Simmons' heart was pounding as well, but he didn't intervene. These Lickers shouldn't be enough to stop him, but he's sure this isn't all of them. Mainly, he's worried about Celestia's safety. This girl is reckless—if she gets hurt, he wouldn't be able to explain it when they return.

Li Xin held the Long Saber from the Canon Law School in his hand. Faced with such an onslaught, he couldn't just stand still. As his Spiritual Ability burst forth, he moved like flowing water, charging in, slicing the Lickers coming at him head-on with his Long Saber—swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

Their shriveled bodies barely had any blood. Cutting them felt like slicing through leather. Celestia was well aware of the characteristics of monsters in her Holy Land, yet these difficult Fallen were like straw under Li Xin's Long Saber. Up close, she could feel it even more clearly—each of Li Xin's strikes was so confident. Subconsciously, she glanced at Li Xin's brow, a usually carefree and unserious person, now so focused and sharp-eyed.

Li Xin couldn't care less about Celestia at this moment; these things posed little threat to him. However, he didn't want Celestia to suffer because of him. He also wanted to quickly eliminate these things and move forward to see what lay inside. His last encounter with monsters beneath the mist was truly unpleasant, yet the experiences in the Holy Land and under the mist lingered in his memory. In the Holy Land, the dice seemed to charge, indicating that the Divine Relic was meant to be used there. However, under the mist, he felt a stronger power emanating from himself. The Nine Words Mantra used under the mist had a completely different magnitude. The problem was not him changing himself; initially, he thought it was a dice issue, but from the analysis these past few days, it was more likely that the cause was his own condition under the mist.

There's bound to be a secret of power hidden inside. Forget the under-the-mist experience; it was a near-death situation, saved only by Old Luo's life-saving medal. Such reckless actions can't be repeated, but the opportunity to explore the Holy Land shouldn't be missed. As much exploration as possible should be done to see if there are more discoveries.

So this time, unlike Simmons' Holy Land, Li Xin didn't hold back. Nor did he need Celestia to do anything. He slashed his way through. As they ventured deeper, the Lickers in the mist and yellow sand grew stronger, with mutated Inhalers among them. They furiously lunged at the two. These monsters might lack reason, but they had battle intelligence; they appeared frenzied but weren't just chaotically lunging—some attacked head-on, some flanked, and others circled around.

Suddenly, Celestia let out a scream. A pair of rough and withered hands grabbed her leg, ironically right at the gap unprotected by her leg guard. The sudden pain not only failed to trigger a combat reaction but also paralyzed her body and blanked her mind. By the time she reacted, there was only half a paw left on her leg. Li Xin flicked it off her leg with the back of his blade. Celestia gritted her teeth against the sharp pain—it was nothing like her training.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" Celestia gritted her teeth. The two paused; Li Xin stood in front defensively while Celestia quickly dressed her wound, drinking a bottle of magic potion and applying purple ointment to the injury before bandaging it. Licker claws are poisonous; though not fatal, they needed attention.

Li Xin nodded. He'd reacted a beat too late, assuming the attack was aimed at him. He'd been fooled by a feint—now it seemed he must hit harder. "Hold on to me. I'll try my best to keep you from harm."

"Okay!" Celestia wasn't a fussy girl; she'd begun to grow accustomed to this unique masculine verve of Li Xin.

Meanwhile, led by an Inhaler, over twenty Lickers regrouped to launch another assault. Li Xin's eyes glowed red with blood, wrapping an arm around Celestia, his entire body blazing with Spiritual Ability as he charged forward like a cannonball, ignoring the Inhalers leaping from the surrounding yellow sand. The Inhalers realized that attacking from the sand proved effective, and many darted out, but this time Li Xin didn't even glance at them, setting his gaze on the Inhalers with his expertly forged Secret Silver Long Saber.

The eyes covering the Inhaler's body brightened, and eerily it dove into the yellow sand, only to spring out from the mist moments later. Without eliminating the main target, it instantly fell into a siege of Fallen creatures. Outside, Simmons, observing through a crystal ball, began to sweat. Leading him and leading Celestia was completely different. Both faced similar mutations, but Simmons had come from the Secret Castle, armed with ample combat experience and individual strength, suited for such battles. Celestia, though, was not; at this moment, one plus one was even less than one. He wanted several times to tell them to retreat.

And now, Li Xin's intention to first kill the Inhaler was perceived by the Inhaler itself, exploiting the terrain to alter timings, allowing the Lickers more time. In this encirclement, Li Xin could naturally escape, but these Lickers had already discovered Celestia's vulnerability—several were attacking her. Simmons' clenched fists had his nails digging into his flesh; it was difficult to cover everything.

Surrounded, Celestia remained unflustered because she kept her eyes on Li Xin. Li Xin seemed unfazed by the predicament, his crimson pupils suddenly bursting with a fierce light.

Bang, bang, bang...

The heads of the encircling Lickers exploded like gourds, instantly losing their will to fight and fell to the ground. Headless torsos twitched and struggled. The Inhaler's head also exploded, but with another head still on its chest, it screeched fiercely towards Celestia. Li Xin struck with one slash, a golden light slicing through, dragging Celestia further forward. Meanwhile, the disgustingly eye-covered body of the Inhaler split in two, collapsing on the ground as the two halves struggled unwillingly, trying to come back together.

The Inhaler's Life Force was no less than that of a Licker.

Li Xin ignored whether they lived or died; he wasn't there to clean up but to advance. The number of Fallen killed here didn't matter, for they'd re-emerge from the mist in no time. This reminded Li Xin of the transparent Abyssal Worms that seemed to permeate below the mist, wondering if they were related to these creatures.

Li Xin's Long Saber was to be used defensively, yet every Inhaler that entered his three-meter zone mysteriously had its head blasted. Watching from outside, Simmons felt his skin crawl. How could this be a person, and what kind of attack method was this?

Celestia's injury apparently angered Brother Li. This bizarre attack wasn't a Spell, nor was it a Knight's. What was it? Could it be learned?

As Simmons pondered, his thoughts slowly drifted. Given his current growth rate, learning such an unexpected attack method could well make him shine in future honor battles—it was incredibly suited for a Knight.

Watching Celestia's obedient and demure demeanor by Brother Li's side, Simmons' lips curled into a smile. Maybe he could become Brother Li's big brother-in-law someday. Heh, heh-heh. A few small requests from a big brother-in-law wouldn't be asking too much, right?

After using Spiritual Burst, dealing with these Fallen became much easier. They couldn't resist such an attack, and soon they were blown to pieces. The rest was for Li Xin to clean up. The two advanced quickly; Celestia had calmed down from her initial shock, having lost count of how many Fallen she had killed along the way. She was already numb. Her previous cautious approach felt like child's play—this was too intense.

His chest was particularly solid and gave a sense of safety.

No one knew how long they had been walking. Li Xin was incredibly fast. As long as the Fallen were not numerous, he didn't get entangled and practically charged straight through. Behind them, the mist followed, covering the road they had traveled.

What lay ahead was not a city but a weathered ancient castle. The outer area of the castle was only ruins, and the front gate was more than ten meters high, looking like it was made of brass. The marks on the gate had become blurred under wind and sand erosion.

Li Xin stopped and put Celestia down. This kind of castle was probably even more dangerous than outside. Bringing Celestia in would be a bit challenging, as he couldn't ensure her safety.

"Celestia, does your family have records about such places?" Li Xin pointed to the huge castle in front of them. The castle blocked their path, seeming possible to bypass, but Li Xin wasn't very certain.

Celestia tidied her hair, "Yes, the Holy Land often has such cities. We call them the Old Castles. Some are empty, while others are inhabited by even stronger Fallen. Here can be considered their territory, very strong. Although our family has not experienced it, it's said that some monsters possess the power of a Demigod."

Demigod?

This made Li Xin a bit hesitant. He wanted to explore but didn't intend to get himself killed.

"And if there's really a Demigod, the Gate of Truth might be destroyed," Celestia whispered, her big eyes turning, "However, I want to go in and take a look. Do you want to?"

Li Xin blinked in surprise, unable to restrain a laugh, "You really are brave."

"Not entirely, I trust more in your strength and my luck. Once, when I was traveling outside, I met a fortune teller from Lilong. He had a lame leg, claiming it was because he revealed heavenly secrets, giving the impression of a great power. He told my fortune, saying I have great luck in life, always turning danger into safety. At first, I didn't really believe it, but the recent events made me think he's quite impressive," Celestia laughed. "By the way, does Lilong have a fortune teller Secret Organization?"

Li Xin felt a slight toothache. How come this sounds so much like Old Fang, having such a wide range of business?

"Maybe, venturing into international business definitely requires some skill." Li Xin placed his hand on the door, which was very hot.

Thump~~ Thump~~

Whether it was an illusion or not, Li Xin seemed to hear a very slow heartbeat,

"Are you daring or not!" Perhaps after this way of slaughtering all around, Celestia was even braver than Li Xin.

Outside, Simmons was sweating heavily. He surely knew the dangers of such old castles. Family records stated that descendants must not enter until the Divine Relic reaches four stars.

Those who stir up trouble don't fear it getting bigger. Celestia directly ignored Simmons' warnings. Meeting a mysterious person like Brother Li was a rare opportunity. Generally, such powerful individuals were reluctant to encounter another person's Holy Land, fearing it would affect their journey. But Li Xin, capable of only accessing others' Holy Lands, was an exception. If it were her, she might never have the chance to enter such a castle in her lifetime.

At this moment, Li Xin had already made a decision with the dice.

"Brother Li, are we going in or not? If not, we'll have to take a detour. We can try skirting the edge of the castle, but if the mist blocks us, we'll have to turn back."

"Let's go in!" Li Xin placed both hands on the door, exerting force. His biceps bulged as the creaking sound accompanied the opening of a huge gap in the bronze door. Li Xin and Celestia entered.

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