Chapter 50: The Ridge of the Evil Dragon

“What if I refuse?” The Lin clan’s patriarch’s face turned frighteningly dark at these indifferent words.

“Fellow cultivator, can you not see? This boy has already fallen into demonic ways,” the old patriarch intoned in a low voice. “Could it be that the Profound Dao Sect has descended into the demonic path as well, to the point of shielding a demon?”

Elder Xuan Yin set the unconscious Yin Tianfang gently to the ground. His brows knit slightly at the demonic aura seeping from the youth, before he turned to the Lin patriarch in the sky. “Even if he has become a demon, he remains a disciple of our Profound Dao Sect,” he replied.

“Enough words. Let our actions speak!” the Lin patriarch said coldly. With a sharp, piercing cry, he opened his mouth and spat forth a mountain peak, which swelled with the wind until it loomed dozens of yards tall, radiating a vast and terrifying might.

“Go!” With a flick of his finger, the Lin patriarch sent the colossal mountain crashing down toward Xuan Yin.

Xuan Yin stood his ground, eyes calm and unruffled as the peak descended from above. In an instant, a surging aura erupted from him, blasting into the sky and halting the mountain in midair.

The Lin patriarch’s pupils contracted in shock. To halt that immense mountain with mere presence alone—what terrifying power was this?

He formed seals with both hands, causing the great mountain to expand once more, its surface shimmering with light. With a furious shout, he pressed both hands down, and the mountain surged again, crushing down with renewed force.

“Patriarch, let me help you!” Not far away, the Lin clan leader howled, eyes bloodshot, sword in hand as he charged straight at Elder Xuan Yin.

Lin Tian had died by Yin Tianfang’s hand, and now the Profound Dao Sect was protecting his killer. To slay Yin Tianfang would surely incur the Sect’s wrath, but the agony of losing a son left the clan leader beyond reason. His sword swept forth, sending sword energy roaring.

Elder Xuan Yin glanced over, lifting one hand to support the descending mountain in the void, while with a single finger of the other, he pointed—freezing the sword in mid-strike.

“Lin Tian brought disaster upon himself and paid the price. Do not destroy yourselves for his sake!” Elder Xuan Yin’s voice rang with a hint of anger.

“Even if Lin Tian went astray, he is still my clan’s blood. His fate is ours to decide, not the Profound Dao Sect’s! This child killed our kin and has already become a demon—leaving him alive will bring calamity. You warn us against self-destruction? Perhaps you should look to yourself!” the Lin patriarch retorted coldly, pouring his spiritual energy into the mountain to reinforce it.

“Whatever wrongs Lin Tian committed, he was still my son. If, as a father, I can feel nothing when my only child is killed, what right have I to call myself a father?” The Lin clan leader’s face was twisted with grief and fury, his bloodshot eyes brimming with murderous intent.

“Today, no matter what, this boy must die to accompany my son in death. Whatever the consequences, I alone will bear them. Even if it costs my life, I will not hesitate!” His voice was resolute as he bit the tip of his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto his sword.

The blade’s radiance blazed, its deadly aura even fiercer than before. The clan leader’s face contorted in rage, spirit energy surging as he drove himself recklessly, determined to break through Elder Xuan Yin’s defense and slay Yin Tianfang on the spot.

But seeing the two Lin elders still unrelenting, Elder Xuan Yin’s gaze turned icy. With a flick of the fingers that held back the sword, the blade shattered instantly. The clan leader was thrown back, spewing blood, his face turning deathly pale.

Elder Xuan Yin looked up at the Lin patriarch and with a sweep of his sleeve, sent the massive mountain rebounding back. It slammed into the patriarch, who staggered under the blow, coughing blood. Had the mountain not been his own life-bound treasure, he would have been crushed to dust.

“If you seek death, you can blame no one but yourselves,” Elder Xuan Yin said coldly, his gaze sharp as he struck at the clan leader. Spiritual power gathered, forming a gigantic palm that radiated murderous intent and pinned the clan leader in place, unable to move.

The palm grew larger in his eyes, suffused with the scent of death. Just as he was about to be struck down, a figure flashed before him, shouting as hands formed seals. The great mountain appeared in front of them, colliding with the giant palm.

“Detonate!”

Boom!

This mountain was the Lin patriarch’s life-bound treasure, forged after years of cultivation. Now, detonated by his will, it unleashed a force of utter destruction. Stones flew, the ground was torn asunder, and within miles, ancient trees exploded into dust and debris.

When the chaos settled, a vast crater gaped where the explosion had struck. For miles around, the land was stripped bare, the wind carrying dust across the desolation.

Within a spherical barrier of energy, Yin Tianfang and his two companions remained unharmed. The Lin patriarch and clan leader, however, had vanished without a trace.

“Elder, how is Brother Yin?” Nuo Lan, clutching her wound, face pale and weak, asked softly.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Elder Xuan Yin said, offering her a reassuring smile. Relieved, a faint smile flickered across her lips before she fell into unconsciousness.

With a sigh, Elder Xuan Yin swept his sleeve, enveloping the two in a stream of light as they sped toward the Profound Dao Sect.

Far from there, hundreds of miles away, the Profound Dao Sect sprawled across endless mountains, green and lush. Between the peaks lay a most unusual place—scattered with bones, silent and still, and pervaded by the stench of rot.

Stagnant black mist seeped from the earth, gathering above in clouds that shrouded the land in perpetual darkness, sunlight never touching the ground.

At times, low, violent roars, laden with murderous power, echoed through the mountains. This was the Forbidden Land—Evil Dragon Ridge. In the kingdom of Clearwater, the mere mention of its name struck terror into cultivators’ hearts. Legend held that Evil Dragon Ridge was formed from the body of a true dragon that had fallen here.

The dragon had once been mighty, but fell to demonic corruption, rampaging across the continent in carnage and blood. In time, countless strong cultivators banded together to slay the demon dragon, and its corpse became these mountains.

In the beginning, many cultivators ventured into Evil Dragon Ridge, seeking the legacies of the fallen, but none ever returned. Over time, the place became a forbidden zone in Clearwater, one that even cultivators dared not enter lightly.

Now, two streaks of light shot across the sky and landed deep within Evil Dragon Ridge. As the light faded, two figures emerged—it was the Lin patriarch and the Lin clan leader.