Chương 2: 696-700
Chapter 696 - Dinner Night
A crescent moon was painted in the sky as clouds floated by. Crimson leaves blew with the wind and a faint fragrance of Hong Lin blossoms could be felt. But along with this fragrance, one could also smell the aroma of something cooking.
In the middle of a forest, a few fires were burning and on top of those fires, several pots and grills. One of the pots was filled with bones to the top and boiled continuously emanating a rich aroma.
The second pot was filled with shredded meat that was cooking with several colorful vegetables. But if one looked at the vegetables, they would realize that they were not normal vegetables at all, but rather spirit herbs and fruits.
In the third pot, a thick stew was brewing. It bubbled, letting out a tantalizing aroma. The aroma was like a seductive lover, pulling one into the bed, asking them to roll in the sheets.
Then there was a large flat grill set on a pile of flaming red coals. On the grill, deboned fillets of fish were being grilled. A nice sear could be seen on the orange-pink meat, which had been drizzled with flavored oils.
Each of the ingredients used in all this were expensive being either spirit beast meat or spirit herbs.
The bones that were boiling in the first pot belonged to the Green tailed howler monkeys that were all at the Core Condensation realm. The second pot filled with the shredded meats contained the mixed flesh from several Beasts that Lin Mu had hunted that spanned all the way from Qi refining realm to the Nascent Soul realm.
The third pot with the thick stew had the spirit herbs from the Tri Cauldron peony sect, along with organ meat from several spirit beasts. And on the grill, the fish meat that was being grilled belonged to the Nascent Soul realm Saw toothed Tuna.
While the flavored oil that was drizzled on it was made from the essence oil extracted from Plume wisp Olives mixed with several spirit flower petals. Then there was the dipping sauce kept at the side with was made with the honey of Iron Sting bees and pollen from spirit flowers.
The entire spread of dishes was something that even an emperor would rarely eat, not to mention an average cultivator. One would think that a spread like this would be found in an exquisite restaurant with gilded tables and golden utensils, or perhaps in the royal palace of an empire.
But it was not so. Rather than all that luxury, this was all being made in the middle of a forest, on fires that were being fueled by Hong Lin wood and that too on top of soil. No matter what way one looked at this, they would find it highly unusual to say the least.
But that was not all, as the one cooking it was even more strange. There were several metal hands floating around that were doing the cooking. Some stirred the pots, some drizzled and sprinkled the condiments, and some flipped the fillets on the grill.
And controlling all these metal hands was a large feline beast that observed each change with a close eye, adjusting the temperature of the flames with a few puffs of breath. Each breath would be like a stream of fire, thin and straight, allowing very precise control of temperature.
The one cooking was none other Little Shrubby of course, and he was doing his best.
'This will be the best meal I've cooked till now. I've got all the ingredients and condiments and master finally got free time... I have to make the best meal he has eaten till now.' Little Shrubby thought to himself with determination.
And while he was doing this, Lin Mu laid on top of a Hong Lin tree while watching the sky. A myriad of thoughts floated through his mind as if they were clouds in the sky mirroring his mind.
An hour passed like this in silence, with only the sound of wind, the fire crackling and the oil sizzling being heard.
"Master, the food is ready!" Little Shrubby called out.
Lin Mu whose eyes were a bit lost finally gained back their focus, and he floated down from the tree.
'Being able to fly is really convenient...' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Upon getting down, he saw all of the dishes ready and an amazing aroma that accompanied them.
Lin Mu couldn't help but gulp his saliva upon seeing all the food. He could almost imagine the taste of it on his tongue and couldn't wait to test it out.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to it," Lin Mu spoke.
"ALRIGHT!" Little Shrubby said before the hands flew out with a whoosh.
They all picked up various utensils like plates and bowls before filling them up with the food and bringing them to Lin Mu, who had just set up a table. At this point, Lin Mu had several sets of furniture in the ring and if he wanted to, he could probably make an entire house out of them.
~thud~thud~thud~
The plates and bowls landed on the table and out came the chopsticks as well.
"Let's begin," Lin Mu said before starting to eat.
Each and every sip and bite filled his mouth with flavor and a warmth that filled his body. The dense spirit Qi and vital energy from the food improved the experience by multiple folds as a wave of pleasure filled him.
The pair of Master and beast didn't even realize when all of the good was emptied out and they were left wanting for more.
Lin Mu looked at Little Shrubby with an awkward smile.
"Do we have more?" Lin Mu questioned.
"More? We have tons!" Little Shrubby answered.
With a smile on his face Lin Mu said, "Cook more then, we're gonna eat all the food we've missed all this time."
And just like that, Lin Mu and Little Shrubby spent the entire night eating food.
Chapter 697 - Talking With Jing Luo
"Huh, it's already morning." Lin Mu spoke as he saw the sky starting to redden.
"It is morning." Little Shrubby replied.
All around them, one could see bones and utensils lying around. It was evident that they had eaten a lot and had spent a lot of time in that as well. But despite the large amount of food the two of them had eaten, neither of them looked to be stuffed.
Rather, they looked normal and could even eat more. But Lin Mu knew it was enough for today and that he should get back to work.
"Well, that was a great night. We'll do it again sometime later. But now we need to find more Hong Lin trees..." But just as Lin Mu said this, he felt the Jade slip hum in the ring. "Or not..."
Lin Mu took out the jade slip and saw that it was Jing Luo who had messaged him.
"Where are you?" Jing Luo questioned.
"I'm in the forest." Lin Mu answered.
"Why are you in the forest? Weren't you looking for the clues to the Hei corps?" Jing Luo asked feeling a bit confused.
"It's a long story..." Lin Mu said. "It'll be better if I explain to you in person." He added.
"Alright, I'll wait for you." Jing Luo replied.
Lin Mu then looked at Little Shrubby and spoke, "seems like I'm gonna have to pause this excursion for a bit."
Little Shrubby nodded and spoke, "I'll continue searching for more Hong Lin trees then."
"Yes, that'll be good." Lin Mu said before flying away in the direction of the Hong Lin capital.
In about an hour, he reached the city and directly went to the courtyard they had rented for the time being. Since they had not taken any servants for service, the courtyard was empty.
~Creak~
The door of the room Jing Luo was staying in opened, and Lin Mu walked in. In there, he could see Jing Luo sitting on a mat on the ground while meditating. It was evident that he was still comprehending the information that Lin Mu had passed on to him.
'I'll wait till he is done...' Lin Mu thought to himself and sat down as well.
While doing this, he spread his spirit sense around and checked the city for any changes or anything interesting that may have happened. An hour passed like this and Jing Luo Finally woke up, prompting Lin Mu to withdraw his spirit sense.
"Are you done?" Lin Mu asked.
"Not even close. Now that I got a better look at the knowledge, I understand just how vast it is. It'll take me months to fully even go through it not to mention comprehend it. The more I learn the more I feel that it gets complex and I feel like the path in front of me which was nearly completed, extends further." Jing Luo replied.
"No wonders, Jing Wei and Duan Ke preferred going to the Ancestral ground." Lin Mu replied.
"Indeed. This is something that I think will take me years to fully comprehend." Jing Luo stated.
"I see... so you are taking a break I guess?" Lin Mu asked.
"Yes, I wanted to see how your investigation was going." Jing Luo replied.
~Sigh~
Lin Mu sighed to himself before he began his explanation about all that had happened till now. He spoke about the missing Hei Corps, the situation with the King of the Hong Lin Kingdom, his uncle and the two Nascent Soul disciples that had come in the search for the thousand year old Hong Lin wood.
After Lin Mu finished explaining everything, Jing Luo furrowed his brows and thought to himself. Lin Mu also let him think on his own and after five minutes Jing Luo spoke again.
"So I'm guessing you want to take advantage of this?" Jing Luo asked.
"Indeed. This will be the perfect opportunity for us to gain an ally not only in the Hong Lin kingdom but those two Nascent Soul disciples too. I don't know what sect they are from, but they are certainly from a top ten sect.
Plus I can confirm that they are not under the influence of Gu Yao either. They don't have the same aura as the people who are controlled." Lin Mu replied.
"Hmm... those two disciples... can you describe them to me?" Jing Luo questioned.
"Alright," Lin Mu said before telling Jing Luo the appearance of the two disciples and how they all conversed.
"Wait did you just say they talked about Sect Master Hua?" Jing Luo questioned.
"Yes, they did." Lin Mu confirmed.
"Huh... if I recall correctly there is only one person named Hua that is also a sect master in all of the top sects... the sect master of the Noon Grass sect." Jing Luo replied.
"The Noon Grass sect! Really?" Lin Mu questioned.
"It should be. I doubt any other sect changed their sect master over the past fifty or so years. And even if they did, I doubt they would have the same name too." Jing Luo answered.
"Hmm... this is an even better opportunity than I thought. Actually... this might even be better than meeting up with the Hei corps." Lin Mu spoke.
Jing Luo thought for a bit before replying.
"Depending on how we play this out, we can spread a rather wide net and gain multiple Allies I think. If we satisfy the two disciples and the King as well, we may get to inquire more about the Hei Corps's disappearance.
Even if they are not on the record, I'm sure the people who actually did the investigation should know better." Jing Luo stated.
Lin Mu thought over it and found it to be reasonable.
"I guess so... but we will have to play our cards right. I'm pretty sure they will find it suspicious if we directly go and talk to the two disciples about helping them, especially since I have literally spied on them.." Lin Mu replied.
Chapter 698 - The Two Disciples Leave The City
Having heard Lin Mu's words, Jing Luo nodded his head. Talking directly with the two disciples of the Noon Grass sect might not really be good.
"Hmm... how do we go about this?" Jing Luo muttered as he started to think.
Lin Mu did the same and the two of them discussed several points on how they could be made to work. A few minutes passed like this when Lin Mu suddenly sensed something. He had his spirit sense spread around almost always and suddenly felt a few familiar people.
"Oh? Speak of the devils..." Lin Mu said.
"What happened?" Jing Luo questioned.
"The two disciples, they are nearby." Lin Mu answered.
"Hmm... let's take a look. Perhaps we'll get to know something that might help us in figuring this out." Jing Luo suggested.
"Alright," Lin Mu said and flew out of the courtyard.
The two of them made their way towards the two disciples who were heading towards one of the exits of the city. The Hong Lin city had multiple exits, both large main ones, and smaller unofficial ones.
The two disciples were using one of the smaller ones which went from the neighborhood where Lin Mu and Jing Luo had gotten into the courtyard. They had picked this neighborhood for its relative remoteness and fewer people and it seemed like the two disciples were taking this route for that very same reason.
Thankfully, the two disciples were not using their spirit sense or they would have detected Lin Mu rather quickly. It was evident that they were following the aim of staying low-key to the maximum such that they didn't want to accidentally alert someone else with their spirit sense.
While they could, of course sense someone else's spirit sense if it came near them, Lin Mu's spirit sense was far more refined than most people such that they couldn't even detect it. It was the same with his cultivation base which could not be perceived unless he displayed it himself.
Jing Luo on the other hand, didn't use his spirit sense and also used a spirit tool to hide his spirit Qi fluctuations. Since the presence of any Nascent soul realm cultivator could be met with interest and even suspicion, it was best for them to hide it.
Lin Mu and Jing Luo watched as the two disciples left the city and went in the northern direction after changing their path.
"Oh?" Lin Mu recognized where they were going.
"They're going to the place where we rested at first." Jing Luo also identified.
"Hmm... perhaps they are investigating us as well." Lin Mu spoke while furrowing his brows.
After a few minutes, the two disciples came to a stop at the hill where Lin Mu and Jing Luo had paused.
"Just as we thought... you wait here, I'll see what they are talking about from underground." Lin Mu said before he sank into the ground using Phase.
Jing Luo looked at the disappearing Lin Mu and muttered to himself, "I can never get used to seeing that..."
Lin Mu quickly approached the two disciples and hid within one of the trees behind them. This distance was enough for Lin Mu to hear what they were talking about clearly.
"Are you sure this is the place where the spirit Qi fluctuations came from senior brother?" The junior brother questioned.
The senior brother kneeled on the ground and touched the grass that had some imprints on it. He closed his eyes and spread his spirit sense around, which Lin Mu felt, and quickly blinked away to a place deeper underground.
'Close!' Lin Mu thought to himself.
After about a minute, the senior brother withdrew his spirit sense and opened his eyes.
"Mmmhmm, they were here. There were in fact three cultivators here, two humans and one beast." The senior brother stated.
"Huh? A beast as well?" The junior brother asked.
"Indeed. And from the traces of spirit Qi I can feel... all of them were at the Nascent Soul realm." The senior brother replied.
"That... how can that be? It would make sense if it was two human cultivators at the Nascent Soul realm but a beast as well? Normally, this should have been met with a conflict between them.
I don't think it can be a tamed beast either. No Nascent Soul realm cultivator can tame a Nascent Soul realm beast." The junior brother expressed his doubts.
The senior brother nodded his head in response to his junior brother's analysis.
"You're right, junior brother. I don't think the beast was free. Perhaps it was restrained and the two Nascent soul realm cultivators were transporting it somewhere. The spirit Qi fluctuation we felt might not even be a breakthrough but rather the signs of a struggle." The senior brother spoke.
"A struggle? But there are no signs of a battle or fight here." The Junior brother stated.
"Don't forget, a struggle need not be a direct fight. What if the struggle was due to the beast trying to escape whatever restrictive formations were placed on it and the humans trying to stop that or add more formations?" The Senior brother replied.
"I see..." The junior brother said in an understanding tone.
Lin Mu who listened to everything, shook his head.
"They got no idea whatsoever... the only thing they got right is the two humans and one beast part, right. Still... that's good since we have the advantage due to being in the dark." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
He switched his focus back to the two disciples as he heard them talk again.
"Now that we have checked this place, at least we know that the Nascent Soul realm cultivators are not here anymore. We can talk further about the situation with the King, senior brother.
How are we going to get a tribulation platform made? Neither of us is proficient in formations enough to be able to make one." The Junior brother stated.
"Hmm... I fear we may have to look for external help for that.." The senior brother replied.
Chapter 699 - Dilemma Of The Two Disciples
Hearing what the two disciples said, Lin Mu perked his ears.
"Who can we look for that senior brother? I don't think we know any formation master of that level." The junior brother asked.
"Hmm... our options are indeed limited. Plus, with the time limit we have, I don't know if we will be able to find one in time either." The senior brother said.
"But I don't want to fail the very first task Master gave me. If I fail this, who knows how many decades will pass before he will allow me to leave the sect." The junior brother said, feeling a bit unwilling.
"Master will understand. This was supposed to be a relatively easy task, but the current situation has made it complex. The thousand year old Hong Lin wood has suddenly become high in demand in the past year or so.
Even the empire and several sects asked for it, if I remember correctly." The senior brother replied.
"No senior, I at least want to try till we can't. Going back like this is not something I want to be remembered as by the master." The junior brother said, his tone firm.
The senior brother looked at his junior brother's face and sighed to himself.
~Sigh~
"Fine... we shall try." The senior brother replied.
"YES! I have faith that we will be able to find a way." The Junior brother said.
The senior brother sank into deep thought while the junior brother kept his silence so as to not disturb. Lin Mu on the other hand, was intrigued to learn the fact that it wasn't just him and Jing Luo that were looking for the thousand year old Hong Lin trees.
'This thing seems to be in a far higher demand than I thought... but why?' Lin Mu wondered.
Jing Luo wanted the resin of the Hong Lin trees and to get the resin they would need the trees, which also meant that there would be the wood to accompany it. While Jing Luo himself didn't have any particular need for the wood, the resin could only be obtained from a live tree.
To verify this, Lin Mu decided to contact Jing Luo using the communication jade slip.
"I just learned that we aren't the only ones looking for thousand year old Hong Lin trees. In addition to these disciples, apparently the empire and several sects also bought the thousand year old Hong Lin tree wood." Lin Mu said.
"Oh? That's rather strange. Even though the Hong Lin tree wood is useful for spirit weapons and tools, they aren't something that can't be substituted for other materials. I can't tell why this is suddenly so much in demand that even the empire and other sects want it." Jing Luo replied.
"Perhaps if we know exactly which sects bought it, we might get a better idea of it." Lin Mu stated.
"Guess we will need to talk to these two in the end." Jing Luo spoke.
"Indeed. But first I have to find the right excuse. I'm listening to them and hopefully, we get something." Lin Mu said.
"I'll leave you to it then." Jing Luo said before stopping the connection.
Lin Mu turned his attention back to the two disciples and saw that the two were still not talking. About ten minutes passed like this before the senior brother finally spoke.
"I... may know someone that can possibly assist us." The senior brother suddenly said.
"You do? Who are they?" The junior brother questioned.
"It's someone I met a long time ago when I was still a body tempering realm warrior. Both of us were recruited by the top sect, I went to the Noon grass sect, but he went to the Long Cloud sect." The senior brother answered.
"The Long Cloud sect... but if we really do ask the Long Cloud sect for help, won't it be against the rules that our sect has set. We aren't supposed to have any contact or interaction with the two cultivation sect alliances unless we have concise instructions to do so." The junior brother said, feeling doubtful.
"I know... but we won't be talking to the Long Cloud sect itself, but rather one of the disciples on a private level. I think master should understand that might at least and forgive us." The senior brother said.
"Hmm... I don't know. It is risky, if master really takes offense to it, he will punish you, senior brother. I don't want to do this if you have to be punished." The Junior brother replied in a low voice.
"Foolish junior, this much punishment will be fine for me. Even if I have to stay in the sect for half a century, I don't mind. I prefer staying in seclusion any way." The Senior brother said with a chuckle.
"Senior brother..." The junior brother had a touched expression on his face upon hearing this.
"It is settled then. I'll try to contact the person I know and hopefully, they can help us out. While I haven't had much contact with them over the years, I do know that they became a core disciple a few years ago due to their talent in formations." The senior brother said.
Hearing all this, Lin Mu had an idea that he thought might just work.
"Let's see if showing a thirsty traveler in the desert an oasis would work or not. We don't have any better idea, anyway." Lin Mu muttered to himself and took out the communication jade slip.
"I have a plan..." Lin Mu said before explaining what they could do to pull the attention of the two disciples.
Jing Luo, who listened to the entire thing some distance away, furrowed his brows but found the plan to be relatively fine.
"I guess this could work. Though it will depend on how much they really 'want' this. If they are desperate enough, we can probably get through it." Jing Luo stated.
"It's worth a try. Let's get to it.." Lin Mu said before he blinked away.
Chapter 700 - A Display Of Formation Skills
About an hour had passed and the two disciples of the Noon Grass sect were still discussing their situation, and how to solve it when they suddenly felt a wave of spirit Qi coming from a certain location.
"Senior brother! That... that seems familiar." The junior brother said after sensing the spirit Qi wave.
The senior brother furrowed his brows and extended his spirit sense in the direction from where the spirit Qi fluctuation had come, but he realized that it was beyond the rage till which he could reach.
"Hmm... it's much farther than I thought. If it can still have this strength at this distance, then it must be quite strong." The senior brother said.
"What should we do now? Do we check it out?" The junior brother questioned.
The senior brother didn't answer right away and waited to see if there would be any more changes. After about fives minutes, he nodded his head and spoke again.
"We may as well check it out. But keep calm and stay alert. Better to be cautious than not." The senior brother stated.
"I understand." The junior brother said with a nod.
The two of them then flew in the direction of the spirit Qi wave and reached it after about ten minutes of travel. While they could have reached this much faster, they wanted to be careful to ensure that they wouldn't come across any trouble.
This way they would have enough distance to retreat if need be. But when they actually reached the location they were still shocked.
"That... What is that man doing?" The junior brother questioned in shock.
"An entire formation array? Is he making an abode here?" The senior brother couldn't help but mutter.
The two of them were standing on the top of a hill that was located at the side of a mountain. The mountain in front of them was densely covered in Hong Lin trees and the surface of it could barely be seen.
Though what they could perceive, there was a small cave at the entrance of which a beefy man was sitting. He had long hair that was tied into multiple strands that hung at his back.
He was wearing robes that were of a high quality and was decked in spirit tools and weapons from the top to bottom. No matter which way they looked at, he looked to be filthy rich in spirit tools.
While they couldn't perceive the fainter spirit Qi fluctuations that came off the spirit tools due to the formations that the man was making right now, just from the appearance of it they could tell that they must not be lower than mid grade spirit tools.
But the most shocking part was the man's cultivation base.
~gulp~
"Senior brother is he..." The Junior brother muttered, a little afraid to speak further.
"Indeed... he's at the Adolescent Soul stage of the Nascent Soul realm." The senior brother replied.
~shua~shua~shua~
And just as he said this, the senior brother saw hundreds of runes being created simultaneously at the flick of the man's fingers as they quickly arranged themselves into a formation which then entered the cave.
The beefy man then took out several formation components such as flags, nodes, and talismans, before sending them flying. The components flew around the mountain and settled into the appropriate palaces that were needed for them.
The formation flags planted themselves at the four points of the mountain, erecting a layer that made the spirit Qi fluctuation get fainter. The physical nodes that were made of several stones directly buried themselves into the ground and disappeared.
Finally, the talismans attached to the trees in a random pattern before fading away. The beefy man then brought his hands together in a mudra and flipped them, merging the ten layers of formations that he had made in front of him.
~HONG~
An audible hum could be heard as the formations completely merged into a formation array.
Once that was done, the man and the cave disappeared as if there was nothing there from the start. Instead of that, a plain ground surface could be seen where the cave was. In addition to that, if one looked at the Hong Lin trees for a while, they would find it as if they were moving, which would make them dazed.
The two disciples who had seen everything were now more than shocked.
"Did that man just... set up an entire formation array in a span of ten minutes?" The junior brother asked, finding all of it to be unbelievable.
"He did... not only did he do it in ten minutes, the formation array isn't something to take lightly either. I have no doubt I would be unable to break this even if I used all skill. Perhaps only a brute force attack might be able to do something to it.
But this is only because we saw the formation array being created. If it was someone else, they wouldn't even know that there is a formation here and even a cultivator's abode." The senior brother replied.
Seeing as how the beefy man had used that cave, the two were very sure that what the man had made was a cultivator's cave abode. It was one of the common kinds of residences a cultivator would make when they were out of their sects.
Though for most itinerant cultivators, a cave abode was probably the only kind of a residence, they would use. Actual physical residences were impractical since they often needed to move around a lot.
Plus, making a cave abode was much easier than making a proper residence. They could either just find a preexisting cave or carve out one for themselves. After all, there was no lack of mountains and hills in the world. And even if one didn't exist, they would always make a cave in the ground itself.
Having seen the beefy man make an entire cave abode along with a formation array, made an idea appear in the mind of the junior brother.
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