Chapter 571: Thick with Tension

"It seems this Water-Fire Secret Realm is about to stir up trouble." Lin Fan gazed into the distance, where auras surged and shot up into the clouds.

And not just in one place—it appeared that people were already clashing on all sides of the secret realm.

The Water-Fire Secret Realm, an unexplored domain, had clearly caught the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Such a treasure land, no matter how many riches it held, would still be too little to share among many, and it was fraught with danger. He would have to be cautious.

Then Lin Fan set off in the direction Red Cloud Fairy and the others had gone.

After Lin Fan left, the void rippled, and several men appeared on the spot. One of them frowned, his finger like a mountain, lightly hooking the void.

"The Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor has been slain. Who has the skill to do that?"

The man's expression shifted slightly, puzzled. The Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor's strength was not exceptional, but his cave-heaven mysteries were bizarre and hard to break.

"Brother Luo, the Water-Fire Secret Realm holds astonishing wealth. A character like the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor, greedy and insatiable, was bound to hit a wall and get killed."

Another man, with a cold, stern face and eyes that were one yin and one yang, had yin-yang energy swirling within them, as if capable of overturning heaven and earth and shifting myriad realms.

"The Water-Fire Great Emperor was a timeless powerhouse, with a lifetime of immense wealth. The most precious is the Water-Fire True Essence. If we obtain it, we can inherit his legacy. We cannot linger, lest others seize it."

A man holding a paper fan spoke. He appeared refined and gentle, but a constant, elusive killing intent emanated from him.

Yet the faint trace of killing intent that leaked out was enough to shake the soul and plunge one into endless slaughter.

"Scholar of Death, the three of us have agreed to travel together and let fate decide our fortunes. If anyone stabs another in the back, don't blame me for turning ruthless." Luo Yi said coldly.

"Naturally. Well, let's move on. This time, the Cloud Sect has sent quite a few elders, and they're strong—troublesome. We need to be careful." The man with the black-and-white eyes said with a faint smile.

...

At that moment, Lin Fan observed the situation in the Water-Fire Secret Realm. As he went deeper, he increasingly felt that the Water-Fire Great Emperor was no ordinary figure. The dimensional secret realm he had created was thick with spiritual energy, rivaling even the Ancient Saint Realm.

Especially the遍地 spirit herbs. Though some were of low grade, they were still useful to Lin Fan.

Flying along, he harvested the spirit herbs everywhere.

Others might overlook them, but to Lin Fan, a master alchemist, even the most unremarkable herb could be refined into a divine pill.

Just then, Lin Fan looked ahead. Red Cloud Fairy, Tianyun, and Mu Qing were all there, along with a group of people resting on the spot.

"Everyone, be careful. Someone's coming."

At that moment, one of the men sensed a fluctuation in the void. His expression changed, and he immediately went on alert.

He hadn't expected anyone to evade his detection until they arrived, when he felt the tremor in the void.

The Cloud Sect disciples' faces tightened, and their hearts pounded.

After entering, they had been separated from the elders. In this Water-Fire Secret Realm, they moved cautiously, afraid of encountering any strong opponents.

Red Cloud Fairy saw the newcomer and her face lit up with joy. She quickly stepped forward. "Everyone, don't panic. He's a friend of mine."

Hearing Red Cloud Fairy's words, the crowd breathed a sigh of relief.

Tianyun and Mu Qing were also pleased to see Lin Fan. For Tianyun, though this guy was close to Junior Sister Red Cloud, he was decent and not too annoying. Tianyun had held some grudge earlier, but now it was gone.

"Are you alright?" Red Cloud Fairy hadn't expected Lin Fan to arrive so quickly; she had only just gathered with her sect mates.

"Mm, I'm fine. The Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor was troublesome, but it's dealt with now." Lin Fan said, then looked around at the people present.

Their auras varied, and their races were diverse, but their strength was decent—some at the Divine Heaven rank, others at the Desolate Heaven rank.

However, if they encountered the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor, their cultivation might not be enough.

"The Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor is dead?" Red Cloud was startled, finding it hard to believe.

"Mm, I've already slain him. His methods were strange, but he followed a deviant path." Lin Fan said calmly. Though the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor was at the Cave Heaven realm, his strength wasn't great; what made him formidable was his ability to endlessly revive.

But once Lin Fan saw through that secret, the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor was nothing special.

Red Cloud Fairy was deeply shocked. The sect elders hadn't been able to kill the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor, yet Lin Fan had. His skill and strength were astonishing.

Lin Fan naturally couldn't compare to those Cloud Sect elders now; they simply hadn't seen through the secret of the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor's cave heaven. After killing him, they didn't know he could revive through the Black Heaven Bat King.

But that time had also left the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor severely injured.

The Black Heaven Bat Kings in his cave heaven were wiped out by the Cloud Sect elders, leaving only one to escape.

It took him several years to slowly recover.

"Red Cloud, who is this friend of yours?" Now that they were separated from the elders, the leader was a senior disciple of the Cloud Sect. Seeing Lin Fan, his eyes flickered with disdain.

"This is Lin Fan, a human prodigy. When I was being pursued by the Evil Alliance, he saved me. And when we encountered the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor, he opened a path for me and my senior siblings to escape first. When the Water-Fire Secret Realm opened, I invited him to come along." Red Cloud Fairy explained.

"Lin Fan, this is my senior brother, Fang Weifeng." Red Cloud Fairy introduced him.

"I've heard much about you." Since he was Red Cloud Fairy's fellow disciple, Lin Fan was polite and courteous.

Fang Weifeng glanced at Lin Fan, then turned his gaze to Red Cloud Fairy. "The Water-Fire Secret Realm is extremely important. How can you bring in someone of unknown background? Good and bad people can't be judged by appearances."

Lin Fan frowned, displeased. Is this guy out of his mind? I haven't offended him, yet he's full of hostility from the start.

"Senior Brother, Brother Lin saved our lives and even killed the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor. With him here, we have some security." Tianyun stepped forward to say.

"What big talk! With him here, we have security? Tianyun, you've grown wings and dare to disregard Senior Brother Fang." A disciple beside Fang Weifeng stepped forward to reprimand him.

"Senior Brother Wei Tian, that's not what I meant." Tianyun said.

"Enough! Even the elders couldn't kill the Ten-Thousand-Bat Old Ancestor. Does he have that ability? Who knows if he told you to leave first because he conspired with the old ancestor." Wei Tian said arrogantly.

"Senior Brother Wei, how can you slander someone like that?" Tianyun retorted.

"How dare you! No respect for your elders!" Wei Tian's face turned cold, and he struck out instantly.

Fang Weifeng stood there, his expression calm, with no intention of stopping him. Clearly, he was showing Lin Fan who was in charge.

Let him understand who the real leader was here.