Chapter 85: A Desperate Struggle

It seemed his string of bad luck wasn't over.

Lin Yun had, however, already moved on from his initial frustration. Was this a joke? He, who wasn't even afraid of being born under the Lone Star of Calamity, was supposed to be scared of some fated, deadly calamity?

His search of the camp wasn't entirely fruitless, though. In the main general's tent, he found a hidden mechanism. Inside was a map and a diary.

Hengji Year 784.

The diary appeared to belong to the commander. It began with a few bleak words.

"The expeditionary force has been utterly defeated. This will be our final battlefield."

The entries that followed were fragmented records of military life. To Lin Yun's surprise, they were all relatively ordinary, with nothing particularly special about them.

Until the end of the diary.

"The coalition's estimates were gravely mistaken. We no longer have time to reach that forbidden land to escape!"

"Those beasts are about to break through."

"We never truly understood them…"

The diary's contents stopped abruptly there, just like the war itself.

The journal mentioned several types of exotic beasts, but from the commander's tone, it seemed that even those powerful creatures posed no real threat to his army. It was the diary's final entry that put Lin Yun on high alert. Perhaps the true danger of the Ancient Forbidden Land was the unexpected catastrophe that occurred after this was written.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. The mighty figure from the Beast Taming Sect who had established this place truly had some skill. This Meta-Realm had existed here for so many years without a single issue.

Lin Yun unfolded the map. The ancient battlefield was far more vast than he had imagined, extending well beyond the current Meta-Realm. To the east of the Meta-Realm, one had to pass through the Ghostly Shadowwood to reach the Chaos Forbidden Land at the easternmost edge. To the north lay a vast ocean, seemingly called the Sea of Boundlessness. To the south, beyond another dense forest, was the Blood Sea Demon Grotto, a place of craggy, grotesque rock formations.

No matter which way he looked at it, leaving the Meta-Realm seemed like a death sentence.

What caught his eye, however, were the numerous small markings scattered across the map. Yet over the Chaos Forbidden Land, there was a large, bold question mark.

The Chaos Forbidden Land? Was that the escape route the general had mentioned?

Lin Yun studied the map intently. The path to the Chaos Forbidden Land was the longest and, by all appearances, the most dangerous. Even if one survived, they would surely go through a harrowing ordeal.

"Before I do anything else, I have to find a way to get even stronger!"

Lin Yun let out a cold laugh and put the map away. The mastermind behind the scenes at the Beast Taming Sect likely thought this would be enough to kill him. But they would never understand. Lin Yun would not be killed so easily.

Under the eager anticipation of the masses watching from the outside, Lin Yun, thank heavens, finally set out. The audience was growing impatient. Many of them had waited this long for one reason: to see Lin Yun get thwarted by the exotic beasts of the Ancient Forbidden Land. They might not kill him, but it would be satisfying to see him suffer a bit, to take him down a peg.

Lin Yun passed through a large gap in the city wall and set foot on the ground below. Unlike within the inner wall, the moment he stepped outside, he was hit by the thick, rich scent of blood. His heart pounded, and his palms grew cold with sweat.

"This place is… intense."

Although the area around him was a flat plain with high visibility, Lin Yun felt as if something was already watching him. He suspected these creatures were just waiting in the shadows for him to expose a weakness.

Hmph, you want to kill me? Dream on.

Without hesitation, Lin Yun activated his movement technique, his body shooting forward like a gust of wind toward a dense forest directly ahead.

But just as he was about to set foot among the trees, something erupted from the ground. A giant lizard, easily thirty feet long, burst from the earth, its dark green scales shimmering with an eerie light. Its scarlet eyes seethed with killing intent.

The creature had been lying in ambush underground for a long time, waiting for its prey to draw near, waiting for a mistake.

And its gamble had paid off. Lin Yun was heading straight for the forest, just as it had hoped.

Back in the plaza, the crowd let out a collective gasp, startled by the beast's sudden appearance.

Lin Yun, however, remained unfazed. He raised his Frigid Flame Sword to block.

CLANG—

The creature's claws were sharp and hard. The impact against his sword sent a jolt through him, and even Lin Yun couldn't help but frown. The force was terrifying.

In terms of human cultivation, this beast was likely at the eighth stage of the Origin Absorption Realm. Though its realm was lower than Lin Yun's, its base stats were not lacking in the slightest. Lin Yun's own Origin Sea Realm was already stronger than others at his level, yet against this beast, he felt he had gained no advantage at all.

"ROAR!"

Lin Yun retreated swiftly, glancing at the web of his hand. The impact had sent a numbing shock through it; he had almost lost his grip on his sword.

Death Claw.

Once he saw the creature clearly, information about it surfaced in his mind. However, from his memory, the Death Claw was slightly different from the creature before him, and its strength shouldn't have been this great.

Lin Yun glanced up at the shimmering barrier of the Meta-Realm. "Could it be the somber, murderous atmosphere of the Ancient Forbidden Land that has made these creatures stronger? It's a bit far-fetched, but not without reason."

He muttered to himself, then fixed the Death Claw with a cold gaze. This creature's threat was limited. They typically hid in dark corners, striving for a one-hit kill. Once its first attack failed, its threat level dropped significantly.

However, even with a clear advantage in strength, Lin Yun couldn't let his guard down. These things rarely hunted alone.

Shortly after the first Death Claw roared, a rustling sound came from the side. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was more of them.

Lin Yun stopped hesitating. He unleashed the Great River Sword Style.

Rolling sword energy surged forward like a mighty river! The thunderous roar of his technique startled the audience back in the Great Hall.

The Death Claw lunged at Lin Yun again, unwilling to give up. But despite its impressive stats, its overall strength was ultimately lacking. The sword energy, blazing like a scorching sun, completely engulfed it, leaving not even ashes behind.

Jiang Zhengqing nodded in approval. The power of that sword strike was considerable. Among the inner disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, few could have taken such a blow.

But just as Lin Yun dispatched the first Death Claw, five more appeared from both sides. These creatures showed no fear. Even seeing their companion's gruesome death did nothing to deter them.

As more and more Death Claws emerged, Lin Yun's brow furrowed. One or two were no problem. Outside of this place, you would see three at most. But on this battlefield, their numbers were astonishingly high, and each one was significantly stronger than its counterparts in the outside world.

Not daring to be careless, Lin Yun instantly unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, activating both the Great River Sword Style and the Azure Origin Sword Style simultaneously, intending to slaughter them all as quickly as possible.