562 Encounter

An Lin tried his best to maintain the fragile relationships between his teammates as he continued to lead them forward. He didn't feel impatient or annoyed.

As for how An Lin felt, even he himself couldn't describe it.

He simply thought that his teammates were all pitiful and deserving of affection and support.

Was this a feeling of boundless compassion and mercy? Or was it a feeling of sympathy? Or was it some other feeling altogether?

At any rate, this was an extremely mysterious feeling. It was so mysterious that even he himself was confused by it.

"Waah… Giant An Lin, I'm so useless. After seeing that monster, I actually needed to rely on your protection! I didn't contribute anything… It's all my fault…" Tina scolded herself in remorse while wiping tears from her eyes.

An Lin poked Tina's delicate face lightly and consoled her by saying, "It's fine, this is all due to the effects of this mystic realm. I won't blame you."

"Giant An Lin, you're such a good person…" Even though she was in a state of self-abasement, she still felt a burst of warmth course through her body as she gazed up at An Lin's pleasant and refreshing smile.

…

After crossing the vast expanse of golden land, what appeared before them was a mountain range composed of crystals of various colors.

Some of the crystals glowed with strange and exotic colors that mingled and intertwined with the soft radiance of the starry night. This resulted in a spectacle that was breathtakingly beautiful.

A gentle burst of cool air washed over An Lin's body as he made his way through the crystalline mountain range. A rich amount of vital energy flowed through the air.

They continued walking forward while keeping an eye out for any peculiar energy fluctuations or strange lands.

Suddenly, an earth-shaking explosion shattered the silence.

An Lin stood up on his brick and peered into the distance. There were blinding flashes of blue light on a stretch of land far, far away from them.

"There are people battling?" An Lin was slightly surprised.

Where there were battles, there was the potential of there being something worth fighting over…

He was definitely going to stick his nose in this matter!

An Lin didn't hesitate. Bringing the others along with him, he steered his black brick toward the location of the skirmish.

As they drew closer and closer, they were finally able to make out the battling figures.

One of them was a humanoid creature with a dragon head and four arms. It was covered in white scales and had a golden wheel on its back. It was currently brandishing four swords and chasing after three snow maidens.

One of the snow maidens appeared especially pitiable. Tears were streaming down her face, and it was evident that she had been beaten to the point of tears.

An Lin harbored a feeling of resentment toward snow maidens, so he felt extremely satisfied seeing them being pursued and bullied by a monster. He couldn't help but stand aside while enjoying their misfortune.

Upon seeing the monster, Xiao Ze's expression changed slightly, and he said, "That dragon-headed creature is called a Long Shang. It's a type of abomination that exists within our Dragon Tribe. They're naturally violent, and their strengths and natural talents are also comparable with that of pure-blooded Dragon Tribe members. In fact, their cultivation speed even exceeds that of pure-blooded Dragon Tribe members!"

An Lin was astonished upon hearing this. "It's an intelligent life form? Isn't it the local boss for this section of the map? I thought that it was the local boss formed by some type of crystal…"

Xiao Ze scratched his head. "Indeed, Long Shangs love collecting Realm Essence Crystals. Look, isn't there a dozen Realm Essence Crystals sitting right over there?"

He pointed his finger at some location, and the others all looked toward where he was pointing at. They discovered that there were indeed around a dozen Realm Essence Crystals on the ground. There was a golden Realm Essence Crystal, a red Realm Essence Crystal, three blue Realm Essence Crystals, and the rest were all green Realm Essence Crystals.

These crystals were shrouded in a peculiar curtain of light, which hid their energy fluctuations.

"Now that the Long Shang is battling with the snow maidens, we should seize the opportunity and snatch the Realm Essence Crystals! Let's go!" An Lin's eyes were gleaming brightly as he urged his teammates to act.

And then…

He was met with a short period of deafening silence.

"Master, something about this place feels fishy," Xiao Ze said with a grave expression. "I'm afraid that there's a great situation of life and death waiting for us to fall prey to. Let's wait for a bit longer…"

"Wait for what? Hurry up and escape! Heaven's execution is about to fall upon us!" Xue Zhantian shivered as he exclaimed in fright.

An Lin: "…"

"Whoever helps me snatch all the Realm Essence Crystals over there, I'll reward them with two milliliters of holy blood!"

Cassidy, Merlin, and Tobias shuddered upon hearing this. Their hearts trembled in excitement, and a feeling of fervor and thirst surged through their bodies.

Tobias pulled his gaze away from the starry night sky. "Sorry, Lucy, I'll be away for just a short moment. I'll come back to you after I obtain the holy blood."

Cassidy and Merlin also stopped fiddling about. They summoned their weapons in silence and abruptly lunged toward the Realm Essence Crystals!

Meanwhile, the three snow maidens who were battling with the Long Shang also detected An Lin and the others.

Su Jingxiang knitted her pretty brows. She drew out nine Silver Frost Needles and hastily launched them toward the Long Shang. These needles formed a spell formation that froze the air within a radius of ten thousand feet, and this spell formation succeeded in slowing the Long Shang down.

Then, she turned around and said in a panic, "It's An Lin and his team! Let's retreat! If we loiter around any longer, we won't be able to escape!"

Tears were streaming down Rou Gu's face as she cried, "Such terrifying auras! Are all of those supreme beings his servants? It appears as though I underestimated him before… However, it's so vexing to see those Real Essence Crystals get taken away from our grasp…"

"Why should we flee? We'll f*cking fight them! If worse comes to worst, we'll simply die for the honor and glory of the Holy Glacial Lands!" Yan Hua's eyes were wide with anger as she roared.

Su Jingxiang: "What has this got to do with the honor and glory of the Holy Glacial Lands?"

However, the votes came out two to one, with the snow maidens choosing to stay and fight…

"If we fail to snatch the Real Essence Crystals, I hope that you two can immediately activate mystic techniques to escape this place," Su Jingxiang said to the two Palace Leaders next to her as she struggled to contain the Long Shang within her spell formation.

Rou Gu and Yan Hua transformed into two streaks of blue light as they hurtled toward the nearby Realm Essence Crystals.

At the same time, three streaks of red light shot toward the Realm Essence Crystals from another direction.

"F*ck off, these crystals are ours!" Yan Hua snarled. She waved her arms, and a devastating blizzard instantly covered an area within a radius of five kilometers. The howling winds were like sabers, and the falling snow was like swords. The surrounding air was instantly congealed and frozen.

The three Blood Tribe members faltered slightly as they became caught up in the violent blizzard. Sheets of snow cut toward them, and each flake of snow seemed to possess a spatial-splitting ability unique to Return to Void Stage cultivators.

Cassidy drew her slender finger through the air, and a blood-colored blade sliced through the void and ripped the blizzard apart. "Hahaha… Such pathetic abilities! You want to stop me with such a weak spell technique? Ahahahaha!"

Cassidy was a Return to Void Intermediate Stage cultivator who specialized in slaughter, and Yan Hua was only at the Return to Void Initial Stage. The difference in their power was immediately evident.

However, superior strength didn't always guarantee that one would succeed.

For example, Rou Gu had transformed into a sword right now, and she was whizzing through the void. In the blink of an eye, she had already arrived before the Realm Essence Crystals. Moreover, she had already cleaved apart the strange curtain of light that shrouded them.

"So what if you guys have the advantage in numbers? In this rapidly changing battle environment, anything is possible. For example, now. These Realm Essence Crystals are all mine!"

Rou Gu was crying and laughing as she spoke, and she extended her slender hands toward the Realm Essence Crystals. She made a grabbing motion, and the dozen or so crystals flew into the air.