nyslfriends Chapter 34 Emerging from Seclusion
Chapter 34 Emerging from Seclusion
As the moon set and the sun rose, Lin Jingchu, refreshed after a night's rest, stepped out of the quiet room.
He went down to the bottom of the crevice and stretched his limbs in the morning sunlight.
He then closed the cave's sealing barriers.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
Almost the instant the barrier opened, two long-awaited transmission talismans shot through the air and hovered in front of him.
Lin Jingchu pointed a finger. One of the communication talismans transformed into a flame, carrying Zhou Qinghe's voice: "Junior Brother Lin! When will you emerge from seclusion? Senior Sister Song has been asking me about you repeatedly."
Lin Jingchu smiled slightly and pointed to another dish.
The voice transmission talisman carried Song Yu's clear and melodious voice: "Junior Brother Lin, I heard from Junior Brother Zhou that you have been formally accepted as a personal disciple by Elder Feng. Congratulations."
Lin Jingchu couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, muttering to himself, "This guy's still playing dumb with me..."
However, speaking of Elder Feng, I really should go and pay my respects to this master.
Last time, the formal relationship was hastily established, and I focused solely on foundation building before returning to seclusion. Now that I have successfully established my foundation, it is time to pay a visit and complete the formal apprenticeship ceremony.
"What should I give him?" Lin Jingchu pondered to himself.
He was originally just a low-level foreign affairs disciple with limited resources. Apart from what the mission system gave him, he didn't have anything worth mentioning.
Just as he was fretting, his eyes lit up and he took out a half-foot square piece from his storage bag.
It was an inkstone with an ancient shape and exquisite carving. It was neither stone nor jade, and it reflected a dark gold luster under the morning light.
Although the inkstone used by Master Cangkun is not a precious artifact for cultivation, it is definitely presentable!
Having made up his mind, Lin Jingchu boarded the Azure Wing Boat and went to the affairs hall of Tianquan Peak to report that he had successfully established his foundation and to collect the cultivation supplies for his months of seclusion.
Then, he changed direction and flew straight towards Elder Feng's cave.
"You've got some good ideas, kid. You actually managed to find this 'Guanshan Inkstone,' a specialty of Yunzhou, and it's even a fine piece. These days, it's quite rare."
Elder Feng opened the exquisite wooden box presented by Lin Jingchu, examined the inkstone inside, stroked his beard and smiled, looking quite pleased.
Lin Jingchu bowed and said, "I was hastily accepted your apprenticeship before, and I have nothing of value to offer, which I am very ashamed of. I recently happened to see this item in the market, so I came to offer it to you as a token of my appreciation. I hope you will not find it too meager, Master."
Elder Feng put it away and said with a smile, "That day when you said you had prepared enough Foundation Establishment Pills, I was still a little skeptical, but I didn't expect you to actually succeed in establishing your foundation."
"I was fortunate enough to succeed in breaking through the sect's cultivation barrier with just two Foundation Establishment Pills," Lin Jingchu replied humbly.
"Luck is also an important factor on the path of cultivation." Elder Feng waved his hand, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Lin Jingchu: "I am honored that my master has accepted me as a disciple and bestowed upon me such precious treasures. Although I have only recently entered the Foundation Establishment stage, I am willing to lend a hand should my master have any trivial matters that require my assistance."
Since we're here, we might as well try to trigger a quest.
Elder Feng pondered for a moment: "There is indeed something that would be perfect for you. The Shen family of Tiantong City in Nanzhou needs a protective array set up for their small spirit mine. There is no danger in this journey, only a long distance. The reward is also very generous, a full five hundred spirit stones."
After saying that, he glanced at Lin Jingchu, thinking that he had just taken this disciple, and then the Shen family found out that there was a girl with a unique spiritual root. He couldn't even snatch her away if he wanted to.
Thinking of this, he said irritably, "Now that you've got my Azure Wing Boat, you should take it out and show it off, lest this precious artifact gather dust."
Lin Jingchu was speechless. If you just throw the Azure Wing Boat into the storage room, it will only gather dust.
However, as long as there is a task, I am happy to accept any complaints.
[Task Discovered]
【Task Name: Spirit Ore Array Setup】
[Posted by: Feng Zhuohe (Favorability rating: Approved)]
[Mission Description: Proceed to Tiantong City in Nanzhou to set up a protective array for the Shen family's spirit ore mines. {Map}]
[Task Reward: Feng Zhuohe's weapon crafting experience]
……
"Just from the Azure Wing Boat, we can tell that Elder Feng's weapon-refining skills are quite remarkable! If we could gain his experience, wouldn't we be able to directly achieve minor mastery in weapon refining!"
Lin Jingchu piloted the Azure Wing Boat towards the foot of Tianquan Peak, his heart filled with excitement.
A moment later, he arrived at the small courtyard with blue bricks that he hadn't returned to in a long time. He pressed the button on the flying boat and landed lightly.
"Junior Brother Lin!... Ah, no, I should call you Uncle-Master Lin now!" Zhou Qinghe, who was in the courtyard, greeted Lin Jingchu hurriedly, his tone both intimate and slightly reserved.
"Brother Zhou, there's no need for such formality between us. Just call me Jingchu." Lin Jingchu put away the Azure Wing Boat and stepped forward with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qinghe smiled and put down his work. The two moved to a stone table on the side of the courtyard and sat down.
"During my seclusion, has anything major happened inside or outside the sect?" Lin Jingchu inquired.
Zhou Qinghe paused, his teacup just touching his lips, then exclaimed excitedly, "Hey! Something really big has happened! You know about the Luanming Sect, right?"
"The Luanming Sect? Of course I know it. It's the top sect in the Northern Territory. During the chaos in the secret realm last time, their seniors Long Han and Feng Bing even showed up to help." Lin Jingchu nodded.
"These are the two seniors!" Zhou Qinghe slapped his thigh. "They joined forces with Elder Jin of the Ancient Sword Sect and pursued the Heavenly Fiend True Monarch for thousands of miles. His physical body was slain in the Northern Lands, and only his Nascent Soul escaped. Later, I heard that his Nascent Soul completely dissipated due to the severity of his injuries."
He took a sip of tea and continued, "That's not all. Taking advantage of this, the Luanming Sect formed the Heavenly Dao Alliance. The Luanming Sect, the Ancient Sword Sect, and another major sect, Ni Hangzhai, formed a triumvirate, and many other sects, including our Luoyun Sect, responded and joined!"
This was an earth-shattering turn of events! Lin Jingchu sighed inwardly, then asked, "What about the Heavenly Fiend Sect? With their sect leader dead, they probably won't let this go easily, will they?"
"Them? It's said that once they've chosen a new Heavenly Fiend True Monarch, they'll close their mountain gates! Losing a sect leader is already too good for them!" Zhou Qinghe sneered.
He paused for a moment, then continued, "In addition, last month the Luanming Sect held the founding ceremony of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. The righteous Taizhen Sect's Supreme Yang and the Demonic Hehuan Sect's Old Demon Hehuan were both present and even sparred with the two seniors, Long Han and Feng Bing. The specific details are beyond the knowledge of a junior disciple like myself."
Lin Jingchu understood: the division of the four alliances in Tiannan was thus established.
The two chatted for a few more minutes, then Zhou Qinghe suddenly became serious: "Junior Brother Lin, there's something I need to tell you. I helped you refine pills before and received 20% of the pills in return, which was of great help to me. Now I'm preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment. If that happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to find Purple Frost Fruit for you anymore."
As he spoke, he took out a wooden box emanating a chilling aura from his robes and handed it over: "Today is the day to deliver the Purple Frost Fruit to Senior Sister Song. Senior Sister Song asked about you before, so why don't you deliver it yourself this time, Junior Brother?"
Lin Jingchu took the wooden box and smiled, "I'll ask other fellow disciples for help with finding the Purple Frost Fruit. I wish Senior Brother Zhou a smooth Foundation Establishment process and swift success!"
After bidding farewell to Zhou Qinghe, Lin Jingchu once again set sail on the Azure Wing Boat towards White Phoenix Peak.
Calling her "Senior Sister" is one thing, but she also wants to call her "Uncle-Master"! Once I've reached the Core Formation stage first, I'll definitely bring Song Yu to my cave and let her call me "Uncle-Master" to her heart's content.