Chapter 363 The Clan Trove
The next day, before dawn broke, Lin Dong had already finished his training. Today, he was going to visit the Lin Clan’s clan trove. With regards to this matter, he had shown great interest. The Lin Clan’s foundations were extremely strong, as such, there would certainly be numerous mystical artifacts within the clan trove. Besides, he was lacking a Soul Treasure now. Hence, with this opportunity to enter the clan trove, he must obtain some sort of benefits, no matter what.
Lin Dong walked out of the tranquil courtyard and followed the path to where he was supposed to meet Elder Lin Mu. On the way there, he had met many members of Lin Clan. However, upon seeing him, most people began to clear the way for him while their eyes were filled with confusion and discretion.
However, Lin Dong did not pay much attention to these gazes. Making a turn right in front of the path he was walking on, a training field came into sight.
The training field was where the members of Lin Clan trained everyday. Even though it was still early in the morning, there were already several young boys and girls training in the field.
The sudden appearance of Lin Dong caused the entire field to quieten down. At this moment, an unusual look conceived on the faces of the usually arrogant clan members. However, there were no signs of contempt or mockery on their faces. Yesterday’s epic battle must had shaken off their arrogance thoroughly. How could they take advantage of Lin Dong when even a powerful individual like Lin Langtian had failed to do so?
However, Lin Dong had no interest in dealing with these clan members and left the place directly. Finally, he followed the path to a stone pavilion before he saw that Lin Mu was already waiting there. Immediately, he smiled apologetically, before the latter just grinned and waved it off.
“Come, follow me. Usually, the clan trove is considered a restricted area in the Lin Clan. Only men who have contributed meritorious services to the Lin Clan are qualified to enter the clan trove and seek the treasures that they desire.”
“Within the clan trove, there are many mystical artifacts, which were rewarded and passed down by that super sect when that particular ancestor performed spectacularly in the Hundred Empire War. Of course, there are also some powerful Earthly Soul Treasures which have spiritual abilities. Whether you can obtain them or not depends on your destiny.”
As they were walking into the depths of the Lin Clan, Lin Mu discussed about the clan trove with Lin Dong.
“Today, Lin Langtian will go into seclusion. If I’m not wrong, he will try to break through the advanced Manifestation Stage. Given his foundation, it won’t be that difficult to make this breakthrough. When that moment comes, his power will once again increase dramatically.” Lin Mu’s tone suddenly changed and said coldly.
After hearing what was said, Lin Dong slowed down his walking pace and nodded his head slightly. If Lin Langtian’s power were to increase, this would be bad news for him. Currently, both of them were evenly matched. Hence, if Lin Langtian were to increase his power, it would spell trouble for Lin Dong.
“From what I sense in your aura, your cultivation level is at the half-step-to Manifestation Stage. The trip to the clan trove is an great opportunity for you. As for whether you can make use of this opportunity and use it to formally attain the Manifestation Stage, that will depends on your own ability.” Lin Mu laughed.
“Thanks for the reminder, Elder Lin Mu.” Lin Dong smiled. He could sense the prodding tone in Lin Mu’s words.
Upon seeing Lin Dong’s response, Lin Mu nodded his head slightly. Without saying anything else, he quickened his footsteps and led Lin Dong through the complicated inner complex of the Lin Clan. After approximately half an hour, they finally arrived within the inner sanctum of the clan.
Lin Clan’s clan trove was located near the inner regions of the clan. There was an precipitous cliff, and Lin Dong and Lin Mu’s footsteps stopped just right below the cliff.
Surrounding the cliff were elegant pavilions, hidden among the lush and verdant vegetations, faintly discernable. It appeared that the surrounding was filled with tranquility. However, with a sweeping glance, Lin Dong could sense the strong presence of numerous powerful Lin Clan fighters under the veil of tranquility. Given such a tight security, no wonder it was the forbidden area of the Lin Clan.
Right ahead of Lin Dong, there was a heavy and gigantic stone door carved into the wall of the cliff. There were faint waves of energy emitting from above the stone door. At the moment, there were a few elders standing outside the door. The person leading those elders, was unexpectedly the black-robed elder who previously revealed his killer intent towards Lin Dong.
“This is Elder Lin Zhi, who is also the person in charge of the clan trove,” Lin Mu said to Lin Dong. Then, the former looked at the black-robed elder and requested, “Open the door.”
After hearing his words, a gloomy look appeared on the face of the black-robed elder. As much as he did not want Lin Dong to enter the treasure trove, he had no choice but to wave his hands since Lin Mu was acting under the orders of the clan leader.
Seeing the black-robe elder wave his hand, those elders following his lead set into actions simultaneously and directed waves of energy towards the huge stone door. Suddenly, the door shuddered and a crevice began to appear slowly. Indistinctly, a terrifying wave of energy surged out from the crevice.
“You cannot stay inside the clan trove for more than a month. Otherwise you shall pay the consequences! Also, when you leave, you are only allowed to bring only one treasure with you. Otherwise, all the treasures that you have obtained, inclusive of the one that originally belonged to you, will be confiscated.” the black-robed elder, whose name was Lin Zhi, looked at Lin Dong disdainfully and explained.
Lin Dong shot a glance at that old fogey, who belonged to the same faction as Lin Langtian. Disinclined to say anything, Lin Dong bidded Lin Mu farewell with a bow and walked off, brushing past Lin Zhi’s body in the process. With a steady footstep, he walked directly through the crevice on the stone door.
Lin Dong’s actions further darkened Lin Zhi’s already gloomy face. As the latter squinted his eyes, a chilling aura surged through them.
“Close the clan trove!” Lin Zhi shouted coldly as he saw Lin Dong entered the clan trove. Those elders then nodded their heads and began manipulating the door, causing it to close gradually.
“Lin Zhi, even though you are in charge of the clan trove, you had better not secretly sabotage him. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, no one can speak for you,” Lin Mu glared at Lin Zhi and said indifferently with a warning tone.
“Don’t worry.” Lin Zhi sneered. With a swipe of his gown, he led those elders to the top level of a nearby pavilion and stared tightly at the clan trove with a faint eeriness.
As he watched Lin Zhi and his counterparts went up the pavilion to monitor Lin Dong, Lin Mu folded his eyebrows. He stayed there for a moment before turning around and left the place.
On the top level of the pavilion, a ghastly smirk flashed across Lin Zhi’s old and wrinkled face as he gazed upon the distant figure of Lin Mu. He then turned his head and asked,” Have you done what I told you to do?”
“It has been settled. If Lin Dong wants to find any exquisite treasures, he will have to travel to the depths of the clan trove. A lot of arrays have been placed there. As long as he steps foot in there, we can control the arrays from the dark and secretly kill him. When that moment comes, we will just say that guy is too greedy. In order to obtain a mystical artifact, he tried to break the arrays by brute force, leading to the loss of his life ultimately. This plan is flawless. Even if the clan leader is suspicious, he will not be able to find any evidence!” a pale white-faced elder sneered.
“Ok.”
After hearing what was said, a satisfied smile appeared on Lin Zhi’s grim face. He stared at the door of the clan trove with a ghastly killer intent in his eyes.
“A country bumpkin who comes from a branch family dares to think about gaining a foothold in the clan. How can it be so easy? Since you don’t know what’s good for you, let me show you how complex this clan is!”
......
As Lin Dong stepped through the stone door, a intense ray of light shone directly on his face. Like a conditioned reflex, his eyes squinted tightly. After a moment, as he began to adapt to the the bright light, he raised his head and glanced around the area.
There was an extremely huge cavern right in front of Lin Dong. The cavern was shrouded with canopies of light. A few hundred feets above the cavern, there were some small holes where rays of sunlight spilled through, further intensifying the radiance in the area.
The cavern was extremely vast and long. When Lin Dong tried to gaze far into the cavern, he could not even see the end.
“Is this the Lin Clan’s clan trove…” Lin Dong mumbled to himself. He swiped his palm across the space in front of him. Shortly, a surprised look flashed across his eyes. He could feel the Yuan Power here was a lot stronger than outside.
“Could these be the treasures within clan trove?” Lin Dong looked at the canopies of light around him. Within those canopies of light, there were clusters of radiance and each cluster encased a piece of Soul Treasure. These barely made Lin Dong raised his eyebrows. Even the quality of the best of these treasures was merely above average. Given Lin Dong’s current status, these treasures did not pose much allure to him.
“The real energy waves of the treasures are in the depths of the clan trove.”
Little Marten suddenly appeared in a flash on Lin Dong’s shoulder. He looked at the depths of the clan trove and laughed weirdly, “However, within the depths of the clan trove, I can feel the energy fluctuations of arrays. To obtain the treasures, I’m afraid you will have to be more careful. I keep sensing the ghastliness of those old fogeys outside. They will not let you obtain the treasures here easily.”
Lin Dong laughed insipidly. Of course, he knew that Lin Zhi would not let him obtain the treasures easily. If not, Lin Langtian’s stress would surely increase the pressure on them.
“We don’t need to care about that old fogey. If he really sabotages us, we will take care of him when the right moment comes.”
Without any hesitation, Lin Dong picked up his footsteps and walked towards the depths of the clan trove. Relying on his extraordinary mental energy, he could sense the energy waves of spiritual abilities coming from the depths of the clan trove. That might be the Earth Soul Treasures that he had been yearning for in his dreams. Since now he was inside the treasure trove, there was no way he was going to return empty-handed. If that old fogey was really tactless, Lin Dong would not mind using violence against him. All the while, he knew that violence was the solution to anything, anywhere.
And now, he clearly had the capabilities to teach that old fogey a lesson!