Chapter 692: There Is No Beast I Can’t Appraise
Aside from his hair accessories and outfit, how could a person even tell if this immortal was a man?
Lin Jin felt so awkward and Xuan Yue Zhenren noticed his discomfort so she spoke up to relieve him of his predicament, "Junior Xuan Hang, call your Senior Piao Yun over."
Xuan Yue Zhenren held great authority in the Immortal Cloud Sect, and her instructions were always duly obeyed. The male immortal responded immediately, and before he left, he flashed a charming smile at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin inadvertently shuddered.
Just then, from a rolling cloud ahead, out came a female immortal flying toward them.
Though, Lin Jin dared not be sure if she was truly female. After coming to the Immortal Cloud Sect, Lin Jin's cognition had been badly jumbled up that he figured he shouldn't stay too long. After resolving their problem, he should leave quickly.
The immortal who emerged from the cloud had a stern and intimidating demeanor. Also, she gave off the aura that she was the kind of person who tended to find faults when none exists.
From Qin Yunshang's previous warning, Lin Jin came to know that this might just be the strange-tempered Immortal Piao Yun.
"Junior Piao Yun, why do you only show yourself now?" Xuan Yue Zhenren asked, indicating for the other not to show her temper or be rude.
Yet, it seemed as if Immortal Piao Yun was adamant about carrying out her plan. She ignored Xuan Yue Zhenren and looked at Lin Jin instead, the contempt visible in her eyes.
"I heard that Mr. Lin has come all this way to our aid, and I am very grateful. However, being able to treat regular beasts doesn't mean you can solve our sect's problem. But since you're here, feel free to try. It doesn't matter even if you fail."
While her words sounded courteous, the underlying hostility was blatant.
The other immortals of the Immortal Cloud Sect looked embarrassed but they couldn't say anything in such a scene. Xuan Yue Zhenren could only shoot Piao Yun a glare as a form of warning.
Only, the latter was such a stubborn character that the more everyone behaved as they did, the more riled up she got.
"Mr. Lin, the Storm Beast Cave is just up ahead. Please enter and take a look at the place," said Piao Yun, as she stepped aside to make way for Lin Jin.
And yet, behind her back were pure white clouds; the Storm Beast Cave was nowhere to be seen. Lin Jin was a newcomer who didn't even know what the Storm Beast Cave looked like.
Xuan Yue Zhenren couldn't bear to watch any longer. She thought that her junior had crossed the line this time. No matter how much she opposed getting Lin Jin's help, she shouldn't have behaved this way. Despite asking their guest to examine the Storm Beast Cave, she didn't summon the cave, so how was Lin Jin going to examine it?
Xuan Yue Zhenren was just about to speak up when Lin Jin beat her to it.
"If that's so, I'll go and take a look."
And he walked ahead.
Even saints had a temper, much less Lin Jin. Although he decided he wouldn't stoop to Piao Yun's level before coming here, if she insisted on provoking him, Lin Jin wouldn't just stand there and accept it.
He had already noticed the bizarre appearance of one of the floating clouds. After discreetly probing it with his flying needle, Lin Jin was surprised to have made a discovery.
That was why he agreed to take a look at the cave. Aside from Piao Yun's scorn and provocation, Lin Jin had a strong interest in this storm beast.
His immortal counterparts had no idea what was going on in his mind. They merely assumed he was acting rashly upon receiving Piao Yun's provocation. Qin Yunshang hurried over to dissuade him, but Lin Jin continued acting nonchalantly.
"Don't worry. It's only a Storm Beast Cave. Not to toot my own horn, but so long as it's a beast, there is no creature in this world I can't appraise."
It was a bold statement. Under normal circumstances, Lin Jin would never have spoken like this. He was only acting this way to challenge Piao Yun's arrogance.
Lin Jin felt he should dull her edges. More importantly, he was confident in his ability to solve the problem. Had it not been the case, he would have opted for a safer approach.
Lin Jin's response alerted Immortal Piao Yun.
She was already annoyed from the beginning. She thought that he would ignore her sarcasm. The fact that Lin Jin retorted set Piao Yun's heart on fire.
"Preposterous! Ignorant! You better remember what you said because you'll soon understand the consequence of boasting without the competency to back you up. Go on! I'd like to see how you treat the Storm Beast Cave. No, forget treating it, you'd be lucky if you can even find it."
Immortal Piao Yun couldn't be bothered to keep up the act anymore. She just wanted to watch Lin Jin make a fool of himself.
Again, Immortal Piao Yun was just too conceited. After guarding the Storm Beast Cave for millenniums, she started to assume that she was the only one who understood the cave. If she didn't know why the cave stopped producing new storm beasts, no one else could know.
No one could ever tolerate criticisms by a random outsider on issues about their expertise.
Like a novice showing off their swordsmanship in front of a master swordsman, the latter would only feel disdain for the novice.
Piao Yun was especially annoyed since this was a problem that even she couldn't resolve. She was merely using this opportunity to vent her frustrations.
It was that simple.
Of course, she was more anxious than anyone when something like this happened to the Storm Beast Cave. In the past few decades, she stayed at the sect to focus on searching for the problem and its solution.
So much time passed, and nothing was gained from it. When Xuan Yue Zhenren suddenly requested assistance from an outsider, Piao Yun found it impossible to remain indifferent.
An arrogant person should at least have a reason for their attitude. Piao Yun was confident no one understood the Storm Beast Cave better than she did. She was even sure that without her assistance, this mortal named Lin Jin couldn't even find the cave.
'I'll let him suffer a bit before leading him into the cave. That way, Senior Sister can't say much about it,' thought Piao Yun.
However, upon seeing Lin Jin's smug expression, she added another condition.
'Let's wait for the brat to beg instead.'
While Piao Yun could hide her scheme from other people, she couldn't possibly deceive her sect siblings Xuan Yue and Xuan Hang. They knew that Piao Yun was intentionally making things difficult for Lin Jin.
This gave them a headache, but what happened next exceeded their imaginations.
Lin Jin took a few steps forward, glanced at the sea of clouds, and then gave a gentle cough. Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Storm Beast Cave, show yourself now!"
His voice was so loud it sounded like a mother was shouting for her kids to come home for dinner.
Lin Jin spoke with a stern expression, but the words he uttered confused everyone. Even Xuan Yue Zhenren was startled by it.
Instead of looking for the Storm Beast Cave, Lin Jin was asking for it to reveal itself?
What kind of demented joke was that?