xuanzhi is absolutely not worthy of Young Miss Shen.”

　　No matter what people said, Lin Xuanzhi ignored them entirely, as if he didn’t hear anything. He didn’t care about other people’s opinions at all. You could call him arrogant or haughty, but he had never cared about the judgment of the masses.

　　That mountain range didn’t look very far off but was in fact not close at all. A thousand people had been walking towards the mountain range for two hours. Apart from being completely drenched in cold rainwater from head to toe and feeling the painful burning sensation on their skin intensify, they hadn’t seen heads nor tails of even one usable spiritual plant.

　　Already, there were some people who could no longer lift their feet. The rainwater seemed to make people weary and exhausted. Not long after, some people lied down while walking and lost consciousness.

　　Some disciples and friends or relatives of those people were willing to stay behind to take care of them, but some unlucky people were directly abandoned on the side of the road with nobody paying them any attention.

　　Just as the seventh disciple fell down, a disciple spoke up, “We can’t go on like this.”

　　One of the people beside him agreed, “Yeah, seven people already fell while on the road. Maybe those seven are already dead.”

　　“Don’t jinx it.”

　　“It’s not like I want to jinx anything either, but which person here feels comfortable after being drenched in the rain?”

　　“This rainwater shouldn’t actually be poisonous? Why don’t we have even a single alchemist in our group!”

　　“What kind of shabby place is this? The honourable me doesn’t want to stay here any longer! It won’t be long before we lose even our lives!”

　　“Ah–”

　　A sharp scream rang out as a disciple from Cloud Jade Sect shrieked in horror, “My arm! The skin is peeling off of my arm!”

　　Everyone immediately looked at this disciple and couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath — not just her arm, but even the skin on her face and neck were also starting to peel off. Although it was only a thin layer, it nevertheless had a very strong visual impact on everyone present.

　　“Shimei, your face!”

　　“My face, what happened to my face?!”

　　The female cultivator couldn’t see her own face. At this point, she took out a mirror in a hurry and immediately shrieked once, then her eyes rolled back, fainting completely.

　　Pandemonium immediately erupted.

　　Everyone had walked a long way and had also been tormented by this rain for the entire time. To a certain extent, their hearts had already experienced the oppressive atmosphere surrounding the Mysterious Land, but it’s just that no one spoke up, so they could only stifle the apprehension in their hearts. However, at this time, once someone opened this can of worms, everyone’s mental defense crumbled, one after another.

　　“I don’t want to stay here any longer. Heavens! This is too terrifying!”

　　“This rain is absolutely poisonous. It corrodes our skin, but we can’t do anything about it!”

　　“In the end, only our skeletons will remain!”

　　Screams, complaints, and fear continued to enter Lin Xuanzhi’s ears. In an instant, the atmosphere worsened to the extreme.

　　Shen Rubing, however, was walking leisurely, satisfied with herself. What’s more, she was even secretly delighted — luckily, she had gotten Lin Xuanzhi’s umbrella. While hiding under the umbrella, she used her spiritual qi to heat up and dry all her clothes. After that, she felt dry and comfortable, like a crane amongst a flock of chicken compared to those people whose sorry figures were completely drenched.

　　Shen Rubing approached the disciple who had fainted and told another disciple who had been tending to her, “All of you should leave first. If the situation continues to deteriorate, it will no longer be possible to reverse it.”

　　Cloud Jade Sect’s female disciples couldn’t help but nod involuntarily when they heard her words.

　　Male cultivators may not care about their looks, but female cultivators definitely cared the most about their appearance and figure.

　　If they thoroughly disfigured themselves as a result of trying to obtain some items that they may not even get in the end, then the losses would most certainly outweigh the gains, and they would berate themselves severely, even in their sleep.

　　Therefore, many of Cloud Jade Sect’s female cultivators had already crushed the transportation balls and left the Pill Limit Mysterious Land.

　　Not only Cloud Jade Sect’s cultivators, but many disciples of other sects and the hundred families also complained nonstop as they gave up on the journey.

　　Even though the Pill Limit Mysterious Land was a rare opportunity that one could only chance across by luck, their lives were more important.

　　After another wave of people left, Lin Xuanzhi said, “Let’s continue walking towards that direction.”

　　At this time, a disciple from the hundred families stood out and curled his lips as he looked at Lin Xuanzhi maliciously, “Craftsman Lin, the fact that you can bring out an umbrella means that you have many more magic treasures hidden on your person, right?”

　　As soon as those words left his mouth, the people beside Lin Xuanzhi all changed their complexions.

　　However, Lin Xuanzhi replied lightly and breezily, “If I did, I would have brought them out a long time ago. I’ve no need to hide them.”

　　“He……” That disciple from the hundred families gave a cold sneer, having already taken out a big hammer in his hand. He spoke sinisterly, “Since you have none, I can only borrow that umbrella in Young Sect Master Shen’s hands!”

　　He had already taken action before his words even finished. A hammer blow heavily rushed towards Lin Xuanzhi and Shen Rubing, which contained a full-powered blow from a Foundation Stage Third Layer cultivator. It was as though Mt. Tai was crashing down on the two. The blow had yet to even reach them before a few Refining Qi Stage Sixth or Seventh Layer cultivators coughed up blood from the pressure alone.

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