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Patriarch Xue Pao was now observing the cult leader carefully to see if he could suppress his emotions.
Truth be told, he hadn't expected such an outcome at all. To think that a mere mortal like Lin Jin had the ability to kill not only half immortals but also profound immortals.
Lin Jin must have borrowed the Heaven's Foundation Stone's powers to achieve this feat.
And this made Patriarch Xue Pao envious. Yet, he also knew he shouldn't be too anxious as robbing Lin Jin's Heaven's Foundation Stone required careful planning.
This time, they had underestimated the enemy. As they hadn't expected Lin Jin to be so powerful, they ended up suffering a huge loss.
The thought of the losses incurred made even Patriarch Xue Pao's heart bleed. Eight immortals in total! Such individuals were precious in this era, and yet, they were wiped out in just a few days.
Also, upon a more detailed calculation, the Beast Deity Cult actually lost more than that.
Their cult's branch had actually given them control over the entire Grassy Continent, but after this incident, said branch might continue to face oppression from Lin Jin. They might even be uprooted, and when that happens, the Beast Deity Cult would lose influence in the Grassy Continent.
That was only one aspect of things.
The Beast Deity Cult also suffered huge losses in terms of mortal expert manpower.
Many of their priests had died and most of their followers were gone. The remaining ones probably wouldn't live on much longer.
This was reality.
Without knowing why, their initially great circumstance ended up being so devastating.
For this reason, Patriarch Xue Pao was now wary of the Beast Deity Cult's leader.
Being a profound immortal of extensive knowledge and intelligence, the cult leader was sure to realize that it was Patriarch Xue Pao's faulty plan that was responsible for all this.
The biggest flaw in his plot was the incorrect estimation of Lin Jin's strength.
Lin Jin was definitely the biggest eyesore the cult leader wanted to remove, but Patriarch Xue Pao had responsibilities to bear too.
The cult leader's expression changed several times in between. After gritting his teeth a few times, he finally took a deep breath and said, "Patriarch Xue Pao, you're also responsible for the losses my Beast Deity Cult has suffered because you underestimated Lin Jin's capabilities. However, now that all is said and done, I don't wish to pursue the matter. You will be my vice leader from now on. Since the enemy has escaped the black clouds, we cannot pursue him. We will retreat for now. Revenge need not be executed today. Once I've achieved a new breakthrough in refining Hell's Cage, that day will be the last day Lin Jin lives."
The cult leader actually calmed down.
Patriarch Xue Pao felt fortunate.
He had naturally hoped to continue relying on the Beast Deity Cult's strength. After all, the cult leader was still a profound immortal and he would be useful someday.
Also, Patriarch Xue Pao was sure that the cult leader had other schemes just like he did. The man was only agreeing to cooperate on the surface while keeping his suspicions of Patriarch Xue Pao.
Patriarch Xue Pao guessed it right. The cult leader surely had such thoughts. With how things had turned out, he even wanted to choke Patriarch Xue Pao to death right now because it was his faulty scheme that caused the death of all his subordinates. However, he had a feeling that Patriarch Xue Pao had been honest with him about one thing.
That Lin Jin genuinely possessed a sacred stone.
His reason for believing so was simple. Lin Jin was only a mortal and yet, he had killed half immortals so easily like he was chopping vegetables. Even their former vice leader had been no match for Lin Jin.
None of this made sense.
And things that didn't make sense must have a reason behind their occurence. In the cult leader's opinion, this 'reason' stemmed from the sacred stone in Lin Jin's possession.
That was the only plausible explanation.
In a sense, the cult leader knew he couldn't blame Patriarch Xue Pao entirely because even he didn't expect that a mortal could kill a profound immortal.
He too shared the responsibility of making this mistake.
Their subsequent actions had to be carefully planned out. They shouldn't repeat their mistakes from before, and if they were to attack, it had to be a lethal move. The cult leader was confident in their strength, but the only thing restricting him were the black clouds.
He could only work inside the black clouds so if the enemy was outside, he couldn't do anything. He now had to focus on further refining Hell's Cage so he could improve its level. By then, he could even use it to cover half of the mainlands.
When that happens, killing Lin Jin would be much easier.
Now, they were to make a strategic retreat.
On the outside, Lin Jin was briefly stunned as he watched the black clouds dissipate. In his opinion, after suffering such a huge loss, the Beast Deity Cult and Patriarch Xue Pao wouldn't just give up without a fight. They would surely come after him. Lin Jin even imagined the whole thing and was ready to welcome them with a battle.
And yet, they escaped.
So decisively without an ounce of hesitation.
This made Lin Jin vigilant instead. As the enemy could afford to retreat, this surely wasn't the last of them. They would certainly return for revenge someday.
Lin Jin gave it some thought and figured it was for the best.
He wasn't exactly confident in fighting two profound immortals at once after all. He was also sure that the black clouds' area of effect had a certain limitation. If one day, the black clouds could stretch its coverage up to five or ten folds, Lin Jin wouldn't be able to escape the enemy's pursuit then.
"We'll fight another day then!"
Looking down at Daluo Temple, Lin Jin quickly had the Four Ocean Gourd retrieve its water. Since the enemy had removed the black barrier, this amount of water would surely cause an unprecedented flood around the area. After all, there was enough here to fill an entire inland sea. 𝐟𝐫𝗲𝙚ｗ𝚎𝐛𝚗o𝙫𝘦l - 🅽🅽novel
Gathering and draining water was also one of the Four Ocean Gourd's abilities.
When the water was gone, Daluo Temple came back into view. Lin Jin looked down at the temple that was now rid of the aura of blood and death. When he poured the water earlier, Lin Jin had been careful to protect the temple's environment so the trees and plants didn't get washed away. After every drop of water was gone, Daluo Temple looked exactly as it had been before.
Only, the temple no longer had vegetarian monks who chanted mantras and did kind deeds anymore.
Lin Jin looked forlorn again.
The Beast Deity Cult had indeed suffered, but couldn't they say the same?
Lin Jin had been good friends with Daluo Temple's abbot and rectors. Now that the Beast Deity Cult and Patriarch Xue Pao had slaughtered them all, leaving no one left to avenge them, Lin Jin had to take revenge on their behalf.
Just then, a few people rushed up the mountain. Lin Jin turned to them and was stunned.
These people were all young monks and Lin Jin recognized their leader, Zhi Nian.
Back then, they only got acquainted after a minor conflict. The monk may be young, but he had strong mana. He also abhorred sin and had great morals. Lin Jin thought Zhi Nian had died inside Daluo Temple too so he was surprised that they survived.
"Appraiser Lin!"
With a pained expression, Zhi Nian went over and knelt before Lin Jin.
This had been an impossible sight in the past. The young monks with Zhi Nian knelt down as well and Lin Jin hurried over to help them up.
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