Chapter 1303
Crisis emerges
Chapter 1303 Crisis emerges
Lin Fan naturally heard the commotion outside, but she hadn't even completed a full cycle of her newly practiced cultivation technique.
Since they were all acquaintances, there was no need to interrupt his cultivation process to pretend, so Lin Fan chose to continue cultivating.
To his surprise, when he opened his eyes, he saw Antonio looking at him with a worried expression.
This expression was rarely seen on Antonio's face; she even thought Du Xingyu had done something wrong.
“How is that possible?” Antonio laughed after hearing this. “That guy’s radiation levels are indeed still too high, but it’s much better than last time. After taking the medicine again, it should be almost completely eliminated.”
“Speaking of which, cultivators have extraordinary physical constitutions,” he said, lifting one leg and placing his ankle on the knee of his other leg. “The amount of radiation he receives is so high that even one of our ship’s elite crew members couldn’t withstand it.”
"And that short girl. Despite having the lowest cultivation level, her remaining strength is even lower than the other two men. I heard it's due to her body tempering." He rubbed his chin with interest. "Increasing physical defense, huh... Hey, if I were to become that guy's apprentice now, would he teach me?"
Lin Fan bluntly shattered Antonio's dream, briefly explaining the consequences of not easily changing master-disciple relationships in the cultivation world. He then gestured towards Le Zhengyuan, who had been dozing with his eyes closed, indicating that he should directly learn from him.
Antonio waved his hands in alarm, "Never mind, let's get down to business. I have two pieces of bad news, which do you want to hear first?"
As long as it's not that Du Xingyu and the others are beyond saving, or any news related to the Noah, Lin Fan doesn't think it's a big deal.
"Binze hasn't been found?" There was no suspense about this, she blurted out.
“Sigh,” Antonio shrugged. “You never follow my plan. We really didn’t find anything. Our senior brother here is so capable that as long as he’s in this world, he can dig someone up even if they’re buried in the ground. It’s a pity we’ve been working for so long and haven’t found a single hair.”
Lin Fan suspected that Antonio hadn't spoken to normal people for too long, and his way of expressing himself had deteriorated.
After carefully considering his meaning, I asked, "Is Binze dead?"
“Not necessarily,” Antonio shook his head. “It could also be in that world down there. Aren’t there barriers separating the two sides? He can’t hear us…”
“If the people are hiding in the ancient world, I have no need to explore it.” Yue Zhengyuanqing interrupted Antonio as he spoke more and more irrelevantly.
Lin Fan nodded in agreement: "Indeed, the radiation down there is so strong. Before we resolve that, we shouldn't take any risks. It's enough that we've confirmed he's not up there."
Although Yue Zhengyuanqing was powerful, he was still no match for their mecha bodies.
They may have some means of dealing with radiation and their resistance is higher than that of lower-level cultivators, but their bodies have not yet reached the state of ascension, so they are inevitably susceptible to harm.
She and Antonio would have to go down to collect samples sooner or later, so why put others at this unnecessary risk?
As for Binze's ability to remain hidden in a radiation-filled world for so long—either he ascended to heaven and his physique was altered, so losing his cultivation level wouldn't affect him, or he brought advanced technology from Moonflower Star.
As for which one it is, we'll find out when we meet Binze; there's no need to waste time now.
The possibility that Binze is dead... Lin Fan subconsciously felt it was impossible.
Back then, the chaos during Ivina's battle against the Heavenly Emperor caused the entire capital to collapse.
Everyone was injured, and even Lin Fan's mind was affected by the evil resentment. But Bin Ze was able to remain unscathed, and even helped them out, ultimately escaping unscathed.
A shrewd person like him, who knows how many tricks he has up his sleeve, there's no reason for him to capsize in his own peaceful hometown pond.
If they truly betray their promise and remain hidden for too long, Lin Fan wouldn't mind digging up the ancient world from the ground up, thus destroying that threatening and dilapidated place.
"Never mind him," Lin Fan waved his hand dismissively. "What other bad news is there?"
Antonio's smile faded: "The other bad news is about you."
While they were searching for people outside, mostly in remote and desolate areas, Le Zhengyuanqing did not intend to mistreat Antonio.
If they happen to be staying in a populated area, Antonio will find the best restaurant or inn available for them to rest and stay.
As mentioned before, due to the flow of people, places like inns and restaurants are usually the most well-informed.
About twenty days later, they heard news about Lin Fan.
"My news?" Lin Fan asked, puzzled. "A genius with five spiritual roots? Or is it just a rumor about an illegitimate daughter? It can't be that the poisoning incident has gotten out, right? That shouldn't be the case."
The radiation damage came on fiercely, and they flew directly from the barrier to their sect, without any chance of leaking information along the way. Because it concerned the ancient world, both the Changtianmen and Taixu Palace leadership would keep the news tightly under wraps.
It couldn't possibly be Ao Heng. Even if we don't mention it, the Youye Sect will still keep the secret tightly under wraps.
His dubiously obtained key meant he was unlikely to speak freely.
Moreover, the chance to enter and exit the ancient secret realm, no matter how dangerous the actual situation may be, will inevitably cause countless people to frantically pursue it once the news spreads.
If Ao Hen wanted a comfortable life in his later years, he would never have brought this up. At least, it can't be traced back to him.
Under normal circumstances, he might have been able to come up with a clever way to trick Lingzhen Pavilion.
But when they separated, Ao Heng was also injured by radiation.
Lin Fan and his group also had a flying boat to take them, which saved them a lot of effort.
It's unclear how Ao Heng got back, but he arrived at Youye Sect around the same time as them. This gave Le Zhengyuan and the others the opportunity to test the medicine on Ao Heng before coming to Changtian Gate.
“Him?” Antonio scoffed. “It seems he came back in his true form.”
Demon cultivators do not blindly worship human form. On the contrary, they feel that their original forms are more beautiful. However, in a world where humans are the mainstream, they have to accept the rule that living in human form is more convenient.
Moreover, a stable human form is indeed a concrete manifestation of the level of cultivation of demon cultivators.
Generally speaking, only demon cultivators with high cultivation levels can transform into a stable human form; even if demon cultivators with low cultivation levels develop intelligence and are able to cultivate, they must initially maintain their original form for a long time.
Therefore, the transformation of demon cultivators into human form is not a pursuit of human appearance, but a display of their cultivation level.
However, they also retain their rebellious streak. They express their rebellious spirit in small details that are clearly different from ordinary people, such as their horns and heterochromatic eyes, but which also represent their identity as demon cultivators.
Demon cultivators with high spiritual power can freely control their physical state, switching between human and demon forms at will.
However, being forced to reveal one's true form in an unstable state is a sign of unstable spiritual energy and a breakdown of the internal order.
Unable to control his body, Ao Heng could only rely on his original instincts to rush back to Youye Sect for help.
Needless to say, the journey was filled with chaos and disorder. Even the Youye Sect rarely saw such a situation. The sect leader was at a loss and immediately turned to Yue Zheng Yuanqing.
I thought this big shot would ignore me as usual, but to my surprise, he actually came out of retirement...
"Fine, I won't let you guess anymore." Antonio frowned. "Now everyone outside is saying that you have fused with spiritual roots, that your flesh and blood can enhance your cultivation, and that you can refine heaven-defying pills and divine artifacts."
They first heard about it about twenty days later, in a small town. At the time, the news was vague and the specific details weren't clear.
Six or seven days later, when they heard Lin Fan's name again in a large city, the news had already spread far and wide. Those who spoke of it and those who heard it seemed to have fallen into a frenzy.
If it weren't for the impressive reputation of Changtianmen, Antonio suspected that those people would have stormed the gate and arrested people.
Nevertheless, before they returned to Changtianmen, the sounds outside seemed to have gradually coalesced into a coherent form.
Lin Fan has become an easy target for exploitation, and the reasons behind his past special status seem to have been found.
If she were already a powerful being with a divided spirit at this moment, the world could only feel envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Lin Fan has only been cultivating Qi for a year! Even with his rapid progress, he is only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
At this point, few people care whether the news is true or false; most people just want to try their luck.
After all, there's no smoke without fire, and everything has a cause.
Even if it's just a misconception...
It's just a matter of one person dying.