Chapter 155: CH. 155 | Li Qingxue Second Seal
Lin Tian flew off, leaving Sect Lingxian behind, heading for the ancient gate. He opened the token holding the map Su Lingxi had given him, and it showed the route leading into the valley.
From where Lin Tian stood now, he was already lined up in the right direction to reach Saintess Spring Valley.
The distance comes out to about 5000 li. That should be enough for me to get there in under a day.
Even so, he realized there was something he still needed to take care of first.
Saintess Spring Valley was mysterious and dangerous, and he couldn’t keep relying on the handful of Earth Grade techniques he already had.
He needed to prepare, and that meant studying the Earth Grade techniques he’d earned from completed missions and disciple tasks.
In the end, he decided to settle on a mountain for a while to study those techniques, along with any other skills that might prove useful once he was exploring Saintess Spring Valley.
He arrived at a cave on the mountain. The moment he stepped inside, he was caught off guard by a system panel that popped up.
[Congratulations! You have completed a Sect Mission]
[Sect Eighth Mission:]
[Objective: Establish Four Field of Study Halls and one Sect Mission Hall in under one year]
[Reward: +25 Emotional Level for An Yue, Ya Fei, Luo Mei, Yun Yun, Ji Xue, and An Xiao || 6x Profound Grade Technique Scrolls || +600 Low grade Spirit Stones || Sect Charisma Increase]
[Status: Completed!]
[Status Vision:]
[An Yue: Attraction (115/250)] [+25]
[Ya Fei: Attraction (85/250)] [+25]
[Luo Mei: Attraction (67/250)] [+25]
[Yun Yun: Attraction (63/250)] [+25]
[Ji Xue: Attraction (65/250)] [+25]
[An Xiao: Trust (90/100)] [+25]
The panel appeared in front of Lin Tian completely out of nowhere, especially since he’d already traveled far from Sect Lingxian. It raised a question in his mind.
Was it possible that Sect Missions and Disciple Tasks could still be completed just by leaving his clone behind at the sect?
If that really was how it worked, then the clone’s usefulness went well beyond anything he’d imagined.
"I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out," Lin Tian said.
Even so, the promised rewards, the technique scrolls and spirit stones, never actually reached Lin Tian himself.
All he saw was the status vision panel showing that six of his disciples had gotten a solid boost in their emotional points.
Looks like it’s my clone who’s receiving the mission rewards.
That’s fine. He’ll know what to do with them.
Lin Tian trusted him with the reward, since the clone was, after all, still him. In that sense, he and the clone shared one thing in common, both of them put Sect Lingxian first.
[Sect Ninth Mission:]
[Objective: Recruit at least 30 disciples for each Discipline Hall and reach 500 sect disciples in under two years]
[Reward: +25 Emotional Level for An Yue, Ya Fei, Luo Mei, Yun Yun, and Ji Xue || 6x Profound Grade Weapon || +600 Low grade Spirit Stones || Sect Charisma Increase]
[Status: Incomplete!]
The ninth sect mission panel appeared, and Lin Tian read it clearly. Still, he wasn’t too worried about it.
If his clone had already been the one receiving the previous mission’s reward, then the clone was surely getting the notification for this one too.
He trusted his clone to see the mission through. It had two years to recruit more than 500 new disciples and bring in at least 30 disciples for every discipline hall.
Lin Tian sat down cross legged right after the system panel faded away. He tapped his bag of holding and brought out several items, letting them hover in front of him.
There were artifacts, pill boxes, herbal plants, and even technique and array scrolls. His attention landed on an Earth Grade technique scroll and an Earth Grade array scroll.
He unrolled the Earth Grade scroll and read the name of the technique, "Sky Thunder Dragon Technique."
It wasn’t just the Earth Grade technique that caught his eye, his attention also shifted to the array scroll floating right beside it. He read the name of the array clearly.
"Immortal Death Wind Array."
Both scrolls were Earth Grade, a quality far better suited to Lin Tian’s current situation.
He fixed his focus ahead of him, his hands forming the technique seal perfectly as he began to study both scrolls.
Lin Tian let the essence of the Sky Thunder Dragon Technique absorb into his forehead first, planning to move on to the array scroll right after he’d mastered the dragon technique.
He closed his eyes and let the essence of the technique flow into his dantian, letting his conscious spirit work to grasp it there.
Thanks to his Absolute Dao Emperor Comprehension ability, he managed to fully learn the Sky Thunder Dragon Technique in under five hours.
Lin Tian’s eyes snapped open, and a powerful burst of spiritual qi pulsed out around him, shaking the mountain and sending birds scattering into the sky.
With that technique done, his attention turned to the Immortal Death Wind Array. True to its name, the array existed solely to trap cultivators and keep them from escaping.
No cultivator dared to try breaking through a death wind barrier like that.
Lin Tian went back to studying the array, letting its essence flow into his forehead to be fully understood.
Unlike the Earth Grade technique, this one took Lin Tian noticeably longer to grasp, since arrays were inherently complex and intricate, requiring a great deal of precision.
Seven hours passed before Lin Tian finally managed to grasp the Immortal Death Wind Array.
He hadn’t learned all that many techniques, but he felt confident his abilities could now handle whatever dangers waited for him in Saintess Spring Valley.
He got to his feet and walked out of the mountain cave. He raised one hand, formed the technique seal, and shot a white qi orb up into the sky.
Thunder rumbled and dark clouds rolled across the night sky, a bright white light forming into the shape of a dragon crackling with blue lightning.
Unlike the white dragon Lin Tian normally used, this technique’s base element was lightning.
Not many cultivators managed to learn a base lightning element technique, so this gave him a real edge.
He clenched his fist, and the Sky Thunder Dragon Technique faded away, the rumbling thunder dying down and the dark clouds dispersing.
Lin Tian let out a long breath, looking up at a sky full of stars.
"I’ll continue the journey tomorrow. I should head to the nearest city first and dig up more information about Saintess Spring Valley."
Lin Tian flew quickly away from the mountain and spotted a small city to the north of it, one that looked a lot like Bai City.
He landed quietly, careful not to draw attention, and blended in with the crowd there.
He listened in on every conversation around him. Lin Tian quietly spread the essence of his spiritual awareness across the whole city, purely to listen in on what people were saying without disturbing them.
Lin Tian’s eyes narrowed. He was caught off guard when he overheard two cultivators talking about Li Qingxue.
"Did you hear the latest news about Lady Qingxue?"
"I heard she got sealed by some foreign cultivator, so people couldn’t do dual cultivation with her."
"That’s right. But her condition is pretty bad right now," one of the two cultivators said.
"Sect Leader Yuntian placed another seal on Li Qingxue. That seal keeps her from reaching Soul Formation, taking away her shot at heavenly enlightenment," the other cultivator answered.
"Really? But why would they do that?"
"Sect Leader Yuntian doesn’t want Li Qingxue falling into anyone else’s hands, including that foreign cultivator’s. They’ve also been trying to break the dual cultivation restriction on her, but they keep failing."
"As long as they keep trying, Li Qingxue is barred from advancing to Soul Formation. From what I’ve heard, once she reaches Soul Formation, there’s little chance she’d agree to dual cultivation anyway."
Lin Tian listened to their gossip, his fist clenching tight as his spiritual qi pulsed sharply.
His eyes turned hard, staring straight ahead, and then he flew off quickly, leaving the city behind, not heading north, but south.
I’m the reason Li Qingxue is in trouble now. Her cultivation base is at risk, and her life is in danger.
Looks like I don’t have any other choice.
Save her, and bring her with me to Saintess Spring Valley.