Limitless Ascension: Strength Amid Adversity – Chapter 583

Ye Junlin squinted slightly, staring at the dog noses and ears of the pair of siblings before him. A thought popped into his mind, and he tentatively asked, “What tribe are you from?”

The boy didn’t dare to hide anything from this silver-haired youth, especially since even that old man showed him respect. “Um, Senior Gou, we come from… the Tengu Tribe!”

The Tengu Tribe?!

Ye Junlin and his crew were no strangers to this race. After all, Senior Gou was a member of the Tengu Tribe and once served as a guard for Empress Fuyao.

One bark from a dog could send chills down the spines of many Immortal Emperors!

And back in the day, the Tengu Tribe surely held a high status, rivaling the Imperial Clans to some extent, basking in glory.

After all, a guard who could become a Saint represented the face of the Saints. Who would dare mess with them? Feeling brave enough?

But now…

The once-glorious Tengu Tribe had fallen from their pedestal to the dust, becoming the most unfortunate among all demon clans.

Their people were displaced, without a fixed home, always at risk of being captured as food, living in fear and anxiety every single day.

If Senior Gou knew about the current state of the Tengu Tribe, I wonder what he would feel…

“Master, they are Senior Gou’s kin,” the Great Mushroom King said softly.

Ye Junlin nodded.

He remembered when he ascended to the Immortal Realm; Senior Gou had asked him to look after the Tengu Tribe if he came across them and even gave him a golden dog token as a sign.

Thinking of this, Ye Junlin produced a shiny golden token from his hand, emblazoned with a dog head symbol that somehow looked comical.

“Do you recognize this?”

When he held up the dog head token, the siblings’ eyes went wide, as if they’d lost their souls.

“Brother, this looks so much like the one the tribe leader has!” the girl exclaimed in surprise.

“Very similar yet different; the tribe leader’s is silver, and I’ve never seen a golden one before, but the patterns and designs are definitely consistent…”

The boy’s heart stirred like a tempest, vaguely recalling a rumor in the tribe, yet he couldn’t be sure.

Because this rumor was from a long, long time ago, so long that even the tribe leader wasn’t certain it was true. Many tribe members just treated it as a legend to entertain children.

At this moment, seeing the golden dog token in Ye Junlin’s hand made the boy think of that ancient rumor again, his heart racing with excitement, yet fearful it was all a vain wish.

Ye Junlin caught a glimmer of something different in the boy’s eyes; he could tell the kid had recognized something but was too unsure.

Could it be that the token given by Old Gou held significant meaning for the Tengu Tribe today?

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you’ve triggered a sign-in task: Go to the current residence of the Tengu Tribe to complete the sign-in and receive a Supreme Immortal Technique (can be upgraded): Upright Without a Trace!]

Suddenly, a system prompt echoed in his mind.

“Hmm? Another opportunity?”

Ye Junlin raised an eyebrow, checking out the skill introduction.

Upright Without a Trace allowed the user to enter a phasing state, wherein they weren’t hit by any force, essentially rendering them intangible. The current phasing time was two seconds, with no clear upper limit for further extensions!

Seeing this,

Ye Junlin was stunned.

This skill was amazing! It made him intangible, allowing him to avoid all damage during that time!

While it was only two seconds right now, the battlefield is ever-changing; a split second can determine life or death—let alone two!

Plus, if confronted with something like the Immortal Destroying Symbol, two seconds of phasing would be enough to avoid most of the damage!

“Hey, System, this is great! I like it,” Ye Junlin praised.

[Ding! Glad the host is satisfied!]

The system responded.

Once he adjusted his emotions, Ye Junlin coughed a few times and said seriously,

“I’ll be direct with you. A senior from your tribe is quite familiar with me and once asked me to look after you. If you trust me, lead me to your place, and I can help you through this tough patch—at least you won’t have to live like this anymore.”

Ye Junlin figured that by helping the Tengu Tribe, he could also snag himself a sign-in reward.

This was a win-win situation; why not take advantage of it?

“Brother, we…” The girl tugged at her brother’s sleeve, looking a bit troubled.

The Tengu Tribe’s location was always kept confidential to avoid being tracked down by outside cultivators.

Now, with Ye Junlin being so direct, the girl didn’t know what to do, fearing it might be a bigger trap.

Because quite some time ago, there was a similar incident—one tribe member was rescued by a group of cultivators. That tribe member was incredibly grateful and slowly let down all their guard, leading those cultivators to the tribe’s residence.

However, this act nearly led to their annihilation!

That group of cultivators accepted the Tengu Tribe’s warm hospitality while secretly sending signals to their backing forces.

Soon enough, a large army of human cultivators swept in with the intent to take out the Tengu Tribe.

In that critical moment, several clan elders stepped up, leading their people in a fierce battle, ultimately resorting to self-detonation to create a path for their fleeing compatriots, preserving the tribe’s legacy.

Although they passed that crisis, the costs were severe, and their overall strength significantly diminished.

Learning from that painful lesson, a strict rule emerged within the tribe:

Due to any occurrence, tribe members must never reveal their location to outsiders.

Even if it meant death!

The elders conveyed to the younger generations that they must not be swayed by the sweet words of outside cultivators who might seem sincere and invite them to their homes.

Now, the Tengu Tribe had no trustworthy allies; they could only depend on themselves and their kin!

Because of this, the girl found herself in a dilemma.

She didn’t believe these people would deceive her, especially since they had just saved her. Yet she couldn’t shake the fear of endangering their clan, which made her conflicted.

The boy’s expression changed constantly; he knew how crucial this matter was and how it could even alter the fate of their entire tribe.

Based on the dog head token in Ye Junlin’s hand and the ancient rumor he recalled, he decided to trust his instincts and take a gamble.

“Alright, I’ll take you there!”

The boy held his fist tightly, his eyes filled with determination.

He believed in his judgment.

Seeing this, Ye Junlin smiled and admired him, saying, “Kid, you just made the best choice of your life.”

“By the way, I still don’t know your names.”

“In response, Senior Gou, my name is Gou Ziqing, and my sister’s name is Gou Qianyi.”

Gou Ziqing replied honestly.

Just like Ye Junlin said, years later, when the elderly Gou Ziqing recounted this event to his children, he would feel an immense sense of gratitude and pride…