Perhaps it heard Lin Jin’s words, the little fox weakly peeled open its eyes and stuck out a tongue to lick Lin Jin’s finger before falling back into a state of unconsciousness.
This little fox was Shang’er’s natural form.
Admittedly, this was Lin Jin’s first time seeing Shang’er in her three-tailed fox form. She was incredibly adorable but the injuries she sustained were pretty heavy. Otherwise, with Shang’er’s capabilities, she couldn’t possibly have been forced back into her natural form.
For monsters, the skill of Transfiguration was divided into several stages. At first, they could only maintain a human form for a short period of time. Once they were more adept at the skill, they could maintain the form longer until they wouldn’t revert back anymore.
That was the case for Shang’er.
For her to be injured to the point of having to revert meant that her human form had been destroyed. She would have to wait until her injuries healed and for her cultivation to recover before she could attempt Transfiguration again.
To Lin Jin, none of this mattered. His priority was treating her and helping her recover from her injuries.
Prior to this, Lin Jin had been rather nervous. It wasn’t until seeing Shang’er with some life left in her that Lin Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
So long as Shang’er was alive, he had no trouble saving her.
Simultaneously, a murderous intent grew inside him.
Given the extent of Shang’er’s injuries, Lin Jin would never forgive the people from Daluo Temple. He would make them pay the price.
Lin Jin had already used the pulse-seeking technique to protect Shang’er’s heart. Again, so long as Shang’er’s heart was still beating, he could save her. This wasn’t an empty promise nor an exaggeration. Lin Jin had the competence to back up such a claim.
Shang’er had a wind attribute, and in the five main elements, wind came under the wood element. Water and wood complemented and nourished each other so Lin Jin didn’t hesitate before placing the water reservoir scale on Shang’er’s abdomen, allowing its pure water energy to heal her injuries.
It went without saying that Lin Jin had already fed Shang’er some pills. Next, he just had to use acupuncture coupled with unrefined fire to mend the damaged veins inside her body.
This was a meticulous job that allowed no disturbances. That was why Lin Jin had Chen Ruyuan stand guard outside.
Time passed slowly and the sun began to set, illuminating the lands with a bright red color. When dusk fell, a bright moon hung high in the night sky.
Outside, Chen Ruyuan stood loyally to guard the area.
To be selected as the guardian of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, it was unsurprising that Chen Ruyuan wasn’t tired from standing there all day. Still, he was fairly curious as to what Appraiser Lin was doing down there.
Once midnight came, the weather suddenly changed. What was supposedly a clear starry night had somehow turned into a gathering of dark clouds. In just two hours, the sky was completely covered up with rain clouds that concealed the moon.
Chen Ruyuan sensed a chilling breeze and the spike in humidity. He looked up and knew that a thunderstorm was about to come.
“How can I be this unlucky?” Chen Ruyuan mumbled to himself.
There was no place here for him to take shelter so if a downpour came, what should he do?
Rainwater would surely start flooding the cave so he had to inform Appraiser Lin of the impending danger.
At this thought, Chen Ruyuan leaped down and went over to the crack. After a moment of careful deliberation, he called out, “Appraiser Lin!”
A response came immediately.
“What is it, Lord Chen?”
Chen Ruyuan started explaining, “I noticed a change in the weather and it seems like a storm is brewing. I fear…”
Lin Jin’s voice interrupted him, saying, “Thank you for the heads up, Lord Chen. It’s dark outside now so no one would probably show up here. You may leave now. I will surely visit you in due time. Thank you for your assistance today, Lord Chen.”
He spoke politely.
It was also because of Shang’er’s improving rate of recovery that Lin Jin was feeling much better now.
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After giving it some thought, Chen Ruyuan nodded. “Alright then, take care, Appraiser Lin. I will be leaving now.”
“Have a safe trip back, Lord Chen.”
After hearing this response, Chen Ruyuan climbed back out of the crater and was about to head home when he saw a slanted wall up ahead that was held up by what remained of its support. This was the perfect place where he could take shelter from the rain and rest for the night.
As the sky turned darker, without knowing why himself, Chen Ruyuan didn’t leave but turned back to look at the crater in the distance.
“This weather is so unpredictable. A heavy storm is probably coming so Appraiser Lin has to come out sooner or later. I am certain that the underground cave will be flooded, so I guess I’ll stay a little longer in case I can be of help,” Chen Ruyuan muttered to himself.
He knew full well how grand the title that the Emperor had bestowed upon Lin Jin was. What’s more, Lin Jin had proven his capabilities as a beast appraiser. According to the general, the palace officials had now acknowledged Appraiser Lin’s prowess, and they were of the opinion that he was more than a Rank 3 beast appraiser.
Word has it that he might even possess the capabilities of a Rank 4 appraiser.
Chen Ruyuan held the suspicion that His Majesty was laying down the foundations for promoting the Jade Dragon Kingdom into a premium country.
If their nation was to be promoted, a Rank 5 beast was necessary. If Appraiser Lin was genuinely a Rank 4 beast appraiser, then he would have to promote a pet beast to the fifth rank.
So, who would be lucky enough to obtain this opportunity?
All members of the Defense Department should have the same chance of having their pet beast promoted. Hence, earning Lin Jin’s favor in advance would surely be nothing but advantageous.
With this in mind, Chen Ruyuan chose to stay. He remained here, about five hundred meters away from the crater to observe the situation.
Just as Chen Ruyuan had expected, in about one hour, he could already hear the low rumble of thunder. What baffled him, however, was how every streak of lightning was concentrated right above that underground cave.
It was Chen Ruyuan’s first time witnessing such a strange phenomenon.
In fact, even Lin Jin could sense the thunder above them from inside the cave.
“This is odd!”
Lin Jin closed his eyes to heighten his senses before summoning Xiao Huo.
Lin Jin wasn’t afraid of the rain as the water reservoir scale was able to repel water from its user. Even if rainwater were to pour in, just by activating the scale, they need not worry about a flood. Forget mere rainwater, Lin Jin had no fear for lakes, rivers nor oceans thanks to this handy piece of scale.
However, the same could not be said for thunder.
Lin Jin could sense that something was off.
He quickly checked Shang’er’s status in the museum and finally found one bit of information that he overlooked.
Among the museum’s results were tons of treatment and spell negation methods. One of them was ‘Thunder Seal Enhancement’. As Lin Jin had been in a hurry to treat Shang’er, he had ignored that status. Now that he had the time to read through the description, Lin Jin finally appreciated the danger that he was in.
“What a formidable enemy. Your methods are truly vicious.”
After reading up on the Thunder Seal Enhancement, Lin Jin couldn’t contain his rage any longer.
This Thunder Seal Enhancement was actually a ‘curse’.
Since ancient times, many cultivators have conducted research on curses. Some were like corpse-eating maggots that could lurk quietly in the host’s body and be triggered under certain conditions.
The Thunder Seal was this sort of curse.
That Exorcist Hall’s abbot was an atrocious man. Fearing that Shang’er wouldn’t die, he cast a Thunder Seal Curse at her before the battle began. With this, once Shang’er regained her energy, it would be instantly triggered.
It was a mysterious spell, and Lin Jin had no doubt that this Thunder Seal curse would be a high-end curse that once activated, could discreetly gather thunderous clouds until the Thunder Seal could call forth divine lightning. When this lightning struck, any and every monster would perish along with their souls.
However, this spell was just too cruel.
If Lin Jin didn’t have the Museum of Deadly Beasts which allowed him to examine a creature’s status, he wouldn’t have discovered the curse.
Admittedly, the Daluo Temple’s continued survival over a thousand years was not without reason. It seems that they had a list of orthodox spells that had been passed on from generation to generation. Aware that the seal had now been triggered, Lin Jin anticipated a thunderbolt to strike down at any moment.