In the main hall, Tao Xuehai slightly raised his right hand. An invisible, icy aura instantly spread out, blanketing the entire room.
The sounds from outside imdiately quieted, then vanished completely, as if a sealed lid had been placed over the area.
"Don’t worry, Master. This is the ability of a relic called a Silencing Stone. It can temporarily block the sound of our conversation," Tao Xuehai explained, lowering his hand.
"A relic? Is its effect powerful?" Lin Hui was a little curious. He had long heard that these items possessed all sorts of abilities. While none were exceptionally strong, their sheer variety of functions made them excellent supplents in actual combat.
However, relics were produced in very small numbers and were all controlled by major powers. He hadn’t expected Tao Xuehai to have one.
"It’s decent. A new ruin can produce one relic at most. It is the very essence of a ruin, and usually its nexus. That’s why relics are so few in number. Based on the value of their function, they are divided into three categories: common, rare, and treasured. If Master wants one..."
WHOOSH.
Tao Xuehai flicked his hand, tossing an object over.
The object resembled a small, brass-colored incense burner, its surface covered in many strange, inexplicable, and bizarre patterns.
One glance was enough to tell the patterns weren’t carved, but had ford naturally.
THWAP.
Lin Hui reached out and caught it, enveloping it with his Inner Strength before placing it on a small table to the side.
"Thank you. I was just thinking of studying one of these." ’Whether for the Blood Seal’s appraisal or its evolution, this thing is excellent material.’
"Master, there’s no need for such formalities between us." Tao Xuehai grinned. He seed to have changed quite a bit since he’d left. The vicious aura around him was much heavier, and his every move was more unrestrained and free, without his previous reservation and suppression.
"Let’s get back to the Insect Scripture and Evil Soldiers." He returned to their previous topic. "I’m not too clear on replica Evil Soldiers, but the replica Insect Scripture I fused with naturally ca with inherited mories and its Dharma Gate. These replicas are also divided into different tiers. After all, the replication strength can be high or low. The materials used, the creator’s skill, luck, and so on all have a huge impact on the final product. This also leads to vast differences in the power of replica Insect Scriptures and Evil Soldiers. Because replicating these things is top secret, it’s difficult to compare them before a real battle. And since comparison is hard, there’s no way to establish a unified grading system. So, generally, you only know how powerful one is after you’ve actually fought with it."
"Does fusing with one imdiately increase your strength?" Lin Hui asked. He was curious about these things. It wasn’t impossible that he might encounter a similar opponent in the future, so it was best to understand them beforehand.
"Yes. Once you fuse, your physical constitution and strength are permanently fixed. This is the inherent flaw of the replicas," Tao Xuehai explained calmly. "But I don’t regret it. My aptitude is limited. I can’t perform the Summoning, and while my martial arts progress is decent, it would take far, far too long. Rather than wait decades to beco powerful enough for revenge, with no guarantee of success, it’s better to fuse now and achieve my goal as soon as possible!"
"You’re that confident?" Lin Hui was surprised.
"The Qinghe Sect has its backers, and then there are those small and dium-sized families, like a pack of wild dogs, who just kick a man when he’s down. With my current strength, it’s more than enough," Tao Xuehai said with confidence.
He looked at the perplexed Lin Hui and smiled. "Master, there’s sothing you may not know. Evil Soldiers inherit Evil Energy, while the Insect Scripture inherits Insect Fog."
"Insect Fog?"
"The so-called Insect Fog is a highly venomous, insect-like mist. One who has fused with a replica Insect Scripture can completely dissolve their body into this Insect Fog and rge with the surrounding mist. In this way, we beco omnipresent, undying, and immortal. Ordinary attacks are completely ineffective against us. And the strongest part is, as long as even a tiny trace of the Insect Fog remains, we can rapidly regenerate and restore our bodies."
After a pause, he continued.
"So, the Insect Scripture offers greater survivability, while Evil Soldiers have more nurous and varied special abilities."
"I see..." Lin Hui understood. "But if you want revenge, what if you encounter a Priest or a High Priest..."
"It’s no matter. Without another of my kind, even a High Priest can’t kill . Dissolving into Insect Fog can easily deal with a High Priest’s cognitive attacks on the Heart and Spirit. And if they can’t kill , the end result is that they will be worn down to death by !" Tao Xuehai smiled at Lin Hui. "Most importantly, Master, can you guess what I’ve discovered?"
"?" Lin Hui looked at the smile on his face and said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"I discovered that even after fusing with the replica Insect Scripture, I can continue to practice Swordsmanship and increase my strength by improving it! Although it’s still a bit slower than before, the limitation isn’t so absolute," Tao Xuehai said with a brilliant smile.
Lin Hui was suddenly at a loss for words. ’So he’s discovered a bug in the system.’
’My Swordsmanship isn’t part of this world’s system at all, so it’s only natural that it’s unaffected by the native restrictions.’
"Alright, back to business. I also ca this ti to warn you, Master. The Inner City might beco chaotic again soon. My sister, the other survivors of my clan, and I have all joined the Profound Eagle Sect, founded by Lord Xue Ying. If you receive a mission from the Inner City to search for the Profound Eagle Sect, rember not to be too cooperative. Just find an excuse to stay in town," Tao Xuehai urged in closing.
"I understand..." Lin Hui nodded. He knew the other was warning him out of goodwill. It seed Xue Ying really hadn’t died after all. ’For that guy to cause so much trouble before and still be able to make a coback, he truly can’t be underestimated.’
And although the Tao Family’s downfall was officially tied to the siege on Xue Ying, that was just a pretext. The core reason was the Inner City taking the opportunity to purge them.
Judging by Tao Xuehai’s attitude, since his clan had been exterminated by certain Inner City families and the Qinghe Sect, he probably figured he might as well join the enemy’s camp.
"By the way, Master, I’ve also brought so of the Illusory Dragon Lotus you’ve been needing. This is a specialty from my Tao Family’s dicinal garden. Unfortunately, we completely destroyed the garden when we left. In the future, only a small stock of this will remain, and each one used is one less. I hope you’ll keep that in mind, Master." Tao Xuehai once again retrieved a small wooden box from a hollow in his armor’s waist and placed it on the table.
"Seeing that you are still in high spirits, Master, I can rest assured. I... will take my leave."
He stepped back again and perford a salute.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Master... I have a lead on the Gale Swordsmanship..."
WHOOSH!
In the next instant, Tao Xuehai had transford into a fierce wind and vanished.
Lin Hui was left alone. He placed a hand on the wooden box and gently opened it.
Inside were ten whole stalks of Illusory Dragon Lotus. This dicinal herb, which resembled a dried chrysanthemum, was the most effective Treasure dicine he had ever used.
A single stalk could save the Blood Seal one to two years of evolution ti. A box like this could shorten the process by nearly twenty years...
With a sigh, Lin Hui thought back carefully. The help Tao Xuehai had given him was far greater than even that from the Wang Family.
’What a good kid, to know how to repay a favor...’
he lanted in his heart.
With this, the completion of the Star Breath Sword Manual was now in sight. However, since his practice of the Typhoon Swordsmanship was still far from complete, the Star Breath Sword Manual would have to be shelved for now.
But the Blood Seal would be freed up to perform other tasks, such as the one he had envisioned: establishing a safe house of his own.
Closing the lid, Lin Hui rose to his feet. With a flicker, he vanished from the eting hall.
He had to consu these things as soon as possible to get their effects. It would be a terrible waste if even a little of their dicinal potency was lost.
「Day by day, ti passed.」
While Lin Hui was absorbing the Illusory Dragon Lotus, Xue Ying’s Profound Eagle Sect indeed began to stir up trouble.
The Wang Family provoked so of their mbers and had their subordinate rchant caravans ambushed several tis in a row. Furthermore, Wang Family mbers outside the clan estate also began to et with successive "accidents."
For a ti, panic spread within the Wang Family. Wang Yueheng’s older sister, Wang Yuetting, used her authority as a High Priest to mobilize Rain Palace personnel to patrol and search everywhere, but it was completely futile.
They couldn’t find so much as a shadow.
And during the search, because their forces were spread thin, the Wang’s Zong Family was actually attacked and severely damaged.
If the family’s old ancestor hadn’t co out of seclusion in ti, the entire clan estate might have been razed to the ground.
Fortunately, though strangely, according to what Lin Hui found out from his big brother, the Wang Family sohow managed to persuade the Rain Palace’s upper echelons. Three Elders ca out of seclusion to help guard the clan estate, which was how they finally repelled the Profound Eagle Sect’s subsequent attacks.
Although they failed to completely annihilate the Wang Family, Xue Ying’s fearso reputation only spread wider and grew fiercer.
*
*
*
「One week later...」
Lin Hui sat cross-legged in his training room, gazing at the text of the Blood Seal in his field of vision, a trace of relief on his face.
’Star Breath Sword Manual: Remaining evolution ti: 4 years, 3 months, and 19 days.’
The effect of the ten Illusory Dragon Lotuses had instantly reduced the ti from 23 and a half years down to just over 4.
He could easily finish off this remaining ti in just a few months.
’As expected of a high-grade Treasure dicine from a great clan...’ Lin Hui sighed internally. ’If I had a few more disciples like Tao Xuehai, I could use the Blood Seal without any restraint... I can’t even imagine how amazing that would be.’
The Star Breath Sword Manual would soon free up the Blood Seal, which was good news. But there was bad news, too.
He was almost out of Purple Crystal for Body Tempering.
And as for a Body Tempering Elixir that would be effective for the Typhoon Swordsmanship, he had tried to find one, but there were absolutely none.
Right now, the Purple Crystal Ruins were undoubtedly being watched by the Qinghe Sect. If he went there to mine directly, he would most likely expose himself and attract the Qinghe Sect’s attention.
Lin Hui mulled over his options. He had compared it before: the Purple Crystal accelerated Body Tempering for his Typhoon Swordsmanship by at least seventy to eighty percent.
The practice of Typhoon Swordsmanship was already extrely slow. Without Purple Crystal, the speed would be... unimaginable.
’It seems I still have to go through the Good Heart Sect. If I can get access to their closed circle for Treasure dicine, I won’t have to worry about these things anymore.’ What he lacked right now was precisely such a circle for acquiring high-end Treasure dicine.
He had previously asked his big brother to introduce him to one, but the trading circle Liu Wu Jun recomnded had a limited supply of the relevant herbs. After buying so Yun Lingzhi and Purple Cloud Ganoderma, there was no more stock. After all, which dicinal garden would mass-produce aphrodisiacs?
Such things were completely unnecessary in the Inner City. Everyone’s constitution was terrifyingly strong, and their stamina was monstrous.
There was simply no need for aphrodisiacs.
Thus, Lin Hui set his sights on the Good Heart Sect.
This was also the reason why he had so cooperatively completed the Good Heart Sect’s three preliminary missions.
And now...
Lin Hui shifted his gaze from the Blood Seal and took out his personal silver, four-sided token from his waist.
He gently infused a bit of Inner Strength into it.
Instantly, the codena representing him on the four-sided token lit up with a silver glow, which quickly faded.
The next second, a sowhat familiar male voice ca from the token.
"Well? Have you decided to complete the final, official mission?"
It was the voice of Dragon Maiden, who was also Lin Hui’s sole point of contact and superior.
The Good Heart Sect’s structure, to ensure secrecy and security, was all based on this kind of single-level contact.
Each level could only contact the one directly above it; there was no skipping ranks.
"Go on, what’s the official mission? You said before that you’d help pick an easier one. Does that offer still stand?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.
"Of course. I’ve had one ready for you for a while now," Dragon Maiden chuckled. "The mission is simple: take a trip to Xingdiao City and kill one person."
"Who is it? And am I going alone?" Lin Hui asked.
"Of course not just you. Two others will be with you. You’re just joining the team; soone else is leading. As for who you’re killing, you’ll find out when the ti cos. What I can tell you is that the actions of our Good Heart Sect are all done with a clear conscience. Anyone we kill will surely have a reason they deserve to die," Dragon Maiden’s tone slowly grew solemn.
"Alright... When do we set out? I need to make arrangents," Lin Hui asked.
"We were just waiting for the team to assemble. You’re the last one. Now that everyone is here, you can depart in about five days. The specific eting point is at the edge of Fog Area Mutao Cliff, outside Yunbian Town. Once you arrive, you’ll be able to sense an aura and find the exact location," Dragon Maiden explained.
"Understood!" Lin Hui agreed.
The Xingdiao City District... He had lived his whole life without ever visiting another city district. This ti, he would finally get to see one for himself.
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