Chapter 23: The Vein Discovered, Battle Against the Black Iron Demon Leopards!

Chapter 23: The Vein Discovered, Battle Against the Black Iron Demon Leopards!

At the bottom of Lin Dong's shovel, a faint red glow shimmered just beneath the surface of the soil.

Seeing this, Lin Zhentian and his two sons were visibly shaken, standing frozen in place.

Lin Fan's eyes lit up with joy. Stepping forward, he quickly formed the Spirit Wood Seal, and a green handprint slammed down hard onto the soil.

Boom!

With a muffled explosion, the ground near the shovel burst open.

Lin Fan waved his hand, sweeping away the loosened earth with a gust of palm wind.

In an instant, a layer of soft red light appeared before everyone's eyes.

It was a translucent red stratum of rock, and deep within it, one could faintly see clusters of reddish crystals, shining with dazzling brilliance.

"It really is... a Yang Essence Stone Vein! Heaven bless my Lin family!"

Lin Zhentian's face lit up with childlike joy at the sight. From this moment forward, the Lin family's fate was about to change!

Lin Ken and Lin Xiao were equally thrilled.

Lin Dong's face was glowing with excitement.

Qingtan clapped her hands gleefully. "Lin Fan-ge! I really did something great this time!"

Lin Fan smiled and ruffled her hair. "That's right—Qingtan made a huge contribution to our family."

[Ding! You touched Lin Qingtan and obtained a fourth-grade spiritual herb: Tianyuan Fruit!]

Oh?

A fourth-grade spiritual herb?

Not bad at all! Lin Fan thought happily, hearing the system notification.

Nearby, Lin Zhentian also laughed. "Well done, Qingtan! You truly made a great contribution!"

Lin Ken and Lin Xiao nodded with smiles.

Qingtan grew a little shy. "It's mostly thanks to Lin Fan-ge. If he hadn't been there, I would've just run off the moment I felt hot—I wouldn't have thought to investigate."

Lin Zhentian beamed. "True. Lin Fan also deserves great credit. And Lin Dong too—for being the first to strike the Yang Essence Stone!"

Lin Dong scratched his head. "I just dug a bit deeper where Dad left off. I was lucky to find it first."

Hearing the word "lucky," Lin Fan couldn't help but chuckle. To shift the topic, he said, "Grandfather, we can talk about contributions later. The most important thing now is to keep the discovery a secret—and deal with those two Black Iron Demon Leopards."

"We absolutely cannot let the Lei or Xie families learn about this, or it'll cause endless trouble."

Lin Zhentian nodded solemnly. "You're right. I'll immediately dispatch guards to lock down Tiemu Manor."

"As for the vein itself, we'll quietly select a group of loyal and trusted men to begin mining in secret."

No one objected to this plan.

The next day, Lin Zhentian deployed over half of the Lin family's forces to fortify Tiemu Manor like a fortress.

He also drew workers from other estates. Most were assigned to cut wood, while only those absolutely loyal to the Lin family were secretly tasked with mining the Yang Essence Stones.

But before they could begin mining, they had to deal with the two Black Iron Demon Leopards.

To ensure success, Lin Zhentian personally led Lin Ken, Lin Xiao, and Lin Fan—four Heaven Origin experts—into battle.

With that kind of firepower, victory was certain.

When Lin Dong and Qingtan asked to watch the fight, Lin Zhentian hesitated briefly but agreed.

"Lin Dong, Qingtan, stay at the valley entrance. You three, come with me."

Standing atop a high ridge overlooking the valley, Lin Zhentian issued the order in a stern voice.

Everyone agreed without complaint.

He led the way, followed closely by Lin Ken, Lin Xiao, and Lin Fan, leaping down along the cliffside.

Within moments, the four landed steadily at the valley floor.

ROAR!

The moment they touched down, the two Black Iron Demon Leopards growled in warning, clearly aware of the intruders.

"I'll take Lin Fan and handle one. You two deal with the other. End this quickly—don't let either escape!"

Lin Zhentian's eyes gleamed sharply.

"Be careful, Fan'er!" Lin Xiao reminded him before he and Lin Ken lunged at one of the leopards.

Lin Zhentian brought Lin Fan to confront the other.

He was confident he could handle it solo—but wanted Lin Fan to experience real life-and-death combat. After all, no martial path could be walked without blood and fire.

He had high hopes for Lin Fan, and now was the perfect time to temper him.

ROAR!

Sensing their aggression, the Black Iron Demon Leopard roared and launched its counterattack.

With intelligence equal to a child's, it instantly realized Lin Fan was the weaker target and charged straight at him!

Its front legs raised high, claws slashing toward Lin Fan, jaws wide open aiming for his head!

But Lin Fan stayed calm. His hands moved rapidly to form seals, summoning a fiery red handprint that crashed downward.

Boom! Boom!

His Blazing Fire Seal slammed into the leopard's claws with explosive force.

The resulting shock rattled Lin Fan's blood and qi. He was forced back five or six steps before regaining his footing.

The Black Iron Demon Leopard wasn't unscathed.

Though its cultivation and brute strength surpassed Lin Fan's by far, the fire damage from the Blazing Fire Seal scorched its legs badly—its paws nearly cooked!

ROAR!

The leopard howled, furious, pouring Yuan Power into its legs and lunging forward again.

Ironically, the burst of Yuan Power snuffed out the fire—but its chance to continue attacking was gone.

Just then, Lin Zhentian—seeing the beast distracted—launched into the air.

Channeling all his Yuan Power into his fingertips, he brought his hands together like a sword and dove from above, driving both fingers deep into the leopard's skull!

Pure Origin Finger— the Lin family's fourth-grade martial art!

Though he'd begun studying the Five Element Seal, Lin Zhentian was far more practiced with this technique.

He'd found the Blazing Fire Seal and Pure Origin Finger to be about equal in grade, with the latter slightly more refined in his hands.

Whimper…

The demon leopard let out a final cry before its body went limp and lifeless.

The other leopard roared in fury at its companion's death.

In response, howls of wild beasts echoed from the surrounding forests—drawn by the leopard's cry.

Lin Zhentian's face darkened.

"End this quickly!"

The distant rumble of beasts approaching grew louder—clearly, the leopard had summoned backup.

Though they were likely weaker, if too many arrived at once, things could get out of hand.

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