South Prefecture
A month had passed since Lin Xin brought An Ying back, and during this period, the two seed to have returned to the way they interacted when they first t on the mountain.
Each practiced their own cultivation without interfering with each other, yet they would often take walks together and discuss Dao and cultivation techniques; most of the ti, it was Lin Xin speaking, with An Ying listening.
But a tacit understanding that had been lost long ago was gradually returning.
The whole of Pine Forest Mountain knew of this, with so speculating that the Sect Master might be preparing for a grand wedding while others guessed that there could be friction between An Ying and Dugu Lin.
Regardless of the speculation, the Pine Forest Sword Sect, having grown like an octopus stretching its tentacles in all directions following Lin Xin’s defeat of the allied forces, had crazily expanded.
During this ti, the Outer Regions around the Sword Sect were also surprisingly peaceful, causing many to be taken aback.
Whispers of an alliance between Pine Forest Sword Sect and the monsters from the Outer Regions began to circulate.
Yet under Lin Xin’s intimidation, no one dared to openly discuss it.
Bringing An Ying back was fulfilling Lin Xin’s greatest wish over these many years. Although she couldn’t accept herself yet, ti would eventually dilute everything.
The experts from the Radiant Sun Sect, who had been collecting Demon Talisman Seeds, acted on his command and located the hidden children of the Nether Sect in South Prefecture.
Unsurprisingly, these offspring of the Nether Sect were everywhere, so even belonging to the assassins from the Shadow Light Platform.
Lin Xin wished to settle the cause and effect of the Red Leaf Sword Master assisting him to escape from the Nether Sect, and to rescue Red Leaf and others, he had to start by seeking out the roots of the Nether Sect.
He ordered surveillance of the Nether Sect’s offspring while also commanding the collection of all kinds of ancient texts and scrolls from Primordial Ancient Tis.
anwhile, most of his ti was spent using the understanding gained from pain to continuously grasp the Yang-style Cultivation Decisions he had gathered.
The remaining ti, he controlled himself, and spent so parts with An Ying, family mbers, and children.
However, what caused him the most awkwardness was the subtle atmosphere between Lin Zhen and An Ying when they t.
Fortunately, the two girls adopted by An Ying had grown up, and in her free ti, she focused on guiding them, treating them as her own daughters.
On Lin Zhen’s side, he too imrsed himself in rigorous cultivation and educating his children. The Lin Family’s lineage prospered and branched out.
Both sides avoided each other as much as possible, reducing much awkwardness.
Lin Xin also finally had ti to devote himself to researching the miniaturization applications of Fourth Grade Formations. The path of Talisman Formation was the most ti-consuming domain; the higher up one went, the difficulties increased.
Even with his current Yuan Jing cultivation, substantial spiritual power, and countless resources at his disposal, progress was extrely slow.
But this field could help him decipher the runes recorded by the Nether Sect; many ancient records about the Primordial Ancient Tis used runes and Formation Talismans as their language. If his understanding of Talisman Formation was insufficient, he wouldn’t even be able to review the materials.
********************
In the blink of an eye, fifteen years had passed.
The Pine Forest Sword Sect had expanded even further, pressing the Plum Blossom Sect, Golden Jade Sect, and Wind-Riding Sect into joining its massive alliance, unifying all the resources and fighting capabilities of South Prefecture under Lin Xin’s influence.
The Seven Section Bamboo event in Central Prefecture ca to an end, bringing forth many new talents and Successors from various sects who subsequently made their formal entry into the world.
Huang Yuanqing of the Nether Path, Lin Shan of the Sky Cloud Path, and Ding Huai of the Shape-shifting Cave beca the brightest rising stars of Central Prefecture; they overca other talents in the Seven Section Bamboo event and earned the title of the strongest in their Realm.
The Sand Ti Divine Palace finally opened as well.
The leaders of the various Sects who had been trapped inside were able to return to their respective sects, most of them having ford blood feuds within.
Upon returning, they began bloody revenge against each other, with nurous incidents of sudden betrayal among forr allies.
Similarly, adversaries who had been forced to form uneasy alliances inside were also not a few.
All of Central Prefecture was thrown into chaos, and as a result, the Immortal Alliance collapsed with a bang, existing in na only, with the inner disputes among sects of the Evil Path, Demonic Path, and Righteous Path intertwining, creating grudges even more nurous than those against the Red Spine Sect.
The Red Spine Sect was in a similar situation; with Huang Yuerong still in seclusion recovering from injuries, and even with the combined efforts of the other Yuan Jing and the rogue princess Qichen, they were still severely injured by Yuan Qiuque in a direct confrontation, forcing them into seclusion without the strength to expand their territory.
Suddenly, Central Prefecture had no energy to care about South Prefecture and other regions. Even if they had the energy, facing the terrifying Undying Demonic Arts and the endless expansion of the master of South Prefecture, the Red Flower Sword Devil, even cultivators of the sa level were reluctant to provoke such a terrifying opponent. Everyone turned a blind eye.
And while the Sky Cloud Path and Jade Pure Path had previously made significant moves, they now seed as though nothing had ever happened, remaining eerily quiet. Strife was limited to those below the Yuan Jing Level, appearing fiercely competitive yet with neither side suffering any fundantal damage.
********************
At a bamboo bridge over a small stream, with the sunset reflecting on the water.
Lin Xin and An Ying stood on the bridge, one playing the zither while the other practiced swordplay, complenting each other nicely.
There was nothing particularly extraordinary or magical about it, as if they were just two ordinary people retiring deep in the mountains, peacefully enjoying life.
Lin Xin’s cultivation had beco unfathomably deep; over the years, he had gradually mastered the amplification and changes of his own power, and had co to understand certain Divine Skills and peculiar abilities, covering the distance others in Yuan Jing would take hundreds or thousands of years to traverse.
The Skill Manifestation ability made it extrely easy for him to enter any field, but to delve deeper and achieve higher proficiency, he still had to slowly learn and comprehend until he mastered a new success and ford a new, deeper Skill.
As long as he succeeded once, he could let his body form a Skill and keep repeating the success precisely, finding patterns within it.
Such a terrifying talent allowed Lin Xin to directly master the true microscopic core of Fourth Grade Formations over these fifteen years, and he also began to explore the domain of Fifth Grade Formations.
The sound of the zither slowly ceased.
Lin Xin’s fingers were still on the strings, but suddenly, a white light flew from afar and landed on the ground, transforming into a young Taoist in a white robe and high crown.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, Yin Mantuo and several protectors have returned from the Outer Regions. They say there is an important matter to report," said the Taoist.
Lin Xin glanced at An Ying.
"I’ll go see Fei’er and the others first; you go ahead with your business," An Ying said indifferently, transforming into a disk of white light and shooting off into the distance.
Although she only had the Cultivation of Qi, her body had rged with a magical treasure, which also gave her the ability to fly.
"Let them co to see ," Lin Xin then turned to address the young Taoist.
"Yes."
The Taoist turned into a white light and disappeared again.
There was a mont of silence on the bridge, which soon gave way to a golden-red halo.
As the halo dispersed, Yin Mantuo and Keke Sai appeared within it.
"Master, it has been a long ti since we’ve seen each other, and your aura has grown even stronger," Keke Sai said with extre respect, prostrating himself.
"Master," Yin Mantuo, holding a gold and red Ruyi over a ter long, seed more normal in comparison.
"What have you found?" Lin Xin rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the bridge to look down at the quietly flowing stream below.
"In one of the relics we visited this ti, we found this." Yin Mantuo pulled out a pale yellow Short Scroll from her sleeve.
The scroll was covered in mold spots; though it faintly glowed, its corners were completely powdery, indicating it was an artifact from many years ago.
"Did you apply this glow?" Lin Xin extended his hand and the scroll flew into his grasp.
"No, the scroll had it originally. After the mold spots appeared, we used a special Spiritual Law to preserve it," explained Keke Sai. "According to our estimate, the glow itself has a history of over thirteen thousand years, while the mold on the scroll is tens of thousands of years old, aning that soone discovered this ancient scroll thirteen thousand years ago and then preserved it."
"The identification thod is?"
"The Sedintation of Spiritual Essence thod. It’s one of the most precise," said Keke Sai gravely.
"Over ti, accumulated Spiritual Essence will leave extrely subtle traces and marks inside objects. This kind of essence doesn’t disappear but continues to leave ring-like traces, allowing for the identification of items up to millions of years old."
"What guarded the relic?" Lin Xin held the scroll, imdiately sensing the flowing glow on it that seed to be a strange energy entirely different from any known force—not Spiritual Energy, not Demonic Qi, nor the common powers of Outer Realm Races.
Over the years, he constantly sent out creatures under his command to search for relics of the Evil God, obtaining various items and records. He also encountered many Outer Realm Races and saw many different powers, but he had never seen such a glow before.
It was like clear water, sparse in density yet like gravel, continuously deforming and accumulating as his hand moved across it.
"They were sacrificial offerings to the Wènduò Evil God," Keke Sai explained. "We sacrificed twenty thousand bee swarms to breach the area. The final sacrificer was a giant humanoid with a dragon head, using a composite language to release Talisman Formations of Fourth to Fifth Grade. It was Shadow Envoy herself who struck down the opponent."
The Shadow Envoy he ntioned was Hua Shenxi. Hua Shenxi was only one step away from reaching the Yuan Jing Level before, and after receiving about half of Lin Xin’s Attribute boost over the years, she finally broke through, reaching the Yuan Jing Layer and entering Fifth Grade. She beca one of Lin Xin’s most mysterious and formidable generals.
She was the one to resolve many difficult conquests in the Outer Regions.
"We found this scroll inside the belly of an Evil God statue at that ti," Keke Sai continued.
"Alright, you have worked hard. Go down and focus on your cultivation; the rit Points will be recorded at the Sect’s ritorious Achievent Platform," Lin Xin said casually.
"Thank you, Master."
The two excused themselves.
Both Keke Sai and Yin Mantuo had their own desires, and evolving was the best way to fulfill them. rit Points were designed by Lin Xin to exchange for resources in the Treasury, such as Cultivation thods, rare items, Divine weapons, and the like.
After they left, Lin Xin, holding the scroll in his hand, gently removed the glow on it.
Over the years, he had obtained hundreds of such scrolls which, aside from learning several new languages and about so life events of the Evil Gods, didn’t yield any other findings.
However, for so reason, he faintly felt that the scroll in front of him might be of help to him.
This feeling was mysterious; he had initially planned—if there were no more clues—to personally explore the endless worlds within the Illusory Sea, where many True Monarchs feared to take a step for fear of not finding their way back. But he was different. With a large number of contracted creatures by his side, he had a guide to their presence and didn’t fear losing direction.
He had almost completely lost hope, but this scroll gave him a faint sense of familiarity.
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