"Let's go," Ao Heilan said simply after Shi Poyun revealed the location of the Fire Heart Sect's hideout.

Zhen Xueren nodded and was about to break space with the other four - who had released their binding on entry into subspace - when Li Ling coughed lightly and stepped out of the void between them.

"What?!" Ao Heilan shouted with shock and fear, not understanding how there could be someone hidden in the void all this time who evaded his void sense, the upgraded spirit sense of the seventh realm.

His brothers were also terrified, thinking that another upset had occurred in this already tense scenario. Inasmuch as they were confident in themselves, it was exactly as Zhen Xueren had said earlier, that this was the middle of the continent where the sects ruled everything.

Should they be surrounded and besieged, they would die ten times out of ten!

Zhen Xueren, however, was puzzled and utterly confused. At the level of the True Inheritors, they were so few that each knew the other by both face and name, so seeing the unfamiliar Li Ling left her wondering who he was.

When she checked her own Asura Blood Token, she was stunned to find that the returned information was that Li Ling was merely a Path Lord from the lower layer of the sect. That would mean that he was theoretically at the second realm in his Blood Asura Descent, which was just…

How could he even remain breathing in their presence?

But it was more than that, because Li Ling had pushed his Mana Regressing Art to the maximum, completely hiding his cultivation aura down to the level of an utter mortal. In the eyes of both parties, Li Ling, who was able to remain airborne on his own after coming out of the void, was unfathomable!

More so for the Four Point Jiao Brothers, who immediately regretted not putting Zhen Xueren under any form of sealing. However, they wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible and hoped that she would cooperate as best as she could, but who could have predicted this change?

"May we know Fellow Daoist's name?" Ao Heilan stood forward bravely, releasing his aura boldly in a mixture of threat and deterrence.

After all, Li Ling alone was not enough for them to cower and retreat. Even if he and Zhen Xueren went all out to fight them, they would still come out as victors, just with a chance for casualties and severe injuries, which they naturally didn't want when within another's territory.

"Me? I am just a lowly, bottom-tier cultivator of the Six Paths Demon Sect," Li Ling admitted honestly, which made Zhen Xueren's expression change greatly.

She had initially been about to send Li Ling a voice transmission to inquire about his details, his intentions, and that he should follow her lead in setting up a play for these guys so they could escape together, but Li Ling blew it all by admitting his weakness!

What the heck was this idiot doing?!

However, Zhen Xueren was left flabbergasted when the Four Point Jiao Brothers didn't relax; instead, they became even tenser and more cautious. From their point of view, Li Ling was like a bottomless abyss of nothingness, which made them feel trepidation.

This was precisely because Li Ling had retracted all of his aura but pushed his Void Seeking Physique to the fore, giving them the impression that they were looking at a pool of high-quality refined void power, far more than what they had.

Indeed, Li Ling had genuine refined void power himself, or he wouldn't be able to walk through subspace with Void Step or create a whole internal space to put his stuff. The difference was that while these seventh realm powerhouses painstakingly and genuinely cultivated every bit of refined void power they had, they had full control over it.

Meanwhile, Li Ling's was 'given' by his physique and, while it was even purer and more plentiful than the haphazardly cultivated version that seventh realm powerhouses possessed, he could only access a tiny bit due to his low realm as well as lack of daoist arts.

It was entirely the difference between a hardworking corporate fellow who rose to wealth and a bratty trust fund kid whose pops limited his monthly card transactions.

So Li Ling's 'humble' words were seen as a means to defuse the tension and let negotiations begin, to which Ao Heilan took the lead in controlling.

"Hmph, it matters not if Fellow Daoist is unwilling to share your identity. What matters is why Fellow Daoist dared to stop us and what you intend by this?"

Despite the intention to retreat growing in the hearts of the Four Point Jiao Brothers, Ao Heilan still spoke harshly and domineeringly, as if he would immediately initiate a brutal attack if Li Ling's answer didn't satisfy them.

Li Ling simply smiled and scratched his head in an earnest manner. "Well, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation and felt that I should come forward to clarify some things."

He turned to Zhen Xueren. "First, I would like to apologize to Senior Sister Zhen. The wrenches in the plan that the esteemed Jiao Brothers spoke about were caused mostly by me."

He then gave Zhen Xueren a quick rundown through voice transmission about who he was, the drama of the war outpost, and his killing of the Bright Sword Sect fellows.

Zhen Xueren was left completely speechless by this. It wasn't until Li Ling unveiled the Golden Sword Hilt from his Void Space and sent it over to her that Zhen Xueren snapped out of her stupor, then glanced at the fourth-grade item in her hands with pursed lips.

Since when did the juniors of her sect become so monstrous?

However, this action by Li Ling caused the pupils of the Four Point Jiao Brothers to constrict as they sensed him withdraw the item from his Void Space, which was incredibly stable and vast, akin to a small world. A person who could go so far along the path of void in the seventh realm was definitely the kind of entity they absolutely couldn't mess with!

"And for the Jiao Brothers, I apologize for the act of meddling in your affairs. While I was traversing this region, I came upon the very location Shi Poyun mentioned and happened upon the True Dragon Ball," Li Ling admitted with an awkward smile.

This caused alarm to appear on the faces of the four as tension suddenly rose. Zhen Xueren blinked and lamented that she finally understood why nothing went according to plan as well as why this fellow had to out himself at this critical juncture.

As part of her agreement with these Jiao Brothers, they were free to kill all remaining parties below to use for their ancestor's Dragon Ball, which would have included this fellow no matter how well he was hiding previously since these Jiao Brothers would probably just carpet-bomb the place.

It was better for him to come out now and seek a chance of survival through all this, Zhen Xueren understood.

And on top of that, he had even seized the object that these fellows wanted!

Zhen Xueren suddenly felt that these senior cultivators seemed to have been dancing in the palm of a mere second realm junior who had some tricks.

The Jiao Brothers, though, were not so amused as they felt that Li Ling revealing this now after the deal was made hinted at something.

Ao Heilan could only bite the bullet and push forward. "Oh? What does Fellow Daoist mean by that? What intentions do you have with our ancestor's True Dragon Ball?"

Li Ling clapped his hands and then spread them out in a gesture of helplessness. "Quite the same as my senior sister, I have no need for such an item. As such, I felt it was best to come clean now and return it to its owners in exchange for something small."

Hearing that he was willing to give it over, the tense shoulders of the Four Point Jiao Brothers relaxed greatly. As long as things did not devolve into a fight, then that was already following the best outcome.

"Hmm, we set up this endeavor not just for our ancestor's True Dragon Ball. We also need a wealth of blood energy to accomplish our goals." Ao Heilan began pushing and pulling as a form of negotiation, trying to seek more benefits.

Li Ling nodded sympathetically. "I can understand how you all would feel, but you understand the rules of the cultivation world. After seizing the True Dragon Ball, it has become my spoils of war to dispose of as I please. For one, it isn't even here; I am having my subordinate bring it over so I can exchange it with you all."

Zhen Xueren nodded internally as she knew that this was indeed the truth, and Li Ling himself hadn't been this frank since his period at the bottom of the cultivation world, back when he was at Number 9 Qing Shan Marketplace.

But Ao Heilan tsked with annoyance, communicating with his three brothers about how 'tough' Li Ling was, and how trying to negotiate with him might backfire.

"So what does Fellow Daoist want in exchange for the True Dragon Ball?" Ao Heilan asked the key question, to which Li Ling smiled and forked a finger over to Zhen Xueren.

"Naturally, for the release of my senior sister," Li Ling answered straightforwardly.

Zhen Xueren was utterly stunned by this, never expecting Li Ling to use his precious get-out-of-jail-free card on her. If she wasn't a heartless witch with no redeeming qualities, her heart might have even been moved by such a thing.

The Four Point Jiao Brothers, though, were unsurprised, even seeming a bit relieved as if grateful that was all he wanted. Ao Heilan even nodded with a slightly unhappy smile.

"It is difficult to give up what one has already won, but fine, we can accept that condition. On top of that, you and your senior sister must make a Heavenly Dao Oath not to inform anyone of our Jiao Clan treasure land as well as not to harm or pursue us later on."

This surprised Li Ling, who was on pins and needles the entire time. He had tried his hardest to deceive them using what he could, but he only half expected it to work, and was relying on this senior sister of his to be the workhorse that would help them escape if things went awry.

But these Four Point Jiao Brothers seemed to be convinced? Li Ling knew that there were many factors that played into this, but shouldn't they at least probe once? They were leaving a lot to assumption, and if all cultivators did that, then wouldn't there be a lot of trickery?

However, Zhen Xueren was not surprised by the Four Point Jiao Brothers' misunderstanding or their cautious actions. While she did not know how Li Ling was able to manage his unique situation of having refined void power despite being in the second realm, she completely understood the thinking of the opposing party.

If she didn't have the Asura Blood Token which reported Li Ling's identity to her, she would never have doubted him up until now. In fact, even now, she was not exactly sure whether the Asura Blood Token was mistaken or maybe Li Ling was someone who was able to seriously suppress his true cultivation base by many major realms.

"Ah, he is here." Li Ling turned to regard Majin Three, who was coming over at full speed with a pale face, having expended his foundation and more to be able to get here so fast.

When he reached within one kilometer of them, Li Ling grabbed out and used his Void Step to open subspace for Majin Three to enter and come out right beside him. In that split second Majin Three had spent in the void, he lost two legs and one arm, coming out as a half-dead and bloody carcass.

Yet despite this, he bowed to Li Ling obsequiously, not even glancing at the others.

"Majin Three greets the Supreme Master!"

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