Chapter 1229: Vortex

Chapter 1229: Vortex

“Choose? Save? Destroy? Is it really that serious? Are you saying I have to go in there?”

Lin Nuo was half-convinced. In such situations, stepping in usually meant falling into a trap, and it wasn’t uncommon for people to just disappear.

“But I have matters to attend to right now. Open the passage, and we’ll go in after.”

“Can’t wait. It’s either you go in now, or you can’t enter at all.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Lin Nuo began to channel his energy, no need for excessive chatter. If I have to go in at your word, then that’s just handing over my fate.

As an outstanding villain—ignoring the villain part, as an exceptional handsome guy—how could I be led around by you?

There must be other ways to enter, why do I need your passage?

This time, he learned well, targeting souls instead of bodies.

You’re acting like a riddle master? Let’s see what you’ve got.

He infused his spirit into the sword formation and initiated a soul burn, specially meant to incinerate the opponent’s spirit.

The sword formation glimmered with a faint blue light, beginning to burn the target’s soul.

“Cough… You still had this trick… Looks like there’s nothing more to discuss…”

The opponent said nothing further and forced their way out. A soul erupted from the body, but it wasn’t unharmed; this escape took a toll, and they’d need a long recovery afterward.

Leaving behind a civilian’s body, crumpled on the ground, with the white robe disappearing along with it.

Seems like it wasn’t a physical garment after all, it just swapped along.

Lin Nuo halted the sword formation and approached the collapsed body, slightly crouching down.

“No signs of life, it has indeed died.”

After observing, he stood up. Who was this? They had come around several times, still a bit tricky.

But after that wave of soul burning, they forcefully escaped—it would take time to recover, they might even spit blood.

He rummaged through the body but found nothing useful; the opponent had merely borrowed a body, without any intention to leave behind equipment.

Fine.

His gaze shifted towards Feng Hailin’s direction, a sense of unease creeping in.

Time to make a move.

“Sir Lin.”

Unbeknownst to him, Luo Xiaoxue had also arrived. She was quite alert, even late at night, sensing the commotion and coming over.

“Did I disturb your rest?”

“No, just felt a fluctuation of spirit energy and thought I should check it out.”

“Fluctuation of spirit energy? It seems the opponent deliberately lured you out.”

“Who is this person? I haven’t seen them before.”

Luo Xiaoxue approached the fallen civilian, completely unfamiliar with this scene.

“Just a puppet. Everyone you’ve encountered regarding the Sacred Realm isn’t the real deal. It’s more like a soul infiltrating a human body to act through it. Including your father.”

“Ah? Father? What happened to him?” Upon hearing this, Luo Xiaoxue became worried.

“It’s nothing. He is indeed dead. But the one you saw last time wasn’t your father’s soul but someone else—just arrived. They chose another body, and it happened to be this one. Who knows which grave it was dug from?”

“So, father… is…?”

“To put it simply, he is indeed gone, and the soul should be reincarnating.”

Lin Nuo didn’t mince words; as an empress, she should have some capacity to handle this, right? She can’t just cry and wail! Didn’t I endure when everyone turned against me?

“Uh…”

Luo Xiaoxue merely responded with an “uh” and said nothing more.

Fine then, you deal with your pain yourself. Don’t expect me to comfort you.

“So what about that person now?”

“The soul has already left, probably searching for a new body. However, I do have some new information; Feng Hailin likely has a Sacred Beast present, and not just one. Of course, there’s a trap waiting, and negotiations have broken down.”

“Oh… so what do we do now…?”

“Let’s go.”

“Aren’t there traps?”

“There are, but seeing is different from getting close. What could possibly happen if we don’t get too close?”

Lin Nuo said nonchalantly, then summoned his Spirit Sword, soaring beside him.

“Shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

Luo Xiaoxue cleverly mounted up, and then Lin Nuo flew by sword towards the sandy area.

…

“The sky is still dark, Sir Lin, I think we should—”

“Who knows what might happen by morning? A dark sky is not a big deal.”

With that, Lin Nuo pressed his forehead against Luo Xiaoxue’s, leaving her startled. Why did Sir Lin suddenly press his forehead against hers?

Is my forehead too hot? Will he dislike it?

A faint green light shimmered forth, granting Luo Xiaoxue enhanced night vision, making everything ahead much clearer.

“Sir Lin, what is this again?”

“Just a Spirit Technique that enhances night vision. When one is alone in the mountains, one must have some form of night vision, right? You’re not feeling uncomfortable, are you?”

“No.”

“Good. Of course, it’s still inferior to daytime vision. Just manage for now. I suspect bringing you might yield new discoveries; after all, your identity may resonate with certain things.”

“Sorry, I haven’t felt anything yet…”

“No worries, just consider it a stroll.”

Lin Nuo continued to soar on his sword, taking Luo Xiaoxue around, since they couldn’t sleep anyway—might as well turn a few circles and see if anything surprising came up.

“Hmm? Sir Lin…”

“What’s up?”

“I feel like there’s something over there…”

Luo Xiaoxue pointed to a spot where a small vortex was swirling, definitely less impressive than the one Lin Nuo had seen before.

“What is it?” Lin Nuo asked.

“I can’t quite say. Should we get closer? Of course, if you think it’s dangerous…”

“Then let’s get closer.”

Lin Nuo complied with Luo Xiaoxue’s suggestion, flying in closer, and soon noticed that in the center of the small vortex, something resembling a glowing orb was flickering. The light was dim, yet it felt stronger as they drew near.

Then Lin Nuo realized they were approaching the vortex without being assaulted by the wind and sand; even without a barrier to defend against it, they felt no effects.

Strange.

“Looks like there’s a barrier; we can’t get any closer.”

Lin Nuo discovered something was blocking their way, preventing them from approaching further.

However, Luo Xiaoxue reached out to touch it, and the barrier shattered.

“Uh… Seems it was set for you. Perhaps this time we’ll discover something.”

Lin Nuo, being bold, decided to keep approaching since the barrier broke, but he was cautious; if anything seemed off, they’d retreat quickly, hoping to uncover more.

However, as they got close enough, the tiny vortex suddenly expanded, directly swallowing them in.

“Ah! Sir Lin! What’s happening…?!”

Luo Xiaoxue clutched Lin Nuo’s hand tightly, completely at the mercy of the situation.