Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 612 - 607: Territory 3

Chapter 612: Chapter 607: Territory 3

Mother Yuan Wanqing was also in good health, having recently taken people out for a trip and only returned home once after quite some time. She had arranged for someone to guard them along the way, so there was no issue, and he shouldn’t worry.

Lastly, she mentioned that she missed him and wondered when he could come home for a visit. She had been waiting for ten years.

After reading the letter, Lin Xin crumpled it up casually. The paper instantly ignited, turning into black ash, which then scattered and blew away with the wind. Now was not the time for sentimentalities.

"Next, I will refine the Taoist Soldier Seed. This afternoon, I will depart through the teleportation gate. If there is anything else, you should report it to me as soon as possible."

"There is one more thing," Chen Jingsi spoke. "Yuan Xi sent a message, saying that if you need Divine Ability Decisions, you can apply to purchase them directly from the Academy. However, it will require review time.

"If you are in need urgently, he has someone familiar on hand with Cultivation Decisions from Fifth Rank Third Level to Fifth Rank Fourth Level that they purchased themselves. He is offering to sell them to you at a discount."

After listening, Lin Xin remained silent for a while. It was clear that Yuan Xi was aware of his situation and was suggesting that he could purchase follow-up decisions for the Green Yuan Decision at the Academy.

He mentally noted Yuan Xi’s friendly gesture and accepted it.

"I understand," he said.

He took out the Jade Talisman and dialed Yuan Xi’s contact number.

"Yuan, thank you for your kind offer. Let’s discuss these matters after I return. If Yuan has any need for assistance, feel free to speak directly to my servant,"

Although he couldn’t help the other party right now, it was important to express the willingness to do so.

However, Yuan Xi’s way of reaching out, either through voice transmission via the Jade Talisman or sending a messenger, trying to show goodwill without leaving a trace, was not acceptable.

Lin Xin responded directly with the Jade Talisman.

After a period of silence, Yuan Xi eventually responded, his tone somewhat resigned.

"On my side, there is someone who will be traveling in the direction of your territory. While it’s not adjacent, you will be using the same teleportation gate, so you could travel together. What do you think?"

"Travel together?" Lin Xin was startled, then nodded. "That sounds good. Then I will look forward to Yuan’s introduction."

"It’s settled then," Yuan Xi replied.

Two days later.

On the slope outside the Shepherds’ Garden, Lin Xin met the traveling companion Yuan Xi had mentioned.

"Hello, the third True Disciple of the Qing Shan realm."

A young man with long green hair and a refined appearance smiled and greeted Lin Xin.

"My name is Lin Xin," Lin Xin said with a smile.

"Feng Huai."

"Where is Feng’s territory?" Lin Xin asked, aware that not only True Disciples were qualified to own territories in the Qing Shan realm, but also those with certain achievements or sufficient wealth. Those of the Fifth Rank of the Human Immortal realm were eligible to receive one. However, unlike them, they did not get to choose freely.

Furthermore, they also had to spend a vast number of Contribution Points to acquire one.

"It’s about ninety Spirit Miles from Xian Yuan Mountain," Feng Huai said.

"Then we are quite distant from each other," Lin Xin noted. He was familiar with that place.

As for Spirit Miles, it was a unique unit of measurement used there, equivalent to a normal hundred miles.

Ninety Spirit Miles meant about nine thousand miles away.

This distance was exceedingly vast for ordinary people, but for cultivators, especially Fifth Rank cultivators like them, it was merely considered quite far.

"By my map, my territory is over three hundred Spirit Miles from Xian Yuan Mountain," Lin Xin said with a slight shake of his head.

"It doesn’t matter. Over three hundred Spirit Miles is quite close regarding other territories and war cities," Feng Huai said with a smile. He took out something that looked like a pocket watch and glanced at it.

"There are thirteen minutes left until the teleportation gate opens."

"What is that Feng has in his hand?" Lin Xin asked curiously.

"This is a timekeeping device. A mighty predecessor created and popularized it after being inspired during his travels in the Myriad Realms. It’s very helpful for keeping track of time." Seeing Lin Xin’s interest, Feng Huai tossed another one to him.

"This one’s for you, Brother Lin."

"How could I accept this..." Lin Xin began hesitantly.

"It’s just a trinket, not worth even a piece of Spirit Jade. There’s no need for formalities, Brother Lin," Feng Huai replied.

"Then I shall accept it without any fuss," Lin Xin said, taking interest in the device. After catching the pocket watch, he examined it closely.

It was indeed similar to pocket watches from Earth, except it had an additional hand moving much faster than the second hand, circling rapidly. The surrounding scales were also exceptionally detailed.

"It’s divided into hours, minutes, seconds, and degrees – four units for timekeeping. One hour is equal to sixty minutes, one minute is equal to sixty seconds, and one second is equal to sixty degrees. It is quite precise."

Feng Huai explained.

After studying the pocket watch carefully, Lin Xin found that besides the additional hand, everything else was exactly the same as a pocket watch from Earth.

His heart grew slightly heavy, yet there was also a faint hope that perhaps in his lifetime, he might have the chance to encounter a mechanical civilization similar to that of Earth.

"By the way, Brother Feng, besides True Disciples and people like us, who else is qualified to own a territory?" Lin Xin inquired.

Feng Huai tossed the pocket watch in his hand and laughed.

"Brother Lin may not know, but in the Qing Shan realm, as is the case with other worlds like Green Lake Mountain, most territories only have a nominal occupant, not an actual ruler," he explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Lin Xin asked, slightly puzzled.

"To have a name without substance means nominally holding the territory, but without a true sovereign. Without a war city, there’s no ruling power to suppress it. Demon Spirits run rampant, disasters are numerous, making it impossible to inhabit."

Many worlds don’t even have a single creature, presenting a scene of utter desolation. They’re not worth developing.

So, although the Qing Shan Realm nominally governs hundreds of minor worlds, in reality, only a few dozen are usable. The distances between these usable worlds are extremely vast. Ours is considered normal, but for some worlds, it is quite common to be a thousand Spirit Miles or more away."

"I see..." Lin Xin suddenly realized.

While they were talking, the teleportation gate slowly opened.

The pale blue, oval-shaped light gate hovered above the grass like a giant egg beside the two.

After exchanging their jade talisman numbers for communication, they stepped into the teleportation gate one after the other.

As Lin Xin crossed through the gate, he felt a lightness envelop his body, then felt as if he was being stretched like a noodle.

This sensation lasted several seconds before he abruptly returned to normal.

He was greeted by a flash of blue light, followed by vast expanses of white snow spreading before his eyes.

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

The Void Outer Regions.

Endless dark fog billowed and surged like a flood within the void.

Within the fog, a huge, snowy white landmass of irregular shape floated slowly, enveloped by the fog.

In the center of the landmass, amidst countless snowy hills, stood a silent and enormous city.

A ring of grey-white city walls encircled the city, with green flags marked with mysterious symbols planted within.

Shh!

With a soft sound, a streak of blue light flashed across the wall, and as the blue faded, a young man in a green robe stepped out.

The man was handsome with translucent skin and was surrounded by a semi-transparent protective membrane.

He opened his eyes and curiously surveyed his surroundings.

"Is this my territory? The 165th Battle City?"

He gazed into the city; it was desolate with only the snow and a flag, nothing else.

"It appears I’m only holding the title, with nothing else to show for it."

He stomped his foot, and the ground beneath the grey city walls trembled slightly, shaking the thick layers of snow and ice.

It was still sturdy.

"According to the information recorded on the jade talisman, as soon as living beings’ spiritual auras appear, demon spirits will soon follow, hence one must immediately start city defense."

The man took out a small object from his bosom that looked like a miniature model. He carefully surveyed the area within the city.

With a light tap of his toe, he drifted down; the six-to-seven-meter-high city walls seemed insignificant to him,

After carefully selecting a spot near the wall, he placed the small model on the ground.

The model immediately burrowed into the soil and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the ground began to tremble gently, and a large object slowly arched out of the snow-covered land.

As the snow dust dispersed, a cylindrical pillar arose, vast enough to be five or six meters thick, with many Rune Arrays engraved on it, including some indecipherable totem patterns.

The pillar was a bright vermilion, and as it rose, the ground below also began to lift, soon forming a snow mound with a diameter of more than ten meters.

Once the mound settled down, some snow automatically collapsed from below, revealing a door-shaped hole serving as an entrance and exit.

The man checked the jade talisman again.

’Mountain God Platform: Residence for the Dwarf Taoist soldiers. Once supplied with sufficient materials, it produces one dwarf daily. Owner: Lin Xin.

Required: Each dwarf requires ten jin of any type of stone, three jin of clean water, and one liang of Black Que Stone. Time: one day.’

Lin Xin nodded in satisfaction and then walked over to an empty space next to the wall, once again dropping a second seed.

After a bout of shaking, the ground arched upward again, and then gradually caved in at the center, darkening and beginning to melt.

In a short time, less than half an hour later, the white snow melted into a mire of black and yellow mud. Bubbles kept rising from the muck, emitting bursts of foul odor.

Lin Xin frowned slightly, the smell was indeed unpleasant, but in these extraordinary times, he had no choice but to endure it.

Hum!

A palm-sized white Rune slowly formed above the mud pond, beginning to rotate slowly.

He glanced at the jade talisman, which recorded new construction information.

’Mud Pond: Birthplace of Mud Monsters, Owner: Lin Xin. Required: Each mud monster requires twenty jin of any soil, twenty jin of clean water, and one liang of Black Que Stone. Time: one day.’

The information was straightforward, befitting the poorest quality Taoist Soldier.

Lin Xin wordlessly stashed the jade talisman and from the ring gifted with the storage capability, he poured out prepared stones, clean water, and soil beside the Mountain God Platform and Mud Pond. The Black Que Stone was easily found on the ground here, so there was no need to prepare it specially.

Soon, both buildings began to glow faintly, starting to take in the resources amassed at their entrances.

The Mountain God Platform began to glow with a soft green light. Meanwhile, the white Rune above the Mud Pond stopped its rotation, starting to tremble slightly.

"It’s one o’clock in the afternoon," Lin Xin checked his pocket watch, finding the device quite useful. Feng Huai was indeed a straightforward person.

Too bad that upon arriving in the Void Outer Regions, spiritual energy couldn’t traverse out, and jade talismans couldn’t contact other lords. Otherwise, he could have regular chats with that person.

As the two Taoist Soldier buildings began manufacturing, Lin Xin took out a black Array Plate from his storage ring and set it on the ground.

Instantly, a faint black film rapidly spread out, enveloping a large area around him.