Chapter 348: Chapter 304: Swearing a Blood Oath, The Final Battle
Qin Forest.
The short-statured Guu Ling and the burly, giant-like Fei Hong sat together with Song Lin in the grand hall.
After interacting with them over the past few days, Song Lin had roughly grasped their thoughts.
They were still in the dark, unaware of past events, and instead believed that the Holy Might Heavenly Master was a benefactor to the two forests.
Without the Holy Might Heavenly Master, their Taoist lineage might not have been preserved.
Song Lin chose not to comnt on this.
After all, he had no evidence. Rashly revealing the truth might be perceived as intentionally sowing discord.
"Brother Song Lin, I really have to thank you. Without your orders, the two of us wouldn’t have made it."
Taoist Guu Ling said with a bitter smile.
Before Song Lin’s arrival, more than half of the two forests were running in deficit.
Since establishing a stable trading channel, the two forests had been revitalized, their inco and expenditure at least balanced now.
"Elder brothers, you’re too kind. It was just a small favor, not worth ntioning."
Song Lin responded humbly.
The deficiencies in Qin Five Qi and Two Forests Taoist Temples were insignificant compared to the annual inco of over ten million from the Donghua Forest.
Moreover, Donghua Forest wasn’t running at a pure loss; resources from these two sectors proved quite useful to the forest.
The materials for the Donghua Forest’s headquarters had been entirely replaced with red tung wood, increasing its sturdiness by dozens of tis. Ordinary spells couldn’t even scratch it.
Most Taoist disciples were now equipped with low-level magical tools made primarily of these materials, and so of these tools had even entered circulation in the Ghost Market. Overall, there was still a small profit to be made.
So it wasn’t as though Song Lin was acting solely out of the goodness of his heart.
At this mont, Song Lin suddenly said:
"Elder brothers, if I may trouble you, could I take you to et soone?"
The two exchanged a glance and then nodded in agreent.
Shortly afterward, they entered the World in the Pot.
Inside the Longevity Palace, an elderly figure stood with his back to them.
Hearing the sound of their arrival, the figure turned around.
Upon seeing this person, Guu Ling and Fei Hong bowed in greeting.
"Greetings to the Heavenly chanism Minister!"
Soone as famous as Zhi Xin needed no introduction.
The hierarchy of the Holy Might Taoist School was strict.
Beneath the Heavenly Master were the City Lords and the Taoists of the Holy Might Forest. One level below them were the Heavenly chanism Minister, the Taiji Left and Right Ministers, the various grandmasters, and high-level elders.
Below that were the Masters of various mansions, mages, and so on.
The position of the Heavenly chanism Minister ranked among the top five in terms of real power.
"No need for formalities." Zhi Xin cut straight to the point and said, "Do you know who killed your grandfather?"
He directed his gaze toward Taoist Guu Ling as he spoke.
The Qin Forest lineage was passed down strictly among males, and every successor was connected by blood. Only this lineage had the right to wield the Four Great Divine Beasts.
Taoist Guu Ling asked in confusion, "My grandfather was killed by demons. Why is the Minister bringing up these old matters?"
If not for the intervention of the Holy Might Heavenly Master, their lineage might not have survived at all.
"Wrong. Your grandfather was killed by the Holy Might Heavenly Master, with accomplices from the Six Paths Jungle. Now you understand why they harbor ill will toward the Yin Fu Lineage?"
The Qin Forest had splintered from the Six Paths Jungle. The two sides were once mortal enemies until the Heavenly Master diated.
"What?"
Taoist Guu Ling couldn’t believe it.
Zhi Xin tossed a bundle to him.
Inside were the ditative writings given by the Heavenly Master to the Six Paths Jungle at the ti of the incident, patrol reports from the Sun, Moon, Five Star Mansion, and personnel arrangents of the Yunzhou Society Commandery.
These docunts made no ntion of any major demon appearances.
"What does this prove?"
Taoist Guu Ling was still incredulous. If Zhi Xin wasn’t soone in such a high position, he might have stord off already.
"What about this?"
Zhi Xin took out a bundle of blood-stained miscellaneous items and written records.
These were relics he had painstakingly unearthed, bearing the aura of the Ghost King Forest and its branches.
Most critically, there were handwritten letters left behind by mbers of the Yin Fu Lineage during that ti.
The writing comprised a disorganized poem.
"I don’t understand the forest’s secret code written here, but you should, right?"
Staring at the letters, Taoist Guu Ling’s expression grew increasingly grim.
The writings described the animosity between the Ghost King Forest and the Yin Fu Forest, as well as the ruthless extermination carried out by the Holy Might Heavenly Master.
The text then explained the death of the founder of the Five Qi Forest.
With the evidence from Qin, even Taoist Fei Hong was convinced.
For only they knew that the two houses had once been a single entity.
All along, they had believed their clan was destroyed by demons.
They never imagined it was because of Holy Might.
"Why are you telling this?"
Taoist Guu Ling harbored doubt in his heart.
"It’s very simple. Because we also intend to go against Holy Might."
Zhi Xin said with a smile.
"Just us?"
Taoist Fei Hong was the first to voice disbelief.
With only himself, Guu Ling, and Song Lin, they numbered but three Purple Mansion cultivators.
Zhi Xin was no more than a Fire Tribulation Cultivator—how could they possibly take on Holy Might?
"No. In the future, there will be many more people. Besides, do you think pretending not to know will allow you to evade this? Have the recent pressures from the Six Paths Jungle and Tianxie Jungle not been enough?"
Zhi Xin’s words left everyone speechless.
Had Song Lin not stepped in to help, their lineage might already have crumbled, eventually being absorbed back into Six Paths or Tianxie.
This was sothing Guu Ling and Fei Hong could not accept, knowing full well how ruthless those who dealt with ghosts and demons could be.
Upon this realization, Guu Ling and Fei Hong bowed deeply toward Zhi Xin.
"We will follow the Minister’s instructions!"
Zhi Xin, however, stepped aside and pointed to Song Lin, saying, "You should be thanking him."
Before long, Song Lin and the two made a blood pact under Zhi Xin’s witness, swearing an oath.
This was a true vow, with extrely stringent conditions. Not only did it require both parties’ essence blood, but also a talisman made from their birthdates. Burning the talisman created talisman water, which they had to consu.
If the oath was broken, the offender would suffer inner demons and die.
From then on, Donghua Forest had two secret allies.
"Let’s not reveal our alliance just yet. Wait until I advance to Mage."
Song Lin instructed.
Within ten years, Song Lin was confident he would break through to Purple Mansion Middle Stage and earn his Mage qualification. When Zhengsi erged, his expression would undoubtedly be worth seeing.
Though Song Lin did not believe Zhengsi was rely reflecting in isolation.
Chances were, he was secretly receiving training from the Heavenly Master.
Song Lin’s intuition wasn’t wrong—Zhengsi was practicing the Ghost King Sect’s direct transmission, the Ghost King Heart thod.
"Hmph. Learn all you want. One day, I’ll swallow up your forest entirely."
With this thought, Song Lin smirked coldly.
ilin County had a total of two forests.
The i Mountain Forest occupied a prosperous area.
Song Lin had long coveted that land.
He hoped Zhengsi would soon co looking for trouble, giving him a legitimate excuse to retaliate.
Then, a life-and-death duel! A fair and open ans to claim ilin County.
It wouldn’t be long before Zhengsi erged.
In Journey to the West, there were over two hundred days left in real ti for everything to be revealed.
Song Lin couldn’t wait to transcend this realm.
With that thought, he returned to Donghua Forest and entered the story world.
In the real world, everything continued as usual, with no outward disturbances.
For a cultivator, over two hundred days could pass in the blink of an eye.
The seven-hundredth year of Journey to the West.
Tang Seng began his westward journey, passing through Huaguo Mountain.
The Heavenly Great Saint was about to erge.
In this world, grand struggles were about to unfold.
And Song Lin’s sches were gradually coming to light.
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