sinovels Chapter 30 Farewell
Chapter 30 Farewell
Zhang Lin was immersed in cultivation, and his true energy flowed slowly along the meridian routes of the "Shangqing Qi-Guiding Technique".
With each cycle of circulation, the true qi mist in the dantian becomes denser, and the drop of liquid true qi at the core also grows stronger.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes.
The sky outside the waterfall was already bright.
Zhang Lin stood up and stretched his limbs.
His enhanced physique allowed him to sit cross-legged in the cave all night without feeling tired; on the contrary, he felt refreshed and full of vital energy.
He walked to the cave entrance, passed through the waterfall's curtain of water, and landed by the emerald pool.
Morning light filters through the treetops, casting dappled shadows on the water's surface.
Several unidentified mountain birds were singing in the branches, their calls clear and melodious.
Zhang Lin took a deep breath of the morning mountain air, then took out the communication talisman from his pocket.
This was given to him by Qi Yuntian before he went down the mountain. He said that if his life was in danger, he should use this talisman to send a message, and he would bring people to meet him.
Now that the Black Wind Society has been destroyed and Master Xiong is dead, he is no longer in danger.
But he needs a reasonable reason to stay in Blackwind Mountain indefinitely.
Zhang Lin activated the communication talisman, and the talisman spontaneously combusted without fire, turning into a wisp of green smoke that condensed into a small paper crane.
He used his inner energy to carve a line of words on the paper crane:
"Senior Brother Qi, I have encountered a fortuitous opportunity in the mountains and need to go into seclusion for several days. I would like to trouble you to take care of all matters in the temple. Your brother Zhang Lin respectfully submits this message."
The paper crane took flight, soaring through the treetops towards Shangqing Temple.
Zhang Lin watched the paper crane disappear into the morning light, then turned and walked through the waterfall back into the cave.
Meanwhile, in Qingyun Town, a piece of news is quietly spreading.
The Black Wind Society has been destroyed.
Master Xiong is dead.
It is said that a passing Danxia Sect disciple, alone with his sword, wiped out Master Xiong and his group of seven, along with a level-two peak Azure Scale Python, in the Black Pine Forest.
When the news reached Heming Hall, Sun He remained silent for a long time, then stroked his beard and sighed deeply.
"The old Taoist priest said long ago that that young man is no ordinary person."
"A disciple of the Grand Master, indeed living up to his reputation."
He paused, then called his daughter and instructed her, "Go and gather out those good medicinal herbs from the storeroom. If that Fellow Daoist Lin comes again, I will treat him well."
Meanwhile, at the other end of Qingyun Town, in a tea stall, several lay practitioners were discussing in hushed tones.
"Have you heard? Black Wind has been targeted."
"Who did it? Which major sect's disciple?"
"He was said to be from the Danxia Sect. He was a young man with a late-stage Qi Refining cultivation level. He single-handedly killed Master Xiong and all his men."
"Disciples of major sects are truly different..."
The news reached Shangqing Temple three days later.
Qi Yuntian stood at the entrance of the temple, and after listening to the news brought back by a junior brother who had gone down the mountain to buy supplies, his brows furrowed slightly.
Disciple of the Danxia Sect.
He single-handedly challenged the Black Wind Society with his sword.
"Disciple of the Danxia Sect..."
Qi Yuntian muttered to himself, a complex look flashing in his eyes, a mixture of reminiscence and something else almost imperceptible.
He didn't say much, but instructed his junior brother to inform the abbot. Then he walked alone to the cliff edge of the back mountain, gazing in the direction of Black Wind Mountain, remaining silent for a long time.
The mountain wind howled, fluttering his robes.
In the distance, Black Wind Mountain was hidden in the clouds and mist, and could not be seen clearly.
In that deep mountain shrouded in mist, Zhang Lin opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Three days later, there were already three drops of liquid true qi in his dantian.
His cultivation at the late stage of Qi Refining had become even more stable.
He stood up, walked to the spring, and scooped up some water to wash his face.
The cool spring water dispelled the last trace of weariness.
He has two things to do today.
The first thing is to go back to Shangqing Temple.
He wanted to explain the situation to Qi Yuntian, telling him that he had been recruited by his senior brother from the Danxia Sect to help manage the business in Qingyun Town, and that he would be moving out to live alone in the future.
The second thing is to go to Qingyun Town and find Sun He.
He wants to open a shop.
It wasn't a medicine shop or a magic artifact shop, but a general store.
Their business scope covers elixirs, pills, talismans, and low-level magical artifacts; they sell everything.
There are three or four such grocery stores in Qingyun Town. One more or one less won't make a difference, and it won't attract any attention.
But what Zhang Lin wanted was not the profit from the shop itself, but a legal identity and a channel to sell stolen goods.
He can use the recipes in the "Hundred Herbs Elixir Classic" to refine elixirs, enhance spiritual herbs with the system, and then sell the enhanced elixirs and spiritual herbs in his shop to exchange for spirit stones.
After the Black Wind Society was destroyed, he could slowly sell the scattered magical artifacts he had seized through shops without arousing suspicion.
More importantly, with a shop, he could legitimately stay in Qingyun Town, using the Black Wind Mountain Spirit Spring as his dwelling, cultivating and running the business at the same time.
Zhang Lin had already made up his mind, so he didn't delay any longer, packed up, and walked out of the cave.
Morning light filters through the waterfall's curtain of water, creating a hazy veil of light at the cave entrance.
He crossed the waterfall, landed by the pool, and walked out along the mountain stream.
He stopped as he passed the battlefield from a few days earlier.
In the black pine forest, the traces of that fierce battle are still visible.
The black pine trees, snapped in half by the blue-scaled python, lay scattered on the ground, leaving deep furrows in the earth.
Where the blazing flames had burned, pine needles and withered branches turned into grayish-white embers, exposing the scorched black soil.
A faint, lingering smell of anxiety still hung in the air.
Zhang Lin glanced at it and continued walking.
When we returned to Shangqing Temple, it was already noon.
The monks were having lunch in the temple. The sounds of bowls and chopsticks clattering and the low murmur of the monks talking could be heard from the dining hall.
Unable to find anyone in the dining hall or the cultivation room in the front yard, Zhang Lin went directly to Qi Yuntian's private residence.
Qi Yuntian is the abbot's eldest disciple and has a separate courtyard on the back mountain.
The courtyard is not large, with three main rooms and two side rooms. There is an old locust tree in the courtyard, and stone tables and benches are placed under the tree.
When Zhang Lin knocked on the door, Qi Yuntian was practicing his sword in the courtyard.
He wielded a low-grade magic weapon longsword with great force; his moves were simple and unadorned, yet they possessed a certain grandeur.
"Junior Brother Zhang?"
Qi Yuntian sheathed his sword and looked at Zhang Lin with some surprise.
He looked Zhang Lin up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on the black brocade robe Zhang Lin was wearing, and his brows furrowed slightly.
"Where did you get all this...?"
Zhang Lin had already prepared his story, and immediately recounted the tale of his "chance encounter with Master Danxia."
The story is simple: when he went down the mountain to collect herbs, he met an outer disciple of the Danxia Sect, surnamed Lin.
Seeing that he had a talent for identifying medicinal herbs, Senior Brother Lin took a liking to him and wanted to recruit him to help manage the general store he opened in Qingyun Town.
Senior Brother Lin himself needs to go out to collect herbs and refine elixirs, so he needs a reliable person to look after the shop.
Zhang Lin has already agreed. He returned today to explain the situation to Qi Yuntian, saying that he will be moving out to live alone from now on.
After listening, Qi Yuntian remained silent for a moment.
"Danxia Sect... Senior Brother Lin."
He spoke slowly, looking at Zhang Lin as if he was carefully choosing his words.
"Junior Brother Zhang, do you know what kind of background the Danxia Sect has?"
"One of the Nine Great Mystic Sects, stationed in Yunmeng Continent," Zhang Lin replied.
"Since you know that, have you ever wondered why a disciple of the prestigious Danxia Sect would come to a small place like Qingyun Town to open a general store?"
Qi Yuntian's gaze sharpened.
Zhang Lin felt a chill run down his spine.
Qi Yuntian appears rough and boorish on the surface, but he is actually quite meticulous.
He was the abbot's chief disciple and had been at Shangqing Temple for over a decade. He was experienced in human relationships and was not easily fooled.