Chapter 1118
Chapter 1118: The Mystery of the “East” Ring
Why would the cowardly Lan Xiaoni have the courage to save him?
If he answered that this was the power of love, either one or both of An Lin and Lan Xiaoni were going to die.
Of course, An Lin didn’t actually think it was love. It was more so a sense of reliance and reverence.
He couldn’t say that either as that would still be quite dangerous.
An Lin replied with a tranquil expression, “I saved her life in the tomb, and she is someone who is determined to repay her favors. Hence, she didn’t even think about the situation when she decided to risk her life to save me!”
This was a perfect answer!
It explained Lan Xiaoni’s motive and gave her the image of a good woman who repaid her benefactors.
If it wasn’t for what Lan Xiaoni had said about recovering the spear, he would almost even believe it himself.
This was the only explanation An Lin could provide.
And perhaps the only thing he could do for her was to protect her as her boss and be someone she could rely on.
Xu Xiaolan found this to be a valid explanation, and she gave An Lin a few hearty slaps on the back before warning him not to become a promiscuous man. The crisis was averted.
Lan Xiaoni soon met most of the members of the Four Nine Immortal Sect.
An Lin was thinking that since her cover had been blown, he might as well let her meet Bai Yao and Xiao Chou straightaway to settle their differences.
He immediately acted without delay.
An Lin led Lan Xiaoni to where Xiao Chou and Bai Yao were.
The newlyweds were given a huge fright at the sight of Lan Xiaoni, thinking that she was here to crash their wedding again!
Lan Xiaoni then pulled out a large pile of Spirit Fish Clan treasures as an apology gift.
The atmosphere instantly transformed into a joyous and harmonious one.
Lan Xiaoni offered a genuine apology, which Xiao Chou and Bai Yao accepted with ease.
Both sides soon settled their differences and became friends.
After her meeting with the newlywed couple, Lan Xiaoni felt extremely carefree, and a joyful smile blossomed on her face.
“Big Boss An Lin, everyone in the Four Nine Immortal Sect is so nice. I love this place!” These were Lan Xiaoni’s true thoughts. She had been treated with more kindness here than she had ever dared to imagine.
This had changed her outlook on the cruel and harsh cultivating world.
At the very least, this was a place of kindness and harmony.
“You can come here more often if you like. This is your second home,” An Lin said with a smile.
“I will!” Lan Xiaoni was extremely elated as she walked on ahead.
She was still wearing her black robe, which was an immortal tool given to her by her father. No one should be able to detect her presence unless she wanted them to.
Hmm? Come to think of it, how was Ye Ling able to discover her existence?
Lan Xiaoni was confused for a short moment.
However, she didn’t think too much about it.
The wedding was about to begin.
Tens of thousands of representatives from all over the world gathered to celebrate this glorious moment.
There were many familiar faces among them.
This included the Vermilion Bird Sect representatives, which consisted of Zhu Xuze, Yang Yuan, Lan Yan, Mo Hai, and a few others.
“Hi! Sect Leader An Lin, over here!”
Lan Yan was wearing a purple dress today, and she waved at An Lin excitedly.
An Lin made his way toward them.
Lan Yan asked with a vibrant smile, “I want to interview you about your thoughts on Xiao Chou’s marriage. Is your agreement of a hundred years going to be curtailed in the aftermath of this wedding?”
An Lin replied with a dark expression, “I have no thoughts to offer! As for the agreement of a hundred years, you’re her best friend! Why don’t you help me out?”
“What kind of man are you if you can’t even do something like this by yourself?”
Lan Yan stuck her tongue out, and she clearly couldn’t be bothered to help him.
The light in Lan Xiaoni’s eyes faded slightly upon hearing this exchange.
An Lin wasn’t expecting Lan Yan to help anyway, and he quickly moved on and asked about how the Vermilion Bird Sect was going.
Come to think of it, he was supposed to be an honorary elder of the Vermilion Bird Sect, so of course he had to inquire about the Vermilion Bird Sect from time to time!
After a short while, An Lin turned to another man. “Mr. Yang Yuan, I have something that I want to speak to you about in private.”
“What did you want to speak to me about, Mr. An Lin?”
Yang Yuan and An Lin found a place where they could talk in private.
An Lin pointed at the ring on Yang Yuan’s finger before speaking in a low voice, “Have you triggered the power in your ring yet?”
Yang Yuan was the one who had obtained the four rings from the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds in the first place. Each of these four rings had one of the characters of East, South, West, or North engraved on them in the Ancient Man language, and those who wore the rings had a certain probability of summoning the power of one of the powerful deceased beasts of the Ancient Man Tribe.
In order to express his gratitude for saving his life, Yang Yuan gave away all of the rings with the exception of the “West” ring.
An Lin had received the “East” ring, Mo Hai received the “South” ring, and Shangguan Yi received the “North” ring.
An Lin had initially thought that his ring only contained the intent of a powerful Dragon Tribe cultivator, but the power of the black dragon within his ring had far exceeded his expectations…
Just the projection of its power was able to severely wound a Return to Void Final Stage mighty figure with a single exhalation, and it was even able to swallow a divine tool! Just how powerful would this black dragon had been during its lifetime?
These rings were definitely much more extraordinary than they had initially thought!
However, Yang Yuan’s answer made An Lin a little disappointed.
“Ever since I progressed to the Return to Void Stage, I’ve been fortifying my cultivation base this entire time, and I’ve never triggered the power within the ring. Why do you ask, Mr. An Lin?”
An Lin recounted the bizarre situation surrounding his ring for Yang Yuan.
Yang Yuan was completely dumbstruck upon hearing this!
“Are these rings really that bad*ss?” Yang Yuan was astonished.
An Lin was also astonished. “You really didn’t know?”
Yang Yuan: “…”
An Lin: “…”
A peculiar silence ensued.
Yang Yuan finally broke the silence after a long while. “Mr. An Lin, I found these four rings in an underground palace within the Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds. You might not believe me when I say this, but among the monsters guarding the four rings, even the most powerful ones were only at the Soul Formation Stage…”
An Lin: “…”
Yang Yuan continued, “The underground palace I had stumbled upon was extremely dilapidated, and there were Ancient Man Beast skeletons scattered on the ground that exuded extremely formidable energy fluctuations. They must have been extraordinarily powerful creatures during their lifetimes, and it was exactly because of this that I deemed these rings to be extraordinary by extension.
“The four rings were silently floating in mid-air at the center of the underground palace.
“I took them with me and encountered no resistance. Everything went very smoothly… and that’s the end of the story.”
Yang Yuan looked down with a slightly fearful expression at his ring as he spoke.
“Mr. An Lin, you say that when the being within the ring unleashes an attack, it will suck away your energy without any regard for your safety. If that’s the case, then what if the owner of the ring doesn’t have enough energy? Will they die?”
This was a very serious question.
An Lin was unable to answer this question…
He genuinely felt like he had come within a hair’s breadth of dying when the black dragon last appeared!
“The Vermilion Bird Trial Grounds was where the holy beast vermilion bird was held captive. That underground palace… Could it have been where the four legendary holy beasts once dwelled?!” An Lin speculated.
Yang Yuan was given a fright by this speculation.
“How is that possible? Are you saying that the four legendary holy beasts left these four rings behind?”
“Is there any other explanation?” An Lin splayed open his hands.
Yang Yuan was still unconvinced. “If that really is the case, then the dragon within your ring should be the holy beast azure dragon. Why is it a black dragon instead?”
An Lin: “Perhaps the azure dragon had too much sun exposure?”
Yang Yuan: “Can you even convince yourself with that?”
Thus, they came to another dead-end.
Their discussion could only draw to a conclusion here.
The only thing An Lin gleaned from that conversation was that his ring might have something to do with the four holy beasts.
Of course, this was only speculation. He could only look forward to the day when the powerful black dragon reappeared so that he could pose these questions to it…