Several people were eating while being able to hear the storyteller in the restaurant playing and singing various tales, yet most of the sounds were of Jianghu folks either whispering or discussing animatedly.
Lin Xin listened intently, this restaurant was extrely popular and he had specifically chosen this place to gather the latest intelligence.
After listening for a while, there were not many rumors about the Cultivation World, but there were plenty of the common Jianghu rumors.
Such as the Flying Fox battling the Qingquan Sword, the hero Huang being chased and besieged by a master of the Evil Path, and signs of monsters appearing in so nearby areas, and so on.
All of these were unrelated to what he wanted to find out.
Having not returned for a long ti, what he most wanted to hear about were the news concerning Spirit Heart Villa and Pine Forest Sword Sect.
After carefully filtering through, and eating for a while, finally, a group of swordsn dressed in white with green headbands, two n and two won, entered the restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes.
"This damn weather, I’m fed up, it was sunny in the morning but turned to intermittent rain in the afternoon. Getting summoned by the master and forgetting to bring an umbrella, I ended up all wet, why is it always such bad luck recently?"
A middle-aged man placed his sword on the table and started cursing loudly.
"The person supposed to et us seems to have disappeared, has this branch been wiped out by the Evil Path? Truly damn bad luck." Another person also expressed dissatisfaction.
"Be mindful of what you say, this territory belongs to Pine Forest Sword Sect, Hua Family’s domain," another calm woman said softly.
"So what? I heard Pine Forest Hua Family is currently being tightly ensnared by Radiant Sun Sect and Spirit Heart Villa, they can’t spare any attention and their forces have been weakened significantly because of this prolonged conflict.
Pine Forest Sword Sect along with the other Four Sects, in the last two demon expulsion battles, lost six Yuan Jing elders, not the renowned sect of the past anymore. If it weren’t for the ti limit set by the Central Prefecture’s Tianyun Taoist, heh...."
"You shouldn’t say that, my grandmaster ntioned that although Pine Forest Sword Sect lost two Yuan Jing, a lean cal is still bigger than a horse, their top sect-suppressing formation is still intact, it’s just badly injured in terms of elental energy."
The other young girl spoke maturely, showing a psychological age that did not match her appearance.
"Heh, sounds nice. If it wasn’t for their own inner conflicts during the last demon expulsion, Pine Forest Sword Sect wouldn’t have ended up like this. If it were my Dragon Crown Sect, we wouldn’t even have ti to unite, much less push our own experts out."
Lin Xin gently put down his chopsticks, his mind moved, and he stood up and walked towards that table of cultivators. He signaled for his followers not to get up; he walked over alone.
"Are you the renowned disciples of Dragon Crown Sect?"
His face naturally showed a look of admiration as he greeted them with a warm smile.
"And you are?"
"My na is Hong Hua, newly arrived at the Southern Prefecture...."
Lin Xin carried on the conversation effortlessly, fabricating a fictional identity and started to converse directly with them.
The group, clearly young and naive, felt flattered by a few praises and imdiately struck up a conversation with Lin Xin.
Lin Xin rely probed them a bit and from their conversation, he learned about the changes here ever since he left the Southern Prefecture.
Generally, there were no changes, the major sects of the Southern Prefecture remained the sa, but after his departure, in order to eradicate the Demon Mother and completely destroy the plague, the sects collectively began a second demon expulsion plan.
This ti it still involved the four renowned sects; Plum Blossom Sect, Wind-Riding Sect, Golden Jade Sect, and Pine Forest Sword Sect, joined by so smaller sects, under the lead of Tianyun Taoist for the second ti, collectively heading to the deep underground lair of the Demon Mother.
The first attempt to encircle it cost them dearly, and all the sects were well-prepared for this demon expulsion operation.
But the outco was still extrely tragic.
Four great sects lost six Yuan Jing, even including one True Monarch. All four sects suffered great losses in strength.
Although they successfully killed the Demon Mother and suppressed the spread of the plague, it resulted in a shrinkage of the strength of the Righteous Path, and the demons grew stronger. Now, all four great sects have each retracted their forces.
Seeing Lin Xin’s extraordinary deanor, they were all eager to make a connection, and they revealed the reason why they had rushed to the Pine Forest Sword Sect’s area within the Great Song territory.
It turned out that, because of Pine Forest Sword Sect’s weakened state, their longti rival, Vermilion Bird Holy Court, took the opportunity to act, laying down their influence throughout Great Song’s territory, attempting to expand.
One of the three Supre Elders of Pine Forest Sword Sect, Taikun Daoist Master, hosted a birthday banquet, ostensibly for the banquet, but actually to gather allies to counter the increasingly bold Vermilion Bird Holy Court.
So far, many Righteous Path Cultivators had responded, including many Loose Cultivators who were good friends with Pine Forest Sword Sect.
The other three sects also sent envoys to support.
However, just at this critical mont, Vermilion Bird Holy Court blew up with secret news that it was joining forces with a top power from the Eastern Prefecture, the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Rumors were that the Heavenly Demon Palace would also send a gift to the banquet.
This direct confrontation put the Righteous and Evil paths at odds again.
Such a grand occasion also attracted many experienced Jianghu martial artists to gather, and like them from Dragon Crown Sect, they too ca to watch the excitent.
"Taikun Birthday Banquet...." Lin Xin pondered.
Having made his breakthrough in the Outer Regions, he hadn’t yet verified exactly where he stood among Yuan Jing Cultivators.
This banquet was a good opportunity to clearly determine at what level he stood.
In the Yuan Jing Layer, like other layers, actual combat power is not solely determined by realm. Between victory and defeat, the realm is just one aspect. What more often decides life and death are divine skills, magical weapons, and most crucially, the Soul Domain.
Yuan Jing Cultivators are like rabbits with turtle shells on their backs, either smashed dead with great force in one strike, or exhausted to death; otherwise, once trapped in a war of attrition, with the rabbit’s speed, they can always run away at any mont.
It is known that most in Yuan Jing have grasped the spatial laws, and their escape skills are exceptionally strong, able to cross tens of miles in one successful escape. This is also why those in Yuan Jing generally do not offend each other to the death.
A freak like Lin Xin, however, is an anomaly.
He is more like those top Yuan Jings with divine beast bloodlines, who, even if their realms are not high, can rely on their bloodline divine skills or strong physique to attain combat power far beyond their realms.
This is also why there are many in the Central Prefecture who are at the True Monarch level, yet unable to rank on the Heavenly List.
"Speaking of which, this Taikun Birthday Banquet is also a pri opportunity to truly asure and showcase the hidden power of the Sword Sect. If the strength displayed is strong enough, then the Sword Sect should not have much trouble. But if the displayed strength is not enough to hold down the Vermilion Bird Holy Court, I’m afraid this ti... it will be difficult to overco this predicant..."
Among the four from the Dragon Crown Sect, a middle-aged man with the foulest mouth shook his head and said.
"Junior Yue, you talk too much. In such senior-level gas, what role do little pawns like us have in speaking? If the seniors hear us, it might even spell trouble," one of the two won said in a calm voice.
Her words turned the man’s face red, but he dared not retort.
"I apologize for that," the woman said to Lin Xin with a friendly smile.
"It’s alright. Brother Yue is just a bit too straightforward," Lin Xin didn’t mind. This woman nad Zhou Xiaolu was the eldest among them, subtly leading the group.
"To my knowledge, the Sword Sect is said to have three Supre Elders, and now that two have fallen, does that an even that one called the True Monarch...?"
"That I’m not sure of, but I heard there was a fourth hiding Supre Elder in the Sword Sect initially, but the specifics of the current situation are unknown now," Zhou Xiaolu gently shook her head.
"What? Brother Hong, are you also planning to join the buzz?"
Lin Xin smiled.
"I do plan to go and see, but I must first take care of so matters nearby. I have old connections with the Spirit Heart Manor, and I plan to visit," said the man.
Sword Sect was, after all, the place of his origins, and although the emotional ties weren’t deep, he definitely needed to visit Dugu Lin and Ji Lu couple.
With two Supre Elders fallen, the Sword Sect was clearly at a critical point, and tis were tough. He would surely go, but first, he needed to return to the manor.
"Spirit Heart Manor?" Du Haixin, the young man beside Zhou Xiaolu, was slightly startled. "Brother Hong has old ties with people from Spirit Heart Manor? This ti at the Taikun Birthday Banquet, I heard that Spirit Heart Manor is also sending a team, so you might see them there."
Their conversation with Lin Xin was lively, which seed to make the others like Keke Sai and Yin Mantuo behind them sowhat restless.
These were all transfigured beings from the Outer Regions, unfamiliar with the rules and regulations of human society.
They also didn’t understand Lin Xin’s intention to avoid drawing attention and quietly return to the manor.
In their view, it was a complete waste of ti for their master to slowly interact with these weak creatures.
This was also why Lin Xin did not want them to co forward to gather intelligence.
Since arriving at the Southern Prefecture, they had quietly launched the Void Ship on the border in a deserted place, allowing the remaining crew mbers to quickly escape.
Additionally, letting the Demon Bee Queen rest and recuperate during the tilt allowed them, along with Lin Xiaoyu and Ye Qingchang, to enter the territory of Great Song.
They did not delay at all, heading straight to where Spirit Heart Manor was located.
Upon arrival, they imdiately received news of the Taikun Birthday Banquet.
After gathering enough information, Lin Xin and the four bid farewell with a bow. Zhou Xiaolu’s group, having eaten and drunk their fill, got up to leave the restaurant.
Lin Xin returned to his seat and drank the cup of tea in one gulp.
Scanning the few people present, Lin Xiaoyu looked indifferent, Ye Qingchang appeared sorrowful. Yin Mantuo, Keke Sai, a white snake, and two twins sculpted in jade, all transfigured beings from the Outer Regions, were essentially unfamiliar with human customs. They could kill without an issue, but as for gathering intelligence?
They would probably resort to using Soul Search.
He intended to return quietly; teams from Central Prefecture seeking secret treasures might have already infiltrated the Southern Prefecture. Making a big show would only attract attention and expose their movents, benefitting nothing.
"It seems I must return soon," Lin Xin sighed.
"Why should the master worry, is it because there are too many annoying bugs here? Would you like to kill them all for you?" Keke Sai said coldly, his face stern. Of all the transfigured beings, he was the most fervently devoted to Lin Xin, even considering Lin Xin as his only true god after receiving a peculiar boost to his power.
"Indeed, indeed, I too feel that these weak bugs daring to approach within a hundred miles of the master is utterly audacious. It’s not enough just to kill them; they should be punished severely! Flay their skin, extract their tendons, bleed them and eat their flesh, and subject them to a thousand cuts with Soul Forging!" the twin siblings said in unison, faces fierce.
Their personalities were not yet set, but they had recently been increasingly brainwashed by Keke Sai’s fanaticism, becoming sowhat similar to zealous followers.
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