Whether it is the spirit bodies in the Earth Gate or Heaven Gate, or the wild spirit bodies, to subdue them, a martial artist's own divine soul must be sufficiently powerful; otherwise, even if the spirit body is captured, there is a high possibility of a backlash.
Lin Hao put the scripture in his bosom, then skillfully avoided the array area. His figure flashed, and he disappeared like a shadow in the clouds.
...
Half an hour later, Lin Hao left the mountain forest and arrived in the middle area, walking straight to prepare to leave the Tianrang Mountains.
He had originally thought today would be a great slaughter, but unexpectedly, it attracted a wild spirit body. Coincidentally, the disciple of Shengtian Gate brought the sect's scripture and sealed the wild spirit body, all of which fell into Lin Hao's hands, presenting an extremely precious opportunity and wealth.
"Brother Lin Hao!"
Suddenly, someone called softly from behind. Lin Hao stopped, turned around, and saw Bai Zhanchen.
At this moment, Bai Zhanchen was hiding in a secluded cave somewhere behind.
Lin Hao walked into the cave and asked in confusion, "Did you escape from that bell?"
Bai Zhanchen said, "That green bell shattered on its own, and I took the opportunity to escape. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Hearing this, Lin Hao pondered. It should have been like this. The green bell was a magical tool that the hooded swordsman found in the second Earth Gate due to a stroke of luck. It coexisted with his divine soul. When the hooded swordsman was devoured by the giant spider, his divine soul dissipated, and the green bell naturally shattered.
"Did the hooded swordsman die?" Bai Zhanchen was somewhat surprised.
How did Lin Hao, who was at the peak of the fourth level of spirit body, survive under the peak of the seventh level hooded swordsman? Moreover, the shattering of the green bell made Bai Zhanchen even more puzzled.
Lin Hao said straightforwardly, "His luck was bad. He encountered a mid-level fierce beast while chasing me and ultimately died in the beast's mouth."
"Such a thing... But the deep part of the Tianrang Mountains is dangerous. It is said that there are high-level fierce beasts and even demonic beasts." Bai Zhanchen pondered.
According to what Lin Hao said, they truly had great luck. Today seemed like a certain death, but unexpectedly, the killers sent by Bai Zhen were almost completely wiped out, and even the peak of the seventh level strong man died in the mouth of a mid-level fierce beast.
"Brother Lin Hao, when I used the Golden Light Array just now, the hooded swordsman couldn't break through it. In the end, another martial artist left the mountains to report to Bai Zhen. I'm afraid that Bai Zhen's people have already come to the Tianrang Mountains. It's not wise for you to leave now," Bai Zhanchen said.
It seemed so, but after a moment of deep thought, Lin Hao finally said, "We will hide in the mountains until late at night and then leave."
The black-clothed martial artist who left earlier had seen Lin Hao's face. If they met now, his fate would not be good. However, if it was late at night, the Tianrang Mountains would be a paradise for fierce beasts, and even high-level fierce beasts or demonic beasts might appear.
Once such a situation occurred, a small wave of beast tide would form, which would be extremely dangerous for Lin Hao, but he didn't believe that Bai Zhen's people would dare to stay in the Tianrang Mountains.
At this moment, Lin Hao and Bai Zhanchen were hiding in the cave, not particularly worried. After all, the Tianrang Mountains were vast, and finding someone in them was like looking for a needle in the sea.
During these few hours, irregular footsteps and the rustling of leaves could be heard around the cave, but it was unclear whether it was a martial artist in training passing by or Bai Zhen's forces searching for them.
Lin Hao and Bai Zhanchen's expressions were relatively normal. The cave was quite hidden and hard to discover.
By late at night, the roars of fierce beasts echoed, quite intimidating. Few martial artists dared to enter the Tianrang Mountains at night. If they encountered a large beast tide, even a Heaven Gate strong man might have to retreat. Even a small beast tide was a disaster.
Lin Hao and Bai Zhanchen didn't care much. They confirmed that it was relatively calm outside the cave and then walked out, heading toward the outer part of the Tianrang Mountains.
Their speed was very slow, and they didn't dare to use martial arts for lightness. It was night, and fierce beasts frequently appeared, which might attract attention, causing trouble for both of them.
Lin Hao remained silent. While hiding in the cave, he was advancing to the fifth level of the spirit body, which he could truly achieve in at most two days.
After leaving the cave and preparing to leave the Tianrang Mountains, Lin Hao had some concerns.
Of the seven martial artists sent by Bai Zhen, one left the mountains, inevitably exposing his identity. Not cutting off the root of the problem could lead to significant threats.
He wasn't worried about the Lin family, as the Lin family was also a major family in Liuyun City. Moreover, Bai Zhen had not yet truly become the head of the Bai family, so there wouldn't be any major actions.
However, Lin Hao's future days might not be easy, and he might face threats constantly, which would be unpleasant.
At this point, there were only two methods. One was to kill Bai Zhen, which would eliminate all hidden dangers, and the Bai family would return to Bai Zhanchen's hands.
The second was to make Bai Zhen wary, preventing him from acting rashly or having any ill intentions toward him...
After deep thought, Lin Hao had a detailed plan in mind.
"Mr. Bai, do you want Bai Zhen to not dare to have any thoughts against you in the future?" Lin Hao suddenly looked at Bai Zhanchen.
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhanchen's face showed surprise, and he immediately nodded, "Of course, does Brother Lin Hao have a way?"
Lin Hao nodded. He indeed had a good method, but it required a lot of effort. If successful, everyone would be happy, and the Bai family would never dare to cause trouble for him. However, if it failed, neither he nor Bai Zhanchen would survive.
"Listen..." Lin Hao told Bai Zhanchen his idea.
...
"This... Brother Lin Hao, is this feasible? If it fails, not only will I not have a way out, but you will also not survive, and we might perish on the spot." After hearing Lin Hao's plan, Bai Zhanchen was inwardly shocked.
Bai Zhanchen admitted that this was indeed an excellent method, surprising and impressive. If successful, even some of the Bai family's high-level members might shift their stance and stand on his side.
However, could Lin Hao really do it? A Lin family outer gate disciple, how could he have such supernatural abilities?!
In fact, Lin Hao's plan, even he himself couldn't guarantee its success, but he had at least a 60% chance. With over 50%, Lin Hao was willing to take the risk.
In his previous life, he became the Nine Heavens Emperor, naturally not a coward. If he didn't have the courage and boldness, how could he have reached that level in his previous life?
In the end, Bai Zhanchen nodded in agreement. There were no better methods now, so they had to take the risk.
Not long after, the two arrived at the outermost part of the Tianrang Mountains, and the exit was just ahead.
Lin Hao, light as a swallow, went to scout ahead for a moment. As he had expected, there were no Bai family strong men waiting at the exit.
The Tianrang Mountains had too many exits, connecting to many large and small cities and counties. They didn't have the energy to guard them all.
After leaving the Tianrang Mountains, Lin Hao did not return to the Lin family but found a secluded place to fully advance to the fifth level of the spirit body.
As for Bai Zhanchen, he did not appear in Liuyun City. Early the next morning, Bai Zhanchen wrote a letter, found a child, and had the child deliver the letter to the Bai family's branch in Liuyun City.
Bai family branch residence.
A middle-aged man held the letter and coldly snorted, "My younger brother has quite the courage, inviting me to meet in the Tianrang Mountains tomorrow."
Hearing this, an old woman behind the man was puzzled, "Young Master, this seems suspicious. He didn't return to the headquarters for protection but invited you to meet in the mountains. What does he rely on?"
The corner of the middle-aged man's mouth slightly rose, and he threw the letter to the old woman, "You read it yourself."
The old woman took the letter and her expression changed after a quick glance. The letter did not say that Bai Zhanchen wanted to meet Bai Zhen but that Bai Zhanchen's master wanted to meet Bai Zhen.
The letter stated that Bai Zhen, ignoring the brotherly bond, had sent people to pursue and kill Bai Zhanchen in Liuyun City. Bai Zhanchen was furious and reported the matter to his master. The master, upon hearing this, was enraged and demanded that Bai Zhen meet him in the Tianrang Mountains.
"Master... Strange, does the third young master have a master? Could it be from the sect back then..." Old Ou was surprised. Over a decade ago, a sect's powerful figure had taken a liking to Bai Zhanchen and wanted to take him to the sect for training.
However, the Bai family's head had politely declined, and nothing more was heard after that.
At that time, the Bai family was a first-tier force, and the head of the Bai family was a peerless genius who had broken through the Earth Gate and opened the first Heaven Gate, transcending the mortal body and becoming a 'Heaven Spirit' strong man!
The Earth Gate and Heaven Gate were an absolute, unbridgeable chasm, a qualitative difference. As the saying goes, the Earth Gate and Heaven Gate, one word apart, heaven and earth apart!
As a 'Heaven Spirit' strong man, the Bai family ruled a region, a true superpower, with unparalleled martial prowess, capable of anything. Compared to the high-level strong men of the sect world, they were not inferior, so they would not entrust their extremely talented son, Bai Zhanchen, to the sect.
Unfortunately, even the head of the Bai family himself might not have expected that once he entered the Heaven Gate, the sea was deep. Over these ten years, he had not made any progress, and all attempts to break through had failed, indicating that his end was near, and a 'Heaven Spirit' strong man was about to fall.
Apart from the head of the Bai family, the strongest combat power in the Bai family was only at the fourth or fifth Earth Gate, far inferior to the sect world, like ants. If Bai Zhanchen really became a disciple of that sect's strong man back then, it would be a serious matter.
Bai Zhen, however, sneered. He wouldn't believe that Bai Zhanchen really had a master. The sect's high-level strong man had been rejected by his father back then, so how could he have the intention to take Bai Zhanchen as a disciple? The pride of a strong man was undeniable.
The old woman behind him pondered for a moment and also found the matter suspicious. Logically, after the sect's strong man was rejected by the head of the family, he wouldn't have the face to take Bai Zhanchen as a disciple, which was a matter of the sect's dignity, not a small issue.
Therefore, Bai Zhanchen's so-called master was likely a bluff. If they really went to the Tianrang Mountains, they might not even see Bai Zhanchen's shadow.
"Since that's the case, I think we shouldn't go. In fact, the third young master has been enduring these years mainly out of fear of you. I believe he doesn't covet the position of head of the family," the old woman said.
Bai Zhen didn't say much, having his own thoughts. The matter of the head of the family was not within his control. The current head was still in power, and the main authority was at the headquarters. Liuyun City was just a branch.
"Go and prepare. I can't let my good brother look down on me," Bai Zhen's corner of the mouth slightly rose.