Dozens of silhouettes flickered in the forest. They were also looking around cautiously as they proceeded. Occasionally, they could see corpses of demonic beasts and cultivators on the ground.

The path towards the Imperial Sword Herb was bound to be one that was covered in bones. Lin Yan followed behind Lin Qiushan and she would look behind occasionally with a complicated gaze. But she couldn’t even see Lin Yun’s silhouette due to the thick mist.

There were too many alliance-unions that were slowed down by demonic beasts, so battles could be heard everywhere. A brief moment later, Lin Yan asked with her teeth gnashed, “Big Sister, will Zhong Yunxiao be alright?”

Even though she was unable to differentiate good from bad, she still had an uneasy feeling. It was Lin Yun who saved her from Xiao Feng when she ran her mouth earlier. Without Lin Yun, she would have no idea what would have happened to her, not to mention that Lin Yun also saved her from the Black Fiendape.

In the end, Lin Yun even went as far as facing two sixth stage demonic beasts by himself. Along the way, Lin Qiushan and her party could see many alliance-unions being held up by demonic beasts. If it wasn’t for Lin Yun, they knew that they would be in the same situation, they might even suffer casualties. It was all thanks to Lin Yun that they could get so close to Swordlake.

Lin Qiushan locked her brows together as concern flickering through her eyes. Shortly after, she shook her head, “Zhong Yunxiao might seem arrogant, but he’s not someone who will do something he’s not confident in. Since he’s made his move, he must have the confidence to handle the two demonic beasts Furthermore, he could easily escape with the Seven Profound Steps even if he can’t fight those two demonic beasts.”

However, Lin Qiushan still looked at the rear, hoping that Lin Yun could come back faster. As they approached the Swordlake, they could feel that the intensity of the battle had risen to a whole new level. She could even sense powerful aura, many of which belonged to the top thirty on the Mortal Ranking.

It looked like they had been naive. They initially thought that they could contest for the Imperial Sword Herb with three alliance-unions joining together, but it was too tough. If they didn’t have Lin Yun on their team, they probably would have issues getting this close to Swordlake.

“I feel that Brother Zhong must have a trump card. After all, he even took the initiative to lure the Blackblood Fiendtiger over,” said Gu Beixuan.

Chen Ling was the least worried. He looked at Lin Yan and smiled, “Don’t worry about it, Junior Sister Lin. In my view, the two demonic beasts’ Swordcloud Cores must’ve attracted his attention, so he must be chasing us away on purpose.”

“What are you saying!” Lin Yan locked her brows together. She didn’t like what she heard, so she spoke with a straight face, “Why are you so bad? He lured two sixth stage demonic beasts away, so how did it turn into him being selfish in your eyes? Why don’t you go and try to stop the two demonic beasts by yourself? I don’t believe that Zhong Yunxiao is that sort of person!”

Chen Ling’s face also became unsightly and a bitter smile appeared on his face. He only said that because he saw how worried she was. Furthermore, wasn’t she talking bad about Zhong Yunxiao along the way? Why did she change her personality all of a sudden?

However, he didn’t dare to be so bold. He smiled awkwardly, “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m only...hmm?”

Chen Ling suddenly exclaimed when he turned around. He saw a familiar masked person with a powerful aura shuttling through the poisonous mist. Lin Qiushan and everyone else stopped as shock filled their eyes because it was Zhong Yunxiao!

“How long has it been? He caught up to us so quickly…” exclaimed Chen Ling.

“What speed!” exclaimed Gu Beixuan.

When Lin Yun landed on the ground, Lin Qiushan asked, “You lured the demonic beasts away?”

After all, it sounded impossible to her that Lin Yun killed the two demonic beasts so quickly. But even so, everyone was shocked because those were two sixth stage demonic beasts that they were talking about. No one was confident in luring those two demonic beasts by themselves.

Looking at the shock on everyone’s faces, Lin Yun smiled, “Yeah. We don’t have to be concerned with those two demonic beasts anymore.”

“Zhong Yunxiao, I’m sorry for my behavior on the way here,” whispered Lin Yan just as the group was about to move forward. She said that with some uneasiness, but she raised her head to look at Lin Yun calmly.

This scene had shocked Lin Qiushan. She knew her younger sister the best. Her younger sister was harsh with her words and arrogant. God knows how many people her younger sister had offended. This was the result of their father and grandfather pampering Lin Yan like a treasure since she was young.

She had never seen her younger sister apologize for her mistakes. Yet she actually apologized to an outsider? This was rare.

Lin Yun might not have a wide breadth of mind, but he wouldn’t slap anyone who was polite to him. He replied, “It‘s fine. There’s a reason why I’m wearing my mask and I wouldn’t have reacted if you didn’t try to remove my mask.”

“A reason? Can it be that you’re Lin Yun? You’re both carrying a sword box.” Lin Yan returned to her playful personality after she apologized. Even a hint of slyness flickering through her eyes.

“You can put it that way, Junior Sister Lin. Look, I’m also carrying a sword box!” smiled Chen Ling.

“You?” Lin Yan rolled her eyes. “Forget about it. Let’s return to this topic when you can deal with two sixth stage demonic beasts by yourself.”

Her words left Chen Ling speechless. Lin Yan was really someone who remembered grudges.

Right at this moment, Lin Qiushan smiled, “Brother Zhong, please don’t be bothered by her. My sister is just playing a joke. She had some conflicts with Zhang Lie previously, so she reveres Lin Yun.”

Why will I be bothered when I’m Lin Yun?

 Lin Yun smiled bitterly. He then replied, “Understandable.”

“The Gentlemen Union is hunting Lin Yun right now, and the top ten on the Mortal Ranking will besiege him immediately if he appears. I bet he must be hiding somewhere waiting to enter the Sword Tomb,” said Gu Beixuan.

Lin Yun didn’t continue that topic and looked at the Swordlake, “There are quite a lot of people here…”

He could sense many powerful aura in the surrounding, and there were many who weren’t any weaker than Xiao Feng. Lin Qiushan had a wisp of solemness on her face. She spoke out, “Brother Zhong, look over there!”

Lin Yun followed the direction Lin Qiushan looked at and saw a group of people looking at the brilliant ray. The one leading was a robust youth wearing a violet robe.

“That’s the Violetcloud Alliance and the one leading them is Nie Tian. He’s ranked twenty-third and he reached the fifth stage half a year ago.”

Lin Yun nodded his head. He had some impression of this name, but he wasn’t too familiar with him.

“The one in the northwest is Han Feng, who is ranked twenty-sixth. He’s also a tough nut,” explained Lin Qiushan. She then turned to look at the southwest with a grave expression, “He’s the Asura Alliance’s Gu Feiyun, ranked nineteenth. He should be the strongest around here. It’s fortunate that he’s alone.”

“The Asura Alliance only has four people participating in the Alliance-Union Battle, but all four of them have a huge appetite. The four went to different Imperial Sword Herb locations,” said Gu Beixuan.

While they were chatting, Gu Feiyun directed his gaze over. His sharp gaze made everyone’s heart tense up. There were about thirty people here and none of them could hold their footing before his gaze. However, Gu Feiyun merely looked through all of them. 

Lin Qiushan spoke out, “They’re only the ones I recognized. There are also many people hidden in the crowd.”

It was the calm before the storm. A huge battle would ensue if a fight broke out. It really wouldn’t be easy for anyone to obtain the Imperial Sword Herb. Lin Qiushan turned to look at the center of the lake and she spoke out, “I heard that tricolored auspicious signs will descend upon the birth of the Imperial Sword Herb. So even if we can’t get the Imperial Sword Herb, the auspicious signs will be a decent harvest.”

Lin Yun also directed his gaze at the center of the lake with his brows knitted. The sword intent emitting from the center of the lake was powerful.

“Brother Zhong, look there!” Lin Yan pointed in a direction.

When Lin Yun turned, he saw Xiao Feng and Wei Songhan approaching. They were drenched in blood and everyone could tell that their journey hadn’t been smooth. The two were looking at Lin Yun with a cold gleam flickering in their eyes.

“Just ignore them.” Lin Yun sneered. He couldn’t be bothered with them, but they couldn’t blame him if they decided to court death. The radiating sword intent rippled from the center of the lake and more disciples began to arrive. The atmosphere also became more intense. They were waiting for the auspicious signs to descend before they started the battle.

Time gradually passed and the poisonous mist disappeared completely. Without any signs, the island at the center of the lake began to tremor. Everyone’s face changed because they could sense the surging spiritual energy on the island along with the rippling sword intent.

It felt like a treasured sword was about to be unsheathed and everyone’s weapons began to tremble. Even the Flower Burial Sword in the sword box was trembling as sword intent leaked out.

“Is the Imperial Sword Herb about to be born?” Everyone held their breath waiting for that moment. Suddenly, a sword buzz rang from the island along with tricolored auspicious signs that descended from the heavens like snow.