Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 610 - 605: Territory Part 1

Chapter 610: Chapter 605: Territory Part 1

Having organized his thoughts, the first person Lin Xin thought of was to find the eldest senior brother, Huan Ping.

Regardless, with Huan Ping being of a mild temperament, he should be able to solve the problem, as long as Lin Xin could find him.

The cultivation techniques of the Green Yuan Decision above the fifth rank all required filing and recording, noting which disciple was taught, by whom, and their relationship to one another.

These records were kept in the Scholarly Academy.

Elder Qing Shan had arranged for Qiao Yu to guide Lin Xin in his cultivation technique, a favor of transmission that should mean establishing a good relationship with him.

But Qiao Yu did not even provide a chance for them to meet, let alone build a relationship.

Lin Xin felt slightly puzzled in his heart.

Fortunately, he had just made a breakthrough and needed to stabilize his cultivation technique. The small white jade-colored cauldron inside his body was slowly rotating, constantly refining the nine types of Qi to condense drops of innate green Qi.

After reaching the fifth rank, the Qi extracted with the help of the small cauldron was already transformed into the innate green Qi, a type of elemental energy with far superior quality and strength.

There were countless types of elemental energy in the world; the so-called categories of the Five Elements and Nine Qi were merely classifications by Qi Cultivators, though in the universe, countless forces exist with different categories, including many pure energies beyond the Nine Qi.

After stabilizing his newly achieved cultivation level, Lin Xin noticed the innate Qi was somewhat impure, probably due to the small cauldron being destabilized by the impact of the breakthrough, resulting in an uneven concentration of the Qi.

After a period of guiding and practicing to purify the Qi, time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was afternoon.

Ding.

A clear and melodious sound echoed inside the room.

"My Lord, a voice transmission jade talisman from Senior Yuan Xi has arrived," Lin Youke’s voice came through, as she was the only one among the four who could directly communicate with Lin Xin via formation. However, she usually did not disturb Lin Xin, only connecting when there was something relatively important.

"The senior’s talisman didn’t come flying directly but was secretly delivered by someone."

Lin Youke whispered.

"Delivered in secret?"

Lin Xin slowly opened his eyes, a flash of white light crossing his gaze.

With a thought, a ray of white light shot from outside into the room, suspending in front of him.

It was a palm-sized diamond-shaped red jade talisman.

"Brother Lin, I heard a rumor from a friend that might be of use to you. Just take it as a listen, and don’t take it too seriously," Yuan Xi’s voice came from within.

Lin Xin listened without changing expression. The voice transmission jade talisman was only equivalent to a voicemail and was not direct communication.

"I heard Elder Qing Shan’s disciple Qiao Yu has a big opinion of you. Brother Lin might not know, but a few days ago, Shen Tang also made a breakthrough to the fifth rank. Though he is only at the first level of the fifth rank, and neither his time of cultivation nor pureblood talent matched yours.

But for some reason, Qiao Yu went to attend Shen Tang’s celebratory banquet instead.

Alright, don’t blame me for speaking too personally when our acquaintance is shallow. Almost anyone with some connections in the city knows about it; I just thought Brother Lin should be aware of this."

"Qiao Yu..." Lin Xin fell silent for a moment.

Shortly after, he reached out, drew in the red talisman, and swiped on its surface. Instantly, the two characters for Lin Xin appeared on it, along with his own talisman number.

Since his arrival at Green Lake Mountain, he had been using Lin Xin as his name rather than Lin Sherie, which was first intended as an alias but now he was too lazy to change it.

"Thank you, Brother Yuan, for informing me. I understand. After I return from my mission, let’s get together when there is time," Lin Xin gratefully accepted the other’s favor.

Having become a true disciple and encountering a conflict with another true disciple, Yuan Xi chose to give him a favor; it was a clear deliberate act of goodwill.

As for the message everyone with a bit of connections could know, it was just modesty; otherwise, why would Lin Youke be specifically responsible for gathering information, and not know anything?

Releasing the talisman, the red talisman was wrapped in a layer of white light, transforming into a streak of white light as it shot out the window and disappeared.

"This Qiao Yu is said to have cultivated for only a few decades and has already reached the perfection stage of a Human Immortal, always under the protection and favor of the master, not knowing what kinds of troubles he has stirred up," Lin Xin frowned, rose, and went out.

Leaving the Divine Shepherd’s Garden behind, he went straight towards the Heavenly Evolution Tower.

Regardless, he had to prepare for the trial mission first. In Green Lake Mountain, everything was inseparable from contribution points, so he went to see what he could take with him from the sect.

Passing through the residential area for official disciples, most of the stone houses on both sides of the road were empty and quiet.

The few people he did see were hastening along, fleeting as the wind; some even running directly.

If White Jade City did not forbid flying and escape skills, one might not even see a shadow outside.

As he was nearing the Heavenly Evolution Tower, a group of people just happened to be coming out of the tower’s entrance.

A dozen cultivators in green robes with white belts were escorting a young man with five white stripes on his robe.

With brows and eyes like a drawing, light purple hair draped over his shoulders, and a face with a gentle and pure smile, the exposed skin was as white as jade. At first glance, one might think he was some delicate beauty.

But upon closer inspection, this was a man—and a man even more beautiful than a woman.

They met face to face.

Seeing the green robe with white stripes, and particularly the five stripes, Lin Xin knew the identity of the other.

Within the vast White Jade City, among the official disciples, there truly were only two who possessed fifth-rank cultivation levels.

Himself, and the newly advanced Shen Tang.

Shen Tang also carefully scrutinized the man before him.

With a somber temperament, sharp gaze, black hair tied up, and fair skin, clad in armor he would look much like those generals on the battlefield.

’Not an easy person to deal with,’ he concluded and smiled slightly at the other man, continuing forward.

The cultivators beside him, also wearing strange looks, occasionally glanced at Lin Xin as they passed by.

Both sides paused for a moment before passing by each other. Neither seemed inclined to engage in conversation.

As Lin Xin strode through the tower’s entrance, crossing paths with Shen Tang, he distinctly felt that the other man exuded a strange aura.

It was somewhat like the weariness of having experienced the vicissitudes of life, yet there was also a sense of intangibility and insecurity.

"Forget it, don’t think about him. First, I’ll check out the Taoist Soldier Seed in the Heavenly Evolution Tower," he thought.

He stepped forward into the tower.

*************************

After exiting the tower gate, Shen Tang had a few drinks with his fellow Daoists and then bid them farewell as he used a Jade Talisman to open a teleportation gate toward the trial point.

Stepping through the oval-shaped blue Light Gate, he found himself atop a towering city wall.

The gray-white walls on either side were covered with thick layers of ice.

All around was a blinding expanse of white; nothing else was in sight.

Shen Tang looked within the city walls.

He only saw barrenness, except for a flagpole and a few rudimentary stone houses; the rest was absent.

This was an empty city, built atop a high mountain, a mere skeleton of a city with nothing else—everything had to be constructed by the territory’s owner.

"This is my trial, as well as my own domain city," he mused with a slight smile on his lips.

"Thank you for your troubles, uncle," he said.

He turned suddenly and bowed respectfully into the air.

"Prince Shen, there’s no need to be so courteous," said a vigorous and profound old man’s voice out of nowhere.

"Is there a need to disguise anything?" Shen Tang asked.

"By this point, those who should know already do. Disguising it would be meaningless," Shen Tang shook his head.

"Very well."

As soon as the voice faded, a great flurry of snowflakes whirled up from the heavens and the earth.

Countless snowflakes rapidly clumped together, piling up in the city like building snowmen, forming various kinds of buildings.

Round spire towers, expansive long rectangular Scripture Pavilions, large blue-glowing permanent teleportation gates, and so on.

The most striking among them were seven massive structures that rose up, occupying more than half of the entire city’s space.

The first one was a vibrant green hill that jutted out from the ground, but this was no ordinary hill; it had circular openings like eyes all around it, and within these, pairs of red eyes glinted ominously.

This was a Taoist Soldier building that produced Mountain Spirit dwarfs.

Mountain Spirit dwarfs were one of the lower-level and more affordable Taoist Soldiers from Green Lake Mountain. They were numerous and were innately capable of conjuring stone bullets, becoming one of the primary soldiers for defense and repair. In terms of combat prowess, they were approximately at the First Rank, or the Qi Cultivation Stage.

The second one was a row of sharp gray-white obelisks planted in the snow. Each obelisk was engraved with lines of silvery characters.

This was a Taoist Soldier building that produced Earth-bound Spirits.

Earth-bound Spirits were another type of Taoist Soldier from Green Lake Mountain, considered as Second Rank soldiers, comparable to the Foundation Establishment Stage. They could release intangible waves of disturbance, affecting foes’ minds and causing them to make errors. However, lacking a physical form, they primarily relied on soul impacts in combat.

The third one was an enormous red crystal ball that housed a pitch-black, withered tree inside of it.

This was a newly-commanded Dryad-producing Taoist Soldier structure.

Dryads were among the most popular Taoist Soldiers from Green Lake Mountain due to their cost-effective durability and potential to grow into large Dryads capable of utilizing their binding divine skills. They were akin to Third-Rank Golden Core Stage combatants.

The fourth one resembled a long marble library, nestled on a slope within the city.

The gray structure exuded waves of cold at the entrance, and inside it was pitch dark, concealing whatever lay beyond.

This was the place where Snow Beasts were produced. As Fourth-Rank Yuan Jing creatures of terror, Snow Beasts were large in stature, and both their speed and lethality made them akin to war zone meat grinders. The downside was their expensive cost.

The fifth one was a silver-white ring, its surface covered in meticulous engravings; from the center, faint singing voices seemed to emanate.

This was where Fifth-Rank Taoist Soldier Star Demons were produced. However, the ring formation seemed incomplete at the moment, and soldiers of this caliber were not something ordinary people were qualified to summon.

The sixth was a statue made of gold, towering over three hundred meters tall, depicting a woman in white with a back-slung Longsword, gazing skyward.

Thick golden Spiritual Energy emanated from it, its purpose unclear.

The seventh was a White Jade Taoist Palace floating in midair.

The magnificent palace, with its delicate sculptures and Formation Patterns, saw an elder emerge from within, white-haired and imposing, without pupils in his eyes, only a dense blue light.

Shen Tang felt a chill in his heart and immediately bowed deeply to the figure.

"Shen Tang pays his respects to Elder Yu Xiu," he said.

The old man’s expression was calm.

"I will preside over this place for a year, after which you will develop it on your own," he stated.

"Thank you, Elder," Shen Tang said earnestly.

This was truly a character of Earth Immortal rank, capable of donning a silver-lined robe, a top-tier powerhouse even within the Qing Shan realm—counted among the top hundred formidable existences.