"Not willing?"
Lin Changâsheng narrowed his eyes, his tone instantly icy cold.
A powerful aura immediately enveloped the three men.
"Ah... No, senior, this junior is willing! Very willing!"
Under Lin Changâshengâs oppressive aura, Chen Cao felt his breath catch, his entire body turn cold, as if heâd fallen into an ice pitâhe nearly dropped to his knees, quickly cupped his fists and agreed, and Nie Lin and Tang Lian hurriedly responded as well.
Chen Cao stepped forward and said, "Senior, could you wait a moment? This junior will go fetch it right away."
"Fine. Iâll wait for you all at Drunken Fragrance Tower. If youâre not there within an hour, three families will disappear from Min Nan City."
Lin Changâsheng spoke indifferently.
"Yes, senior, this junior understands!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing this, the three nodded so hard it looked like chickens pecking rice, and hurried away.
"Little White Fox, letâs go to Drunken Fragrance Tower and order some ginseng soup for a recharge, what do you say?"
Lin Changâsheng patted the little white fox in his bag and spoke.
"Ying ying ying!"
The little white fox let out a cry, apparently very displeased.
"Oh, right, gotta buy you a cage."
Suddenly remembering, Lin Changâsheng realized the cloth bag was uncomfortable. The little white fox could spit out white light and had quite some abilitiesâmaybe itâd help him out one day, so heâd best keep it by his side.
........
Meanwhileâ
Min Nan City, northwest, thousands of miles away.
Inside a mountain cave.
"One more month and I can retrieve that final soul seed!"
"Letâs see how the soul seed has grown?"
A young man with a strange tattoo on his forehead sat cross-legged at the center of an array, muttering to himself. Hands moving in secret signs, he sent a black mist into the small triangle banner before him.
That small banner glowed with dark light; countless twisted human faces overlapped across its surface, heartrending wails echoing through the cave, making it feel full of Yin Qi and dread.
A wisp of black energy shot out from the small triangle banner, flying towards the mouth of the caveâbut as it drew near, it halted, floating in place.
"This is... The connection to the soul seed is gone?"
"Could it be?"
Qi Hui jolted to his feet and approached, staring at the wisp of mist, his face full of disbelief.
This meant that after all this time of nurturing, the soul seed didnât grow stronger but instead became weakenedâthatâs why the connection to the Myriad Souls Banner kept flickering on and off.
Which also meantâthe host had become stronger, weakening the soul seed greatly.
"Originally, I was going to wait a month to retrieve the last soul seed... Looks like I canât wait any longer!"
Qi Huiâs eyes glittered with intent.
The soul seedâs link was on the verge of breakingâhe had to go now, extract the hostâs blood essence, and refine the soul seed anew; if the hostâs cultivation rose any further, the seed would be purged for good!
At that pointâ
The soul seed would dissipate!
Finding a suitable host for a soul seed would be much more difficult.
After all, good hosts are hard to come by and nurturing takes time.
Thinking thus, Qi Hui began packing, preparing to leave the cave.
........
Lin Changâsheng bought a cage for the little white fox.
Carrying Xiaobai, he made his way to Drunken Fragrance Tower, ordered two pots of ginseng soup, and with one man and one fox, started licking away at the bowls, his fingers never stopping their exercises.
"Hey, brother, are you headed to Jinyong City as well?"
"Sure am! The Liuyun Immortal Sect only recruits disciples once every ten years. Itâs still over two months off, but I thought Iâd try my luck and see if thereâs any immortal fate waiting for me!"
"Weâre on the same journey, then. Iâm heading to Jinyong City, too!"
"Iâll try out for immortal fate first. If it doesnât work out, Iâll join the armyâmaybe bring glory and honor to my family!"
"......"
Lin Changâsheng listened to the chatter around him; nearly every young man wanted to test for an Immortal Root.
After allâ
With an Immortal Root and entry into an Immortal Sect, you could bring honor to your ancestors!
"Itâs been about an hour."
Estimating the time, Lin Changâsheng figured the heads of the Chen, Nie, and Tang families should be arriving soon. He finished off his ginseng soup in several gulps, scooped up the still-slurping white fox, and stuffed it into the cage.
"Ying ying ying!"
The little white fox cried out, struggling fiercely, its face full of resentment at Lin Changâshengâs roughness.
"Whatâs wrong...?"
Lin Changâsheng looked down and realized his hand had accidentally grabbed Xiaobaiâs delicate pink bottom. He blinked, stuffed the fox into the cage, and said, "A little fox like you, whatâs there to be shy about?"
The little white fox, as if understanding him, scurried into the little blanket in the cage to hide.
"Waiter, bill!"
Lin Changâsheng tossed a silver coin onto the table and headed for the door.
"Take care, sir! Come again!"
The server yanked a rag from his shoulder, wiped his hands, and yelled in his scratchy voice at Lin Changâshengâs back.
"Senior, this is our Chen Familyâs Golden Bell Shield Cultivation Technique. Iâve kept a handwritten copy for myselfâthis is the original. Please accept it!"
Just as Lin Changâsheng stepped outside Drunken Fragrance Tower, he saw Chen Family Patriarch Chen Cao carrying a small bundle from ten yards away. With great respect, he opened the bundle, took out a yellowed manual, and handed over a stack of silver notes as well.
"Mmm."
Lin Changâsheng nodded, took the manual, and skimmed through it. His mind gave a joltâthis was the complete cultivation method for Golden Bell Shield, gates one through twelve!
Flipping to the back, he found some annotationsâinsights on cultivating Golden Bell Shield, left by someone named Chen Changge.
"Senior, these notes were penned by an ancestor of mine, who was once an Inner Sect Disciple of the Vajra Sect, but later died fighting cultivators, leaving behind only this Golden Bell Shield manual."
"Unfortunately, my later Chen Family descendants have all been mediocre, never able to master it... Sigh!"
Noticing Lin Changâsheng linger on the notes, Chen Cao respectfully explained.
"Mhm, youâve done well. Off you go!"
Noticing Chen Cao also handed over 5,000 taels in silver notes, Lin Changâsheng patted him on the shoulder, waved him away.
Just thenâ
Nie Lin and Tang Lian, waiting nearby, saw Chen Cao leave. They stepped up next, each producing a secret manual.
The Nie Familyâs Lightweight Skill was Water Walking; the Tang Familyâs was a hidden weapon skill called Purple Lightning Flying Needle. Both also gave 5,000 taels in silver notes.
Lin Changâsheng waved for them to go as well.
......
It was now winter.
The weather grew colder and colder.
A heavy snow began to fall, flakes swirling down in droves.
Fifty li from Min Nan Cityâ
With the cage on his back, Lin Changâsheng sped through the wind and snow.
Stepping on Snow Without Leaving Traces Experience Points +1!
Stepping on Snow Without Leaving Traces Experience Points +1!
......
[Stepping on Snow Without Leaving Traces (Great Success 34671/62500)]
[Gale Saber Technique (Great Success 51273/62500)]
"This snowstorm came at just the right time!"
"Give me another two days and I estimate both Stepping on Snow Without Leaving Traces and Gale Saber Technique will reach Perfection. I wonder what kind of new Lightweight Skill and Saber Technique Iâll get if I fuse them then?"
Watching the red prompts on the system panel, Lin Changâshengâs eyes glittered with satisfaction.
Stepping on Snow Without Leaving Traces could, once Water Walking is simplified and perfected, be merged together with Fleeting Shadows and the others.
Gale Saber Technique could be merged into Thunder Shock Slash to produce a new saber technique.
Right now, lacking Spirit Stones and a Cultivation Immortality Technique, his Martial Arts Techniques were his best support!