Chapter 364: All Forces Gather, Blood-Drenched Struggle!
"Just focus on retrieving the Heart of Thunder," Lin Fan said calmly as his figure flashed like lightning, appearing beside Lin Dong.
As his voice fell, he raised his hand and struck out. Crimson light surged forth, instantly dispersing the incoming attack.
Seizing the moment, Lin Dong swiftly put the Heart of Thunder into his qiankun pouch.
Then both of them turned to look in the direction from which the attack had come.
There, dozens of figures stood in formation, all wearing similar robes. At the front stood a woman in white, radiating a faint, sacred aura.
"Xuan Heaven Palace… Liu Xiangxuan?"
Lin Fan's brows rose slightly as he spoke coldly, "You dare attack us? Do you want to follow in Nine Nether Gate's footsteps?"
Whoosh!
Hearing this, the faces of the Xuan Heaven Palace group changed slightly, growing more alert.
Liu Xiangxuan's eyes flickered. She quickly softened her tone and said, "My apologies. We didn't realize it was you, Young Master Lin. Our Xuan Heaven Palace has no intention of becoming your enemy."
"Since that Heart of Thunder is already yours, we'll take our leave."
With that, Liu Xiangxuan turned to lead her people away.
Though many of them were clearly unwilling, none dared say anything. They had witnessed Lin Fan's strength firsthand—now wasn't the time to pick a fight.
But just then, the calm surface of the Thunder Lake once again rippled.
Another Heart of Thunder, wrapped in lightning, slowly rose from the center of a newly formed vortex.
Seeing this, Liu Xiangxuan and the Xuan Heaven Palace members all froze in place, their gazes blazing with desire as they stared at the floating heart and the lake that birthed it.
"Brother Lin Fan, it seems this Thunder Lake is no simple place," Liu Xiangxuan said with a soft wave of her hand, signaling her companions to stay put. She smiled at Lin Fan and continued,
"There must be a great secret hidden beneath the lake. If you try to monopolize it, I fear it may spark resentment. Why don't we join forces to explore the lake's depths?"
"There's no need to team up. Let's rely on our own abilities," Lin Fan replied after a short pause.
He hadn't driven Liu Xiangxuan and her group away because he sensed many more people rapidly approaching.
It wouldn't be easy to drive everyone off, and besides, Lin Fan already had a good idea of what lay beneath the Thunder Lake.
Even if some of them managed to harvest more Hearts of Thunder, few would survive long enough to escape.
In the end, he could simply collect their qiankun pouches—it was more efficient than fighting for each heart himself.
"You already took one. This one should be ours," Liu Xiangxuan said with a calm smile. With a flick of her slender hand, a wave of suction shot toward the new Heart of Thunder.
But at that exact moment, the space around Lin Fan twisted. His figure flickered and reappeared right next to the heart.
Reaching out, he grabbed it.
"Looks like this one still belongs to us," Lin Fan said with a grin, toying with the glowing heart in his hand.
The members of Xuan Heaven Palace looked furious, their eyes flaring with anger.
"Brother Lin Fan, such skillful tactics. I'm impressed," Liu Xiangxuan said with a slight frown, her voice growing colder.
"Heart of Thunder!"
A sudden cry rang out from not far away.
At the same time, a flurry of wind-slicing sounds echoed through the air. A large group of cultivators arrived, halting in the sky above the Thunder Lake.
These were experts from all across the domain, clearly drawn here by the unusual fluctuations around the Thunder Lake.
As soon as they arrived, their eyes locked onto the Heart of Thunder in Lin Fan's hand, their gazes filled with intense greed.
But none of them acted.
Lin Fan's fearsome reputation had already cowed most of them. After all, this was the man who had slain a Death Profound Realm expert.
No one wanted to challenge him unless absolutely necessary.
For now, the entire scene grew tense and still.
Lin Fan scanned the crowd and, with a flick of his mind, stored the Heart of Thunder into his system space. Then he returned to Lin Dong's side.
Mu Lingshan, cradling her Life-Death Coffin Lid, landed beside them in a flash.
Just as the tension seemed to reach its peak, the surface of the Thunder Lake rippled once again. Another vortex slowly formed.
The waves made all the cultivators blink in surprise—until they saw another lightning-wreathed orb slowly rising from the lake.
"A Heart of Thunder!"
Cries rang out again. Eyes widened and heated stares locked onto the glowing sphere.
Powerful auras erupted in unison as silhouettes dashed through the air toward the Heart of Thunder.
Dozens of experts collided midair, unleashing terrifying bursts of Yuan Power. A chaotic, bloody battle instantly broke out above the Thunder Lake.
It was brutal.
People screamed and spat blood as they were sent flying, their faces twisted with fury—like gamblers who had lost everything.
Lin Fan and the others watched calmly from the sidelines, making no move to interfere.
Ten minutes passed before the chaos settled.
"HAHAHA—!"
A Life Profound Realm Perfection expert, his body drenched in blood, grabbed the Heart of Thunder and let out a crazed laugh.
Though powerful, he had suffered serious injuries during the melee. His breathing was ragged, and his aura had grown unstable.
But he didn't care—he had the Heart.
Plop!
Just then, more ripples spread across the lake. Two more vortices formed, and from each one emerged a Heart of Thunder.
The laughter stopped cold.
The triumphant expert stared in stunned disbelief at the two new hearts, unable to process what he was seeing.
How could such a rare treasure… be appearing like cabbages in a market?
BOOM!
While he stood dumbfounded, another Life Profound Realm Perfection expert struck him with a sudden sneak attack.
A palm crashed into his back, piercing his chest clean through—and with a quick grab, stole the Heart of Thunder from his hands.
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