This martial saint is too cautious.

Chapter 373 Stormy Weather (Seeking more monthly votes)

Half an hour later, Lin Yan received a brocade box containing a pill that emitted a golden luster.

Taiyi Great Medicine.

Even from close observation, Lin Yan could sense the intense medicinal power contained within.

Lin Yan did not rush to take the medicine, but instead put the Taiyi Great Medicine into his pocket.

Including the large-scale medicines his master exchanged for from other treasures, he now has a total of eight large-scale medicines.

Eight great medicines, if placed in the Void Realm, any one of them would be enough to raise a Void Realm martial artist by one level, but in the Cave Heaven Realm, especially since I am already at the third level of the Cave Heaven Realm, eight great medicines are not enough for me to open up a fourth Cave Heaven.

Having obtained the Great Elixir of Taiyi, Lin Yan did not linger any longer. He rode a flying beast and left the mountain gate, heading towards the southern Shu region.

Traveling along the roads of southern Sichuan.

Before landing, Lin Yan had already changed into the Emei Peak mask and concealed his aura to the Void Realm. Led by the steward, he passed through the front courtyard and stepped into the middle courtyard.

There were already five figures in the courtyard.

Three men and two women.

Three of them, like him, were wearing patrol masks—two men and one woman. The two men concealed their auras, while the masked woman was at the Cave Heaven Realm.

In addition, a man and a woman showed their true faces. The woman wore a plain-colored long dress and had a cold expression. She looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. However, Lin Yan knew that the age of female martial artists in the Dharma Aspect Realm was the most difficult to judge in the martial arts world.

Male martial artists might be able to accept their appearance aging, but female martial artists are more concerned about their appearance. When they reach the True Qi Realm, they can control their appearance. Therefore, although this woman looks to be in her late twenties, she is very likely already in her sixties or seventies. She can truly be described as still having a charming appearance.

As for the other man, he wore a blue robe, had a long sword at his waist, and exuded a very calm and composed aura.

The man was at the Cave Heaven Realm, and his aura indicated he was at the first level of the Cave Heaven Realm, while the woman was at the Void Realm. However, Lin Yan was not sure if the other party was hiding their strength. Before they had even exchanged blows, he would not underestimate anyone.

As Lin Yan sized up the five people, the five people were also looking at Lin Yan at the same time.

None of the five used their divine senses. Just like Lin Yan, they relied solely on their eyes to observe and sense the aura emanating from the other person to judge their strength.

According to the rules of the Dharma Aspect Realm, soul perception is considered spying. Unless you are confident that your soul perception will not be detected by the other party, you will be making an enemy.

"Is this gentleman also summoned?" the man in the blue robe asked first.

"Mm." Lin Yan nodded.

"I don't know how to address you?"

"Mount Emei".

Upon hearing Lin Yan introduce himself, the man frowned slightly, realizing that Lin Yan was not giving his real name, but rather the inspector's nickname.

Luo Xiao had obviously never heard of the name Emei Peak, but since Lin Yan had given the title of inspector, he knew that Lin Yan did not want to reveal his true identity. He did not ask any further questions, but simply cupped his hands and said, "I am Luo Xiao from the Sword Sect."

"I've long admired your name!"

Lin Yan replied, and this wasn't just a polite remark.

Luo Xiao, the Sword Sect Master, is also a strong figure on the Prodigy Ranking, ranking seventy-third.

The other four didn't speak, but when Lin Yan looked over, they simply nodded slightly. Lin Yan returned the nod, which was considered a greeting.

Soon, the courtyard returned to silence.

None of the five people were in the mood to talk.

After a short while, Luo Lie appeared.

"Greetings, Lord Luo."

"Please don't stand on ceremony, everyone."

Luo Lie glanced at the five people in the courtyard, and when his gaze fell on Lin Yan, his pupils contracted slightly.

Good heavens, is this the Realm of Reality?

If I remember correctly, Lin Yan was only at the sixth level of the Void Realm when he left Shu Nan Xingdao two months ago.

This cultivation speed—it's comparable to that of the Marquis back then!

Although shocked, Luo Lie kept his expression hidden and said in a deep voice, "I believe you all already know the purpose of my summons."

"Lord Luo, is the Yinglong about to be born?"

"It could take as little as a few days, or as long as a month."

Upon hearing Luo Lie's words, Lin Yan could clearly feel the atmosphere in the courtyard becoming heavy. He didn't know what Lord Luo had said to these five people, but he figured it was probably similar to what he had said to himself.

"Lord Luo, do you have any specific details about that dragon?"

"no."

Luo Lie shook his head directly: "Before the ancient waterway is revealed, that beast will not show itself. Before it does, no one can know its strength."

"Lord Luo, if I may be so blunt, since the dragon will only appear when the waterway appears, why not wait until the ancient waterway appears and the dragon takes form before making a move? Wouldn't that be much safer?"

The woman in the white dress spoke. Upon hearing her words, Lin Yan frowned slightly. The appearance of the ancient waterway and the transformation of the dragon meant that dozens of prefectures in the southern Sichuan region would be turned into a vast ocean.

"When a dragon transforms into human form, it will traverse vast waters. Our southern Sichuan region cannot withstand such a storm."

After Luo Lie finished speaking, the woman in the white dress clearly disagreed, but seeing that no one else spoke, she ultimately said nothing more.

"Rest assured, everyone. In the next few days, our Shu Nan Xingdao will do our best to investigate the situation of that dragon. As for now—you can go back to your courtyards to rest."

Soon, a few people from the Inspector's Office led them to the guest courtyard, and Lin Yan did the same. However, after a short while, Lin Yan returned to the courtyard.

"Young friend Lin, your breakthrough in cultivation level is quite rapid."

When Luo Lie saw Lin Yan enter, he smiled and said that he had just sent a telepathic message to Lin Yan, asking him to come back again.

"I was lucky enough to get a few opportunities."

Lin Yan smiled slightly. He stopped talking about luck now, lest this Lord Luo break down like his master.

"Was it obtained in Laoshan?"

Luo Lie recalled his son's letter detailing the events in Laoshan and tentatively asked a question, but Lin Yan didn't answer, instead changing the subject: "How did you determine, Lord Luo, that the dragon's transformation will occur within half a month?"

"In the past month, the waterways have been turbulent and the celestial phenomena have changed. These are signs that the dragon is about to take human form."

Traveling along the roads of southern Sichuan, the river level has risen by one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) in the past month, and the water has become turbid. Many fish in the river are frantically swimming upstream.

These unusual occurrences are signs that the dragon is transforming into human form.

"What can I, a junior, do?"

Lin Yan thought of Luo Xiao and the others. In terms of strength, these people were not weak. Before he arrived, this Lord Luo did not know that he had broken through to the Cave Heaven Realm. In terms of the selection, he was at most just a backup.

"wait!"

"wait?"

"In the last hour before the dragon transforms into its human form, its aura will be revealed, and young friend Lin will be able to find the dragon's hiding place and enter to slay it."

Upon hearing Luo Lie's words, Lin Yan's expression remained unchanged; he already knew this information from the previous time.

When the dragon truly takes human form, it will be a disaster for the people of southern Sichuan. Even if the dragon can be killed in the end, tens of millions of people in southern Sichuan will be displaced.

"The people living on both sides of the river?"

"Evacuation was arranged as soon as the river channel became abnormal, and most of the people have been evacuated by now."

Lin Yan nodded, then asked curiously, "Hasn't the Li family found anything?"

"The Li family will handle things themselves, so young friend Lin need not worry."

The situation has reached a point where it is no longer within the control of the Li family.

The entire Great Zhou Dynasty was watching this dragon closely, waiting for the moment it would transform into human form.

The only difference is that some people want to use this dragon to do something, while others want to take this opportunity to bring out and kill this beast, so that the longer it stays at the bottom of the water, the more powerful it becomes, and the harder it will be to kill.

"Very well, then this junior will await Lord Luo's instructions."

Lin Yan didn't ask any more questions. He already knew what he needed to know, and Lord Luo wouldn't say anything more about what he shouldn't know.

Lin Yan bid farewell to Luo Lie and returned to his courtyard. Without lingering, he took out a pill and swallowed it, then began to sit cross-legged to absorb and refine its medicinal power.

His intuition told him that this time, the dragon was taking human form and was eyeing quite a few forces. All he could do was improve his strength to deal with any unexpected situations.

The only thing that gave Lin Yan confidence was that he still had a sword token given to him by a sixth-level expert of the Sword Sect.

Traveling through southern Sichuan, in a manor, in a secret room.

"Divine Child, the Blood River Formation is ready. As soon as the dragon appears, you can directly locate it and teleport there."

"Um."

The cold-faced youth nodded, his aura of blood so intense that it turned the entire secret room blood red.

"What's going on at court?"

"Recently, some flying birds have been coming and going on the Shu-Nan Road, and many Dharma Aspect Realm experts have arrived, including quite a few Realm Realm experts."

"Are there any members of the Taiyi Sword Sect of the Northern Sea?"

"no."

The old man, who was bowing in front of the young man, looked puzzled when he heard his divine son ask such a question. The divine son seemed to be very concerned about the Taiyi Sword Sect, but it didn't seem like the divine son had any grudges with the Taiyi Sword Sect, because the divine son had never asked them to target the Taiyi Sword Sect.

"Understood, you may leave."

Li family.

"Father, what happened? Why—why have all our people disappeared?"

Li Cheng looked at his father with a look of horror. All the martial artists and forces, big and small, that the clan had cultivated openly and secretly in southern Sichuan had disappeared.

Overnight, it was uprooted.

"What's the rush!"

Li Wuyu glared at his son: "Someone wants to cut off the Li family's eyes and ears; this was all within my expectations."

"Father, who did this?"

"Who else could be the one to travel the roads in southern Sichuan besides him?"

Li Wuyu looked to the left, and Li Cheng followed the direction his father and son were looking; over there was the Inspector's Mansion.

"Father, are you talking about Luo Lie? He dares to turn against our Li family, isn't he afraid of the main family—"

"The master's family is not much better off than us right now."

Upon hearing his father's words, Li Cheng's face showed disbelief. That was the Li family of the capital region, a powerful family with a fifth-level Dharma Aspect Realm expert in charge.

"Father, what exactly are you plotting?"

"What are you plotting?"

Li Wuyu sneered, a mad glint in his old eyes: "I'll secure a tremendous opportunity for the Li family. Once it succeeds—not to mention Luo Lie, even the Great Zhou royal family won't be able to touch my Li family."

Li Cheng's face turned pale, and he suddenly felt that he didn't recognize his own father anymore.

The royal family—is that something the Li family can contend with?

"What are you afraid of? Can't you see that no one has dared to make a move against our Li family yet? Before the outcome is clear, it's still uncertain whether the winner will prevail or the loser will perish."

Li Wuyu looked up at the sky above. The Li family now had a sword hanging over their heads, but whether that sword would fall depended on whether the clan's decades-long plan would succeed.

Once successful, the Inspectorate and the Great Zhou royal family will be nothing to us!

As for failure—

Li Wuyu glanced at his son. He didn't tell his son that many years ago, when the clan began planning, some clansmen had already been secretly moved out.

Even back then, he arranged for a pregnant concubine to leave with him.

Time passed, day by day.

The atmosphere in the Shu Nan Xing Dao area began to become strange. Although many low-level martial artists did not know what was happening, they also noticed something was wrong when a large number of people in the Shu Nan Xing Dao area were relocated, and they began to converge on the prefectural city.

They couldn't leave the Shu-Nan route, so the only safe place was the prefectural city.

Other martial arts experts also left early, though some did stay.

These people didn't know what was going to happen on the road to southern Sichuan, but that didn't stop them from taking a gamble; risk often meant huge gains.

Eight days later.

Lin Yan opened her eyes inside the room.

He refined one of the eight great medicines each day, and now he has completely refined all eight.

Lin Yan looked inward at his body and saw that the power of the Dharma Image within the three caves was surging, more than 50% stronger than it had been eight days ago.

"It seems that fifty large medicines will be enough for me to break through to the fourth level of the Cave Heaven Realm."

After muttering to himself, Lin Yan laughed at himself. Fifty large pills—he really dared to dream of such a thing.

Even the Taiqing Palace has only accumulated fifty Taiqing Cave Heaven Pills over the years, while the entire Taiyi Sword Sect only manages one batch every few years, and only two or three high-grade pills.

"Young friend Lin, let's set off."

Suddenly, a sound came from the courtyard. Lin Yan's eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, he put on the mask and walked out of the house.