Chapter 703: Swallowed

Two hundred Rank 5 beasts?

At first, Curator showed little to no surprise over the news.

He had come across so many stronger beings recently that Rank 5 beasts did not seem that powerful to him now. After all, he had two pet beasts that possessed Rank 7 strength. The beasts he met at the extraterritorial land were all at least Rank 6.

Hence, Rank 5 seemed so far away and weak.

However, he remembered that Rank 5 was the peak for creatures on the mainland. Without a Rank 5 beast, no one was allowed to call themselves a premium country.

Tianzhu Kingdom, in particular, boasted a rich and profound history. If Heavenly Spiral was United Continent's number one, Tianzhu was Grassy Continent's number one.

Although Grassy Continent was filled with desolated areas, it was the continent with the largest landmass. Thanks to its enormous size, it was easy to conceal things there.

For instance, Patriarch Xue Pao's hiding place was inside Grassy Continent.

Wait… Patriarch Xue Pao?

Lin Jin's heart started racing. He wondered if this incident had anything to do with Patriarch Xue Pao.

The last time they met, Lin Jin couldn't do anything to Patriarch Xue Pao. He knew that man couldn't do much, due to the immortal's corpse embedded within his body. 

If Patriarch Xue Pao moved recklessly, he would activate the immortal's aura and invite the wrath of the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast.

However, nothing in this world was absolute. After all, why would Tianzhu Kingdom attack Jade Dragon Kingdom for no apparent reason? There had to be a reason behind the invasion, and Lin Jin refused to believe this war was waged for material gains.

Of course, this was only Lin Jin's speculation. More investigation had to be done.

In any case, Lin Jin had to return immediately.

He could afford no more delays.

The other visitors told Curator that they had joined the fray, or were already on their way to Jade Dragon Kingdom.

The invasion happened too fast that it caught most of them unprepared.

Of all the visitors, other than He Qing and the pair of immortals, everyone was strong enough to make a difference. With their help, they could nullify the threats brought on by the intermediate countries.

In the past, Lin Jin was over-reliant on the guests of his Visitation Hall. After all, his rise to power was partly fueled by their strength.

Now, Lin Jin was so much stronger than before. If he returned, no matter how great the enemy's forces were, or how many tricks they had up their sleeves, there was only one outcome.

At this point, it was a question of how much of Lin Jin's rage could Tianzhu Kingdom endure?

"I'll hurry back to United Continent at once." Having said that, Curator turned and left the Visitation Hall.

That simple answer meant he was coming home.

Everyone in the Visitation Hall could sense Curator's rage.

Long after Curator had left, Black Crow wiped away the sweat on his brow and said, "Tianzhu Kingdom is in big trouble now."

"That's right!" Madam Ghost Child nodded. Curator did not show much of a response just now, but his anger was so potent that it felt suffocating for these people. 

Perhaps this was Curator's true strength.

"Everyone, let's go back and do what we can. I don't think this incident will end well, and it might become a historical event for United Continent!" Old Tian was unusually serious for once.

Before entering the Visitation Hall, he was already on the move. He had even battled one of the armies that were laying siege to Jade Dragon Kingdom. In the past, Old Tian would never even dare to imagine pulling off such a stunt.

He knew that without Curator's help, it would have been impossible to achieve what he did so far. Even if it meant risking his life, he had to protect Jade Dragon Kingdom.

"Everyone, let's meet at Jade Dragon!"

"Yes, let's meet at Jade Dragon!"

With Curator to hold the fort, none of them felt fear, even though the enemy was the prominent premium country, Tianzhu Kingdom.

Lin Jin returned to the Immortal Cloud Sect to bid Xuan Yue Zhenren farewell. He also said his farewells to Piao Yun and Xuan Hang.

Due to time constraints, he left in a hurry. 

He didn't even have time to inform the Mystery Dao Sect of his departure.

However, Chen Xuankong would explain things to his sect and Miao Yan Zhenren. That way, Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren would learn of the reason behind Lin Jin's departure too.

Lin Jin decided it wasn't wise to return the way he came here. He would lose too much precious time doing so. 

And so, he needed to teleport via the painting realm.

Lin Jin had done this before so he was quite familiar with teleportation now. He took out a bit of Cosmic Ink and the ink began to spread.

When it was large enough, Lin Jin leaped inside.

Upon entering the painting realm, Lin Jin immediately noticed the change in his surroundings. Shu Xiaolou had many layers in her painting realm and the layer that Lin Jin was allowed to enter was the topmost layer. 

It should have been the safest place, and yet, Lin Jin noticed the lands below his feet had decayed quite a bit. From where he was standing, it looked like the earth was suffering from a severe bout of psoriasis. 

How did the scenic painting realm become this way?

Lin Jin frowned hard.

One reason came to mind immediately – it must be the zombie's doing.

Previously, the indestructible zombie had been sealed by the Demon Slayer at the lowest layer of the painting realm. The zombie must have been the reason behind why the damage had advanced to this degree.

Since neither Lin Jin nor Shu Xiaolou could defeat the headless zombie, their only choice was to seal it. 

But now, things were different.

Lin Jin's strength had increased so much that exterminating the headless zombie wouldn't be an issue for him.

Had he known what was happening, he would have come in here earlier to eliminate this zombie.

Suddenly, something appeared on Lin Jin's radar and he moved quickly. Using the Cosmic Ink, he opened the doors that connected the painting's different layers. He went through them all one by one, before finally arriving at the lowest layer.

As this place was fully contaminated by death aura, the whole place was a hellscape.

Lin Jin focused his attention on Shu Xiaolou's silhouette.

She was in the midst of fending off the corrosion and it looked like she had been here for quite some time now.

Presently, aside from the area where she stood, the entire realm was covered in death energy. Shu Xiaolou was trying her best, but it seemed like she wasn't going to hold out much longer.

The instant Lin Jin saw Shu Xiaolou, she noticed him too.

She was first stunned before sending him worried eye signals. Looks like she wanted Lin Jin to leave this place at once. 

Lin Jin couldn't possibly leave.

Leaving aside the question of strength, even if Lin Jin was unable to defeat the headless zombie, he would never abandon Shu Xialou and escape on his own.

"Spirit devouring ghost worms, swallow that thing!"

Knowing that the headless zombie was the root of this phenomenon, Lin Jin went on the attack without hesitation. He flung his sleeve and a jet of blood darted toward the headless zombie.

It was the blood ghost along with ghost worms.

He decided to use this approach as he felt the excitement of the ghost worms the moment he entered this realm. It felt like they were thrilled by the abudance of death energy here.

Since that was the case, he wanted to see if the ghost worms could take on the headless zombie.

The blood condensed into a large mouth which swallowed the headless zombie whole.