Chapter 600 - 598: Scared into Retreat

"Princess, we’re late..."

Lin Xuan appeared with a group of people, looking like reinforcements. Their sudden arrival gave them quite a shock.

The most important thing wasn’t these reinforcements with their Spirit Pill Stage Cultivation, but the aura radiating from their leader, Lin Xuan. It was enough to make their hearts tremble—this was the aura of the Spirit King Stage!

A Void Spirit Stage Cultivation was trash before a Spirit King Stage expert; they could be crushed with ease. In other words, if the man before them wished it, all of them would die.

"Y-You’re actually colluding with humans! To think that you, a member of the Phoenix Race, would one day stoop to collaborating with humans!" The Black Dragon Race Elder, startled by the sudden reinforcements, immediately fell back. His gaze was fixed on Lin Xuan on the ground, terrified he would strike at any moment.

Bingxin froze. ’When did I ever collude with humans? I’ve always been with the Mutated Phoenix; I never associate with humans.’ Besides, so what if she did? Half of her blood was human, so in a sense, she was an ally to humankind.

"Sister, respond quickly, or the jig will be up!" Lin Xuan immediately sent a telepathic message to Bingxin. With his current abilities, he was fully capable of the telepathy that only those at the Core Formation Stage could typically achieve.

"Sister..." When Bingxin heard that one word, her memories seemed to drift back several years. She recalled the lake, and even more vividly, the strong little boy with the determined, youthful face!

"Colluding with humans?" Bingxin quickly snapped back to reality and sneered at them. "You can join forces with that bitch, the Fire Phoenix King, so why can’t I ally myself with humans?"

Her face was filled with anger, yet she looked at them with a mocking gaze, her expression suggesting it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Princess, why waste so many words on them? Let’s just kill them all..." Lin Xuan unfurled his Elemental Power Wings. These were true wings formed by a human, but the power consumption was terrifying—several times greater than deploying his Phoenix Wings.

In his current state, he could maintain them for a short while. All that mattered was whether he could deceive his opponents.

Following that, Lin Xuan’s aura continued to surge outward. He slowly raised his hand, and the Power of Heaven and Earth from the surroundings rapidly converged on his palm. He was ready to attack!

"Run!"

Sensing this terrifying aura, the Elder roared and, without a second thought, turned to flee. He pushed his Elemental Power Wings to their absolute limit, flying frantically into the distance. He didn’t dare linger for even a second longer!

The Core Formation Stage experts who had been surrounding Bingxin immediately scattered and fled. How could they dare to stay? They turned tail and ran for their lives. If a Spirit King Stage expert gave chase, they had absolutely no hope of survival.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the distance, having scattered in different directions to avoid being captured all at once.

"Let’s go!"

As they fled, Lin Xuan grabbed Bingxin and flew down. With a wave of his hand, the statues quickly returned to him. The sight stunned Bingxin; she hadn’t expected them to be Puppets, and so many of them at that. But she didn’t ask questions. No matter the circumstances, what mattered was that Lin Xuan had come to save her.

Lin Xuan then led her toward the passage. If their enemies realized the truth and came back, they’d be done for. He hadn’t expected everything to go so smoothly; he’d scared them off with surprising ease. But it was only natural. Knowing they stood no chance, why would they have stayed?

None of them had ever seen Lin Xuan before, so they’d assumed he truly had a Spirit King Stage Cultivation. The moment he retracted his aura, it instantly reverted to that of the Spirit Pill Stage—the difference between the two was immense. If he had appeared with the aura of his real Spirit Pill Stage Cultivation, he would have been swatted to death with a single slap.

"This..." Bingxin was left speechless. She never would have thought Lin Xuan’s aura was fake, and so ridiculously convincing at that. If Lin Xuan hadn’t sent her that telepathic message, she would have believed it too.

The whole act was too realistic; it truly felt like a Spirit King Stage expert had descended. If it hadn’t been convincing, Lin Xuan would never have dared to try something so risky. Had he been easily exposed, he would have become a burden instead.

He had been able to release this kind of aura before, creating an illusion for everyone, but the moment he actually attacked, the ruse would have been exposed.

As they quickly ducked into the passage, Si Yun rushed over and grabbed Bingxin excitedly. "Thank heavens, Princess, you’re all right! He actually managed to rescue you!"

"Si Yun..." Bingxin was taken aback. She never imagined that Si Yun had been rescued too. They had wanted to save Si Yun, but they had never found the time or opportunity.

Now, not only had Si Yun been rescued, but she herself had been saved as well. He was truly their great benefactor!

Lin Xuan took off his mask and let out a sigh of relief. "Luckily, they didn’t see through it. If they had, we would’ve been done for! No, I should say *I* would’ve been done for." He grinned, and Bingxin stared blankly at the face that was both familiar and strange, feeling as if she had been transported back in time.

"You’ve gotten stronger..." Bingxin reached out and caressed his resolute face. She never thought the boy who had saved her back then would not only grow up, but also come to save her a second time.

Her eyes reddened slightly. The words she had spoken to Lin Xuan back then seemed to echo in her ears, the memory still so fresh. Back then, Lin Xuan’s Cultivation was only at the Spirit Refining Stage, but now he had reached the Spirit Pill Stage. Such a leap was terrifyingly fast.

"Of course. If I didn’t get stronger, how could I help you, Sister?" Lin Xuan smiled. Seeing that Bingxin was safe, he also felt a deep sense of joy.

They had only met once, but it felt as if they had known each other for a long time, perhaps because they had faced life and death together. Bingxin had also saved him, leaving a drop of her Essence Blood in his body, which created a faint sense of resonance between them.

Si Yun watched the two of them. They really seemed like a brother and sister, so much so that she felt she couldn’t get a word in. ’They should be allowed to have a proper reunion,’ she thought.

"You’ve already helped. I can’t believe you saved me again. You’ve truly gotten so much stronger. It looks like you’ve been through a lot these past few years. It must have been hard." Bingxin withdrew her hand and said with a faint smile.

"It was definitely hard, but that’s the price of getting stronger. If I couldn’t even endure that much, how could I ever talk about becoming powerful?" Lin Xuan smiled and said, "We can’t stay here any longer. Let’s find a safe place first. There are still many things I need to discuss with you, Sister!"

A reunion was certain, and catching up was a must, but time did not permit it. For now, they had to find a safe place to settle down. If they were caught, they’d certainly have plenty of time to "catch up"—for the rest of their lives, probably. Most likely in a prison cell, or perhaps they’d be taken to the Black Dragon Race’s territory to "catch up" there.